The first child of Robert McCrea and Betty/Elizabeth Hair was described as Natural (N), i.e. illegitimate, whilst the subsequent children were Lawful (L). This suggests the parents married between 1798 and 1803 but I have not located any evidence of this so far. Robert, Elizabeth and their children lived in the Castle area of New Cumnock, Ayrshire. Cumnock Castle has completely vanished from view beyond a low rise of ground occupied by a number of houses. Despite the absence of a castle the area beside where it once stood has retained the name Castle right up to the present day. The castle was almost certainly of a tower-keep and courtyard type, as foundations discovered through excavation were five metres thick, and the moat was a full twenty metres wide. However in the absence of full details all that we know is that by late 1580 the castle was in ruins. A new house was erected in the 17th century on the site, probably by the Earl of Dumfries, but this was in ruins by 1775. It is likely that in the end the masonry was used for the building of a new church c1780.