Occupations
Old Occupations
- *Accomptant = Accountant
- *Almoner = Giver of charity to the needy
- *Amanuensis = Secretary or stenographer
- *Artificer = A soldier mechanic who does repairs
- *Bailie = Bailiff
- *Baxter = Baker
- *Bluestocking = Female writer
- *Boniface = Keeper of an inn
- *Brazier = One who works with brass
- *Brewster = Beer manufacturer
- *Brightsmith = Metal Worker
- *Burgonmaster = Mayor
- *Caulker = One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows or
seems to make them watertight by using tar or oakum-hem fiber produced by taking old ropes apart.
- *Chaisemaker = Carriage maker
- *Chandler = Dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles;
retailer of groceries, ship supplier
- *Chiffonnier = Wig maker
- *Clark = Clerk
- *Clerk = Clergyman, cleric
- *Clicker = The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to
invite customers; one who received the matter in the galley from the
compositors and arranged it in due form ready for printing; one who makes eyelet holes in boots using a machine which clicked.
- *Cohen = Priest
- *Collier = Coal miner
- *Colporteur = Peddler of books
- *Cooper = One who makes or repairs vessels made of
staves and hoops, such as casks, barrels, tubs, etc.
- *Cordwainer = Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using
leather from Cordova/Cordoba in Spain
- *Costermonger = Peddler of fruits and vegetables
- *Crocker = Potter
- *Crowner = Coroner
- *Currier = One who dresses the coat of a horse with a
currycomb; one who tanned leather by incorporating
oil or grease
- *Docker = Stevedore, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo
- *Dowser = One who finds water using a rod or witching stick
- *Draper = A dealer in dry goods
- *Drayman = One who drives a long strong cart without fixed
sides for carrying heavy loads
- *Dresser = A surgeon's assistant in a hospital
- *Drover = One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market; a
dealer in cattle
- *Duffer = Peddler
- *Factor Agent, commission merchant; = one who acts or
transacts business for another; Scottish steward or bailiff
of an estate
- *Farrier = A blacksmith, one who shoes horses
- *Faulkner = Falconer
- *Fell monger = One who removes hair or wool from hides in
preparation for leather making
- *Fletcher = One who made bows and arrows
- *Fuller = One who fulls cloth;one who shrinks and thickens
woolen cloth by moistening, heating, and pressing; one who
cleans and finishes cloth
- *Gaoler = A keeper of the goal, a jailer
- *Glazier = Window glassman
- *Hacker = Maker of hoes
- *Hatcheler = One who combed out or carded flax
- *Haymonger = Dealer in hay
- *Hayward = Keeper of fences
- *Higgler = Itinerant peddler
- *Hillier = Roof tiler
- *Hind = A farm laborer
- *Holster = A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn
- *Hooker = Reaper
- *Hooper = One who made hoops for casks and barrels
- *Huckster = Sells small wares
- *Husbandman = A farmer who cultivated the land
- *Jagger = Fish peddler
- *Journeyman = One who had served his apprenticeship and
mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but hired
by the day
- *Joyner / Joiner = A skilled carpenter
- *Keeler = Bargeman
- *Kempster = Wool comber
- *Lardner = Keeper of the cupboard
- *Lavender = Washer woman
- *Lederer = Leather maker
- *Leech = Physician
- *Longshoreman = Stevedore
- *Lormer = Maker of horse gear
- *Malender = Farmer
- *Maltster = Brewer
- *Manciple = A steward
- *Mason = Bricklayer
- *Mintmaster = One who issued local currency
- *Monger = Seller of goods (ale, fish)
- *Muleskinner = Teamster
- *Neatherder = Herds cows
- *Ordinary Keeper = Innkeeper with fixed prices
- *Pattern Maker = A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
- *Peregrinator = Itinerant wanderer
- *Peruker = A wig maker
- *Pettifogger = A shyster lawyer
- *Pigman = Crockery dealer
- *Plumber = One who applied sheet lead for roofing and
set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows.
- *Porter = Door keeper
- *Puddler = Wrought iron worker
- *Quarrier = Quarry worker
- *Rigger = Hoist tackle worker
- *Ripper = Seller of fish
- *Roper = Maker of rope or nets
- *Saddler = One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings
for horses
- *Sawbones = Physician
- *Sawyer = One who saws; carpenter
- *Schumacker = Shoemaker
- *Scribler = A minor or worthless author
- *Scrivener = Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
- *Scrutiner = Election judge
- *Shrieve = Sheriff
- *Slater = Roofer
- *Slopseller = Seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop
- *Snobscat / Snob = One who repaired shoes
- *Sorter = Tailor
- *Spinster = A woman who spins or an unmarried woman
- *Spurrer = Maker of spurs
- *Squire = Country gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace
- *Stuff gown = Junior barrister
- *Stuff gownsman = Junior barrister
- *Supercargo = Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of
cargo and the commercial concerns of the ship.
- *Tanner = One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather
- *Tapley = One who puts the tap in an ale cask
- *Tasker = Reaper
- *Teamster = One who drives a team for hauling
- *Thatcher = Roofer
- *Tide waiter = Customs inspector
- *Tinker = An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman
- *Tipstaff = Policeman
- *Travers = Toll bridge collection
- *Tucker = Cleaner of cloth goods
- *Turner = A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles
- *Victualer = A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army,
navy, or ship with food
- *Vulcan = Blacksmith
- *Wagoner = Teamster not for hire
- *Wainwright = Wagon maker
- *Waiter = Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited
on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in.
- *Waterman = Boatman who plies for hire
- *Webster = Operator of looms
- *Wharfinger = Owner of a wharf
- *Wheelwright = One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled
carriages,etc.
- *Whitesmith = Tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes
the work
- *Whitewing = Street sweeper
- *Whitster = Bleach of cloth
- *Wright = Workman, especially a construction worker
- *Yeoman = Farmer who owns his own land
- Compiled by Dan Burrows
"I put these 130 items together from many sources and
used it as a handout for our local Orange County (NY) Genealogical Society.
I was asked by many recipients
if the CHART could be forwarded to other lists or used in
local newsletters. The answer is yes -- please
share this information."
Dan Burrows - [email protected]
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