Occupations of Yesteryear
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The following is a list that periodically appears on one or
more of the genealogy mailing lists for the purpose of sharing
with other researchers. I, myself, cannot take credit for
compiling this, but felt that posting it might be of help to
those not active on the lists
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Occupations of Yesteryear:
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
seams) to make them watertight by using tar or oakum-hemp
fiber produced by taking old ropes apart
Chaisemaker; carriage maker
Chandler: dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles;
retailer of groceries
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, 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 load 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 maket; 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
