Occupations of the Past

Jobs of the Past

Ever run across an occupation of an ancestor and wonder what in the world it was? This is a list of occupations and their descriptions I've found throughout the web. If you have any others, please send them to me and I'll add them to the list.

Accomptant	An Accountant.
Almoner	One who gave charity to the needy.
Amanuensis	A Secretary or Stenographer.
Artificer	A soldier mechanic who does repairs.
Bailie	A Bailiff.
Baxter	A Baker.
Bluestocking	A Female Writer.
Boniface	An Inn Keeper.
Brazier	One who works with brass.
Brewster	A beer manufacturer.
Brightsmith	A Metal worker.
Burgonmaster	A Mayor.
Caulker	One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows) or seems to make them watertight by using tar or oakum.
Chaisemaker	A Carriage maker.
Chandler	A Dealer or trader. One who makes or sells candles. A retailer of groceries.
Chiffonnier	A Wig maker.
Clerk	A Clergyman or 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	A Priest.
Collier	A Coal miner.
Colporteur	A peddler of books.
Cooper	One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves & hoops such as casks, barrels, tubs, etc.
Cordwainer	Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using leather from Cordova/Cordoba in Spain.
Costermonger	A Peddler of fruits and vegetables.
Crocker	A Potter
Crofter	One who farmed anothers land and receives part of the crop. Used more in societies of immigrants. It differs little from the 'Tenant Farmer' of America and, though some land owners may have been benevelent it was basically just legal slavery.
Crowner	A Coroner
Currier	One who dresses the coat of a horse with a curry comb. One who tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease.
Docker	A 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	A Peddler
Factor	An Agent, A Commission merchant. One who acts or transacts business for another. A Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate.
Farrier	A blacksmith, one who shoes horses.
Faulkner	A Falconer
Fell Monger	One who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making.
Fletcher	One who made bows and arrows.
Glazier	A Window glassman.
Hacker	A Hoe Maker.
Hatcheler	One who combed out or carded flax.
Haymonger	A Dealer in hay.
Hayward	A Keeper of fences.
Higgler	An Itinerant peddler.
Hillier	A Roof tiler.
Hind	A farm laborer.
Holster	A groom who took care of horses, often at an Inn.
Hooker	A Reaper.
Hooper	One who made hoops for casks and barrels.
Huckster	A peddler of small wares.
Husbandman	A farmer who cultivated the land.
Jagger	A 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	A Bargeman.
Kempster	A Wool comber.
Lardner	A Keeper of the cupboard.
Lavender	A Wash Woman.
Lederer	A Leather Maker.
Leech	A Physician.
Longshoreman	A Stevedore.
Lormer	A Maker of horse gear.
Machinist	A worker who fabricates, assembles, or repairs machinery or a craftsman skilled in the use of machine tools, or one who operates a machine.
Malender	A Farmer.
Maltster	A brewer, a beer maker.
Manciple	A steward.
Mason	A bricklayer. One who builds things from stone.
Millwright	One whose occupation is planning and building mills or setting up their machinery. One who maintains and cares for mechanical equipment, as of a mill or factory.
Mintmaster	One who issued local currency.
Monger	A Seller of goods, usually fish and ale.
Muleskinner	A Teamster.
Neatherder	A cattle hearder.
Ordinary Keeper	An 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	An Itinerant wanderer.
Peruker	A Wig maker.
Pettifogger	A shyster lawyer.
Pigman	A Crockery dealer.
Plumber	One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows.
Porter	A Door Keeper.
Puddler	Wrought iron worker. The skilled man who supervised the moten mass, deciding when it was ready for shingling, hammering and rolling.
Quarrier	A Quarry worker.
Rigger	A Hoist tackle worker.
Ripper	A Seller of fish.
Roper	A Maker of rope or nets.
Saddler	One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for horses.
Sawbones	A Physician.
Sawyer	One who saws. A Carpenter.
Schumacker	A Shoemaker.
Scribler	A minor author.
Scrivener	A Professional or public copyist or writer. A Notary public.
Scrutiner	An election judge.
Shrieve	A Sheriff.
Slater	A Roofer.
Snobscat/Snob	One who repaired shoes.
Sorter	A Tailor.
Spinster	A woman who spins or an unmarried woman.
Spurrer	A maker of spurs.
Squire	A Country gentleman. A Farm owner. The Justice of the Peace.
Stuff Gown Stuff Gownsman	A 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	A Reaper.
Teamster	One who drives a team for hauling.
Tenant Farmer	One who leases or purchases a small plot of land from another and then must make the payments from his crops or other means of work. Southern States primarily (but most to some extent) used this as a means to maintain a cheap labor pool for their own larger land owners. It differed little from actual slavery and any attempt to address the poverty of these people was vigorously fought.
Thatcher	A Roofer.
Tide Waiter	A Customs inspector.
Tinker	An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman.
Tipstaff	A Policeman.
Travers	Toll bridge collection.
Traymaker	A maker of wooden household implements.
Tucker	A 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 supplies.
Vulcan	A Blacksmith.
Wagoner	A Teamster not for hire.
Wainwright	A Wagon Maker.
Waiter	A Customs officer or tide waiter. One who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in.
Waterman	A Boatman who plies for hire.
Weaver	Applied to those who weave cloth with a loom or spinning wheel and also those who wove baskets.
Wheelwright	One who made or repaired wheels, wheeled carriages, etc.
Whitesmith	A Tinsmith. A worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work.
Whitewing	A Street Sweeper.
Whitster	A bleacher of cloth.
Wright	Workman, especially a construction worker.
Yoeman	A Farmer who owns his own land.

Back to WebSite Index

Back to Transcribed Documents Index