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 - dburrows1@juno.com
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