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Advocate..............Solicitor acting in a Law
Court
Ag. Lab.................Agricultural Labourer
Alewife..................Woman who
ran an alehouse
Annealer............
. Processed metal or glass by furnace-heating and immersion in chemical baths
Annuitant
Non-working person receiving an annual income or pension
Apprentice...........Trainee bound to learn a craft or trade
Argentier
...........Controller
of finances, a treasurer
Army H.P ..........
Soldier on half pay
Assizor.................
A juror
Bailie.......
. .... . Magistrate in a Scottish burgh
Bailiff..........
.... .
Guard of fishing rights on a river
Banksman.......
. . Mine
worker at pithead unloading coal from the cages
Bard......................Poet or story-teller
Baron Officer
Also known as Barony officer, employed to uphold the law within the
Barony (District)
Baxter
Baker
Beadle
Parish official employed in church to usher and keep order.
Beadman
Licensed beggar
Beamer
A weaver's beamer drew yarn through and onto the long heavy beam of
a loom.
Bedeswoman
An alms woman, licensed beggar
Beetler
Cloth mill worker operating a beetling machine to emboss fabric
Beildsman
Licensed beggar
Berlin blacker
Applied a dull black varnish as a coating for ironware products
Blaxter
Bleacher of cloth
Bleacher Mill
worker who whitened textiles, or paper
Blockcutter
Person who hand-carves wooden blocks used for printing
Blockmaker
A trader or
broker
Blockprinter
Person who prints on paper or cloth with carved wooden blocks
Bobbin turner
Maker of wooden bobbins and spools for textile mills
Bookmaker
The "bookie" accepts gambling bets, traditionally on
racing horses, dogs
Boot Clicker
Worked machine that made lace holes in boot uppers
Boot Closer
Person who stitched the leather uppers of boots and shoes
Boot Laster
Person who shaped the uppers of boots on a metal "last"
Boot Sprigger
Person who nailed the soles and uppers of boots together with
'sprigs' - small headless nails
Bottler
Filler of bottles, often in distillery
Boatman
Boat operator providing river or loch crossings.
Bowman
Sub-tenant who farmed tenant's cows for a season
Boxmaster
Treasurer or deacon of a trade guild or association- eg Weavers
Guild
Brasiator
Brewer
Brazier
Worker in brass metal
Brewster
Maker of beer, a brewer
Brusher
Coal miner who repaired mine passage roofs and sides
Burgess
Man listed as merchant or craftsman in a town burgh
Byreman
Farm worker who looked after cows in the byre (cattle-shed)
Cabinetmaker
Maker of wooden furniture
Cadger
Travelling pedlar
Cal. Prin.
Calico printer. Calico was a cotton cloth imported from India, then
patterned with dyes
Callenderer
Smoothed cloth or paper by passing through rollers
Candler
Maker or seller of candles
Carbonarius
Charcoal maker
Carder
Prepared wool for spinning by brushing with wire pads
Carter
Worked with horse and cart on farms or in towns
Cartwright
Maker and repairer of
horse-drawn carts
Catechist
Instructor in religious doctrine
Caulker
Filling cracks usually in ships by sealing with tar
Causewaymaker
Built town roads (causeways) with stone setts
Cautioner
Person who stands surety for another, for
example for the arrival of a groom on his marriage day
Cellarman
Keeper of wine and spirits
Chairman
One of two
persons who carried a sedan chair and passenger
Chaisemaker
Carriage maker
Chandler
Dealer in goods, often a ship's supplier
Chapman
Dealer of goods from a stall, or by travelling from village to village
Chapper
Employed to knock on doors of early risers. eg bakers, jute workers
etc.
Charwoman
Cleaning woman
Check Weighman
He checked how
much a miner was due to be paid on the coal he produced.
Chowder
Seller of fish, a fishmonger
Clagger
Person removing clags or dirty clots from a wool fleece
Clark
Clerk
Clicker
Worked machine that made lace holes in boot and shoe uppers
Clogged
Maker of clogs - wooden shoes
Cloth Dresser
Cloth mill worker who cut the sheets of cloth with shears
Cloth Lapper
Cleaned cotton fibres before sheets fed into carding machines
Coachman
Driver of coach and horses
Coalmaster
Owner and operator of a coal mine
Coal Trimmer
Person who stabilised coal-carrying barges/ships
Cobbler
Maker or repairer of shoes
Collier
Coal miner, at the coal face
Colourman
Mixer of dyes in textile trade
Colporteur
Travelling book seller
Combmaker
A maker of combs for textiles,
or hair. See also Vulcanite Comb Maker
Compositor
Person who sets up type for printing
Conservator
Guardian or custodian
Cooper
Maker of barrels and casks, often for distillers
Cordiner
Maker of leather shoes and boots
Cordwainer
see Cordiner
Cork Cutter
Worked in cutting and preparing imported raw cork bark from Portugal
Costermonger
Street seller of apples, other fruit and vegetables
Cottar
Tenant with only a cottage and little land
Cotton piecer
Piecers in cotton mills, often children, had to lean over
spinning-machines to repair broken threads
Cotton
warper
Cotton mill loom operator on the first stages of weaving the yarn
Cotton winder
Cotton mill worker who wound the thread on weaving looms
Cow-feeder
Tenant of small farm with dairy cows
Cowper
Maker of cups
Creelman Carried
goods to market in a creel (basket)
Crofter Tenant
of farm and cottage (croft), usually in Highlands and Islands.
Curator
Person appointed by law as guardian
Currier
Person curing or tanning hides
Custumer
Custom-house collection officer
Cutter
Cutter of cloth for the tailor
Dag maker
Maker of pistols
Dairymaid
Woman or girl employed to milk cows, make butter in dairy
Dapifer
Steward in a royal or noble house
Dempster
One who pronounces judgement - a doomster (judge)
Dexter
Dyer
Diker
Builder of dry stone walls
Docker
Worker at docks who loads and unloads ships cargo
Dom. Serv.
Domestic servant, household worker
Dominie
School teacher
Draper
Dealer in fabrics and sewing materials
Drawer
Mine worker pushing or dragging coal carts
Dresser
1. Surgeon's assistant
2. Worker in quarry cutting rocks to shape eg slates or setts.
3. Foundry worker cleaning metal after moulding
Drover
Cattle dealer and mover of livestock
Drayman
Cart driver of a long cart without sides
Drysalter
Dealer in salted or dried meats, pickles and sauces
Dustman
Uplifted street litter and domestic rubbish ( see 'scavenger' )
Dyker
Builder of dry stone walls
What a brilliant list of occupations
G E Werner
Engine Keeper Operated
and maintained an industrial steam-driven engine.
Exciseman
Collector of taxes
F.S.
Female Servant
Factor
Estate agent for landowner, collector of rents
Farm
servant
Farm worker under contracted period to work for farmer
Farrier
Blacksmith who shoes horses
Fencible
Soldier recruited at times of war, a militiaman
Fethelar
A fiddler
Fireman
1. Person in charge of a furnace, eg. on a train or ship
2. A fire fighter
Fishcurer
Dried and salted fish for onward transport in barrels
Fishwife
Woman who carried and sold fresh fish from door to door.
Fitter
Assembled wooden or metal parts , or machinery
Ferry-louper
Orkney name for incomer from mainland
Feuar
Landholder under feudal system paid a feu (fee) to the overlord
Flax scutcher
Beat flax fibres by hand or through a machine as part of the flax
dressing process.
Flaxman
Dealer in flax
Flesher
Butcher
Fletcher
Maker of arrows, an arrowsmith
Flockmaster
Person
in charge of managing a flock of sheep
Founder
Maker
of items from molten metal eg in a iron or brass foundry.
Forespeaker
Advocate, a pleader in court
Freeman
Medieval freemen were not owned by a feudal lord, but had privileges
granted to own land and trade in a burgh
French Polisher
Brought wood cabinets to a fine finish with sandpaper and oils.
Fruictman
Man who sells fruit
Furnaceman
Attended to furnace, often in metal works
Gaberlunzie
A beggar
Gamekeeper
Guard and breeder of wild game (pheasants etc) on an estate
Ganger
Gangsman leading a gang or squad of men
Gangrel
Vagrant or tramp
Gasfitter
Fitted pipes to carry a gas supply, usually coal gas , to domestic
or industrial premises.
Gaoler
Jailer
Guager
Excise officer
Gudger
A grandfather. Corruption of gudsyr
Gen.
Lab
General labourer
Ghillie
Highland guard of wild game, especially deer
Gilder
Person who impressed gold leaf or gilt to overlay an item, such as
furniture or an art frame
Girnalman
Man in charge of meal store or granary
Glover
Maker of gloves
Gowcher
A grandfather
Granger
Keeper of grain store (granary)
Grieve
Factor, collector of farming rents
Groom
Responsible for horses on an estate
Ground Officer
Employed by large landed estate to supervise the activities of
tenants
H.L.W.
Hand loom weaver- weaver of cloth on a home-based loom
Haberdasher
Seller of small clothing wares and sewing materials
Hackler
Lint dresser who separated the coarse flax with a toothed hackle
Hammerman
Metal worker, a smith
Hatter Maker of hats, a milliner
Hawker
Pedlar, seller of small goods from door to door
Heatherer
Thatched roofs of houses and crofts with heather divots or stems
(esp. in Highlands and Islands)
Heckler
see hackler
Hecklemaker
Maker of flax combs for use by heckler/hackler
Heddler
Weaving loom operator in textile mill
Hedger
Laid and repaired hedges enclosing fields making them stock-proof
Herd
Shepherd
Heritor
Landholder in a parish
Hetheleder
Person
who cut and sold
heather
as a source of fuel.
Hewer
Miner underground working the coal face
Hind
Farm servant
Holder-on
Assisted a rivetter , usually in the ship-building industry
Hortulanus
Gardener
Hosier
Seller of long wool or silk stockings
Hostler
Person looking after horses at an inn
Hooper
Maker of hoops for barrels
Howdywife
Midwife
Husbandman
A cultivator of soil, a farmer. Later including animal husbandry
Iron
Dresser
Foundry worked who cleaned sand and impurities from cast metal from
the mould.
Iron
Miner
Miner of ironstone
rock used in the production of pig iron
Iron Moulder
Iron foundry worker who
poured molten iron from furnace into moulds
Iron Planer
Used a machine to put flat surfaces (planing) onto cast iron
structures
Iron Shingler Iron
worker who operated a steam hammer on wrought iron from the furnace
Iron Weigher
Weighed iron products from foundry for selling by the ton.
Jackman
Attendant or man-at-arms, for a nobleman or landowner
Japanner
Applied black gloss lacquer to furniture
J.P.
Justice of the Peace
Jobbing man
Employed for a variety of small jobs or tasks
Joiner
A wood worker, a carpenter
Journeyman
Qualified tradesman, apprenticeship served
Kirk-master
Deacon in a church
Kish
maker
Maker of woven willow baskets
Laird
Rural estate landowner, usually in the Highlands
Lamplighter
Employed to light the gas street lamps in Victorian cities
Lathsplitter
Prepared thins strips of wood (laths) for nailing to walls and
ceilings as a base to spread plaster over
Laundress Washerwoman
for clothes
Lawman
Officer
with magisterial powers
Lawrightman Determined
local weights & measures, and land tax
Leerie
Another
name for a lamplighter (qv)
Lengthsman
Railway worker responsible for maintaining a length of rail track
Letter Carrier
Carried and delivered letters by hand . Later known as postman.
Liferenter
One who has a tenancy for life
Limmer 1.
Thief or scoundrel
2. Artist who decorates manuscripts
Lineator
Surveyor or measurer
Lithographer
Makes printing press plates from type-set paper or film
Litster
Dyer of cloth
Lorimer
Maker of metal horse harnesses
Lotter
1. Made up odd lots of wool and batched them for sale
2. Croft or small farm divided into lots, usually worked by sons of
the crofter
Loun
A boy
Lozenge Cutter
Cut and prepared sweets (candy) or preserve. Lozenge piner ?
I
think the list of old occupations is a wonderful
reference Beverley
Hicks, New Jersey, USA
M.S.
Male servant
"
Merchant Service (Seaman)
Maltster
Preparer of malt for brewing
Manf.
Manufacturer
Mangler
Washerwoman who passed clothes through the rollers of a mangle
Mantua Maker
Ladies dressmaker or bonnet maker. ( Mantua was a woman's loose gown
in 17th-18th century)
Mariner
Seaman, usually in merchant navy
Mason
Stone cutter and layer
Master
Head school teacher
" ....
Skilled and self-employed craftsman or tradesman
Master
Mariner
Ship's captain
Mendicant
One who made a living by begging, or living on alms. eg mendicant
friars
Miller
In charge of a corn mill usually powered by a water wheel, grinding
grain such as oats and wheat into meal or flour.
Milliner
Maker of hats and female headgear
Millwright
Installed and maintained heavy machinery in mills. A mechanic.
Min. Minister (or miner)
Miner
Worker at mineral mines, usually coal, ironstone or shale in central Scotland
Moneyer
Mintmaster, maker of coin money
Monger
Seller of goods, eg fish-monger, iron-monger
Moulder
Poured molten metal into moulds. See iron moulder
Mouterer
Miller receiving a fee for grinding corn
Nailer
Blacksmith who made nails by cutting and shaping metal
Navvie
A" navigator", a worker digging out canal beds, later
roads.
Night Soil
Carrier
Person employed to remove and dispose of toilet waste
Notary
Solicitor, lawyer
Oakum Worker
Took old ropes apart for the hemp fibre (oakum ) to be used for
caulking (qv)
Orraman
Spare man or odd-job man around the farm
Ostler
Hostler, person looking after horses at an inn
Ourman
Overseer
Outworker
Person employed in outdoor work
Overman
Supervisor in colliery checking mine and coal quality
Pattern Maker
Metal pattern makers made forms and moulds for casting iron products
Pauper
Person without money and means of earning a livelihood
Pavior
Layer of masonry slabs and flag-stones, eg making a pavement
Pedlar
Seller of small goods from door to door
Pendicler
Sub-tenant with some grass and arable land
Pensioner
Originally meant someone receiving an Army pension after active
service
Periwig-maker
Maker of wigs for gentlemen
Peuterer
Worker in pewter
Philosophical
Instrument Maker
Maker of scientific, mathematical and astronomical instruments
Piecer
Mill worker who joined threads broken by spinning
Pikar
A petty thief
Pirn Winder
Mill worker who threaded yarn on weaving looms
Pitheadman
Over-ground worker at a coal mine (pit)
Pit Brusher
Coal miner who repaired mine passage roofs and sides
Pit Roadman
Mine
worker preparing and repairing underground passageways
Platelayer
Railway worker laying and repairing rails
Plewman
Ploughman
Ploughman
Farm worker with working horse and plough
Plumber
Worked with lead
on roofs and stained glass windows, as well as with lead water pipes
. Later copper pipes
Pointsman
Railway worker who operates rail points
Polentarius
Malt maker
Pony
Driver
Leading pony underground pulling coal hutches
Porter
Baggage carrier; or gate keeper
Portioner
Owner of land, previously divided amongst co-heirs
Post
Boy
Guard travelling on a mail coach
Postman
Delivers mail letters and parcels to residential and business
addresses.
PLW
Power-loom weaver- weaver working a powered loom in a textile mill
Print compositor
Person who sets up type for printing
Print cutter
Person who makes the printing blocks
Printfield worker
Mill worker who printed cloth with dyes and inks.
Procurator
Lawyer or advocate
Procurator-Fiscal
Principal public prosecutor in district
Provost
Elected head of town burgh council
Publican
Keeper of a public house or "pub" offering ales and
spirits to the public.
Puddler
Iron worker operating a puddling or ball furnace where cast iron
turned into wrought iron
Quarrier
Worker in stone quarry
Quine
A young woman (queen) - Aberdeenshire
Railway
Lengthsman
Railway worker responsible for maintaining a length of rail track
Ranselman
Was empowered by court to search houses for stolen property
R.C.C
Roman Catholic Clergyman
Reidare
Minor clergyman in early Church, a reader
Reader
A student in law, medicine, or other classical subject
Red Leader
Painted a red lead oxide paint onto metal surfaces to protect them,
eg ship metal
Reeler
Mill worker who put the yarns onto reels before weaving
Relict
Widow
Resetter
Receiver or concealer of stolen goods
Riddler
Maker or user of coarse sieves (riddles) for grain, soil, etc.
Riever
Robber, originally of cattle
Rivetter
Shipyard worker joining metal plates with hammered rivets
Rope Spinner
Maker of rope by braiding yarns of cotton or flax
Saddler
Maker and repairer of horse saddles and leathers
Salinator
One who added salt as a preservative
Sandpaperer
see French Polisher
Sawbones
Surgeon or physician
Sawyer
Worker in sawmill or timber pit
Scallag
Poor male or female farm servant of a tacksman
Scavenger 1.
The 'scaffie' was a dustman or street sweeper
2. Worker in a jute mill picking up loose bits of material from the
floor
Scholar
A child attending school
Schoolmaster
Head school teacher
Sclater
Slater, a roof tiler with slates
Scourer
Washed raw wool by hand with soap or urine before processing,
Scrivener
Scribe employed to draft contracts, prepare accounts, etc
Scullery
Maid
Kitchen servant
Seafarer
One who found employment on ships - a seaman.
Seamstress
Woman who sewed, made and mended clothes
Seceder
Member of Secession Church which broke away in 1733.
Seriand
A constable or bailiff
Servitor
Clerk or secretary
Settmaker
Cutter of stones, often granite, to make cobbled streets.
Sexton
Layman guarding church building and vestments
Sheriff
Chief officer of Crown in county
Shingler
Roof tiler with wooden shingles (cf slater) (but see also Iron
Shingler)
Shipwright
Constructor and repairer of ships. A ship carpenter.
Ship
Master
Owner or captain of a ship
Ship Stager
Stager in a shipyard erected wooden scaffolding and platforms around
a ship being built.
Sho.
Shopman, person employed in retail trade
Skinner
Flayer of animal hides for leather
Solicitor
Lawyer
Souter
Shoemaker
Slater
Roof tiler with slates
Smith
Metal worker, usually a blacksmith
Spectioner
Third mate on a whaling ship, who checked all was correctly stowed
in the hold.
Spinster
Woman who spins textiles (also term for an unmarried woman)
Spirit Merchant
Dealer in spirits, wines and ale
Sprigger
Embroiderer of fine lace and muslin; see also Boot Sprigger
Squarewright
Worker in fine furniture
Stampmaster
Official inspector who had powers to impose fines or penalties on
faulty or fraudulent maunufacturing.
Station Master
Railway employee in charge of station
Steward
Chief servant of household of royal or noble family
Stoker
Stoked fuel into a furnace or boiler, eg on a ship
Stone Hewer
1. A miner who drilled holes in the coal face prior to dynamiting.
2. A sculptor or
mason in stone.
Stravaiger
A wanderer, a vagrant
Sugar Baker
One who owned or worked in a sugar factory, refining raw sugar from
the West Indies
Surfaceman
Laid and repaired surface of road or railway, or mine passage
Surveyor of taxes
Responsible for calculating and levying taxes on property and
possessions
Sword slipper
Maker of sword sheaths
Tacksman
Farm tenant who sub-let rents or tacks
Tailzeor
Tailor
Tambourer
Embroiderer using hoops to hold the cloth
Tanner
Curer of hides to make leather
Tapsman
Head servant in charge
Tearer
Assisted a cloth printer in a print mill . Usually a youngster.
Tenementer
Tenant of dwelling in large town building (tenement)
Tenter
Mechanic who tended and repaired apparatus, for example a weaver's
power loom ,
Thatcher
Roofer working with natural cut reeds or heather thatch
Tick maker
Upholsterer
Tick manufacturer
A weaver of various fabrics
Tidewaiter
Customhouse officer who secured payment of duty from merchant
vessels coming in to port
Tinker
Travelling repairman, or tinsmith , seller of pots and pans
Todman Man
employed to kill foxes (tods) on an estate
Towsman Man
in charge of the halyards on a fishing boat
Trencherman
Cook
Turkey Red Dyer
Turkey Red from madder root was used to dye cotton cloth ( United
Turkey Red Co.Ltd. Alexandria )
Turner
A lathe operator, shaping wood or metal
Type-founder
Printer who set out individual letters on printing blocks
Vabster
A weaver
Vanman
Driver of a light
commercial or delivery vehicle, such as a bread van
Vermin Trapper Employed
to trap and kill rats, mice, foxes, moles, as pests.
Vestiarus
Keeper
of the wardrobe
Victualler
Supplier of food and provisions
Vintner Wine merchant
Vulcanite Comb
Maker Rubber
worker making hard (vulcanite) combs for the textile industry, for
combing wool etc.
Wadsetter Creditor
or holder of land or property under mortage
Wainwright
Wagon maker
Walkster
Cloth worker cleaning and thickening cloth by wetting and walking over it
Weaver
Maker of cloth from yarns of wool, cotton, silk etc. Operator of
hand loom or textile mill power loom .
Weigher
Weighed goods prior to sale. See Iron Weigher.
Wheelwright
Maker or repairer of wheels
Whitesmith
Worker in tin and light metals (cf. blacksmith)
Wincey Weaver
Weaver using string cotton thread
Winder
Textile mill worker who wound the thread on weaving looms. See
Cotton Winder
Wobster
A weaver
Wrecker
Plunderer of a shipwreck, sometimes luring ships to destruction.
Wright Joiner or carpenter
Writer Solicitor
W.S. Writer to the Signet (solicitor)
Yarn bleacher Bleacher
of textile fibres, such as flax
Yarn dresser Preparer
of flax fibres (see hackler)
Yarn twister
Twisted silk into thread or yarn
Yauger
Pedlar
who traded in local fish and produce (Shetland Islands).
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