COLONIAL OCCUPATIONS

Some occupational names were self-explanatory such as a blacksmith, locksmith, and gunsmith. Of course there were also occupations with names that are recognizable today - coroner, bookkeeper, barber, cabinet-maker, weaver, baker, brick-layer, accountant, printer and musician.

Other occupations included:

|A| |B| |C| |D| |E| |F| |G| |H| |I| |JK| |L|
|M| |N| |O| |P| |QR| |S| |T| |UV| |W| |XYZ|

  • ACATER: supplied food provisions, such as a ships chandler

  • ACCIPITRARY a falconer or keeper and tamer of hawks

  • ACCOMPANT: an accountant

  • ACCOUCHEUR / ACCOUCHEUS: one who assisted women in childbirth

  • ACCOUTREMENT MAKER / ACCOUTRE: a supplier of military accessories

  • ACRE-MAN / ACKERMAN: a man who ploughed or cultivated the land

  • ACTUARY: a statistician who computed insurance risks and premiums

  • AGENT: a person who acted on behalf of a company or another person

  • AGRICULTURIST: a person involved with land cultivation or animal husbandry

  • ALABASTERER: one who worked with alabaster

  • ALCHEMIST: a medieval chemist who claimed to be able to turn base metals into gold

  • ALE DRAPER: [obsolete] an ale-house keeper

  • ALE TASTER: an English officer appointed in every court leet, and sworn to inspect ale beer, and bread, and examine the quality and quantity within his precints

  • ALE TUNNER: a person employed by the brewery to fill ale casks called "tuns" with ale

  • ALEWIFE a woman who kept an alehouse or tavern

  • ALL SPICE: grocer

  • ALMONER: an officer who distributed charity or alms; by ancient law every monastery was to disperse a tenth of its income in alms to the poor, and all bishops were obliged to keep an almoner

  • ALMSMAN: a person supported by charity or one who lived on alms

  • ALNAGER: official who examined the quality of woolen goods and stamped them with the town seal of approval

  • AMANUENSIS: one who is employed to take dictation or to copy manuscript

  • AMBER CUTTER: a person who cut ambergris

  • ANCHOR SMITH: one who made anchors

  • ANCHORESS: a female hermit or religious recluse

  • ANCHORITE: a person who has retired into seclusion for religious reasons

  • ANKLE BEATER: a young person who helped to drive the cattle to market

  • ANNATTO MAKER: a person who worked in the manufacture of dyes for paint or printing

  • ANTIGROPELOS MAKER: a person who made waterproof leggings

  • ANVIL SMITH: a person who made anvils and hammers for blacksmiths

  • APIARIANA: beekeeper

  • APOTHECARY: a druggist

  • APPRENTICE: one who was bound to a skilled worker for a specified time to learn a trade

  • APRONMAN: [obsolete] a laboring man; a mechanic

  • AQUAVITA SELLER: liquor seller

  • ARBITER: a witness or judge

  • ARCHER: a person skilled in using a bow and arrow

  • ARCHIATOR: a physician

  • ARCHIVIST: one who kept historical records

  • ARGOLET: a mounted bowman

  • ARKWRIGHT: a skilled craftsman who produced "arks" (wooden chests or coffers)

  • ARMIGER: one entitled to bear arms, such as knight or esquire

  • ARMOURER: one who made suits of armour or plates of armour for buildings or ships

  • ARPENTEUR: a land-surveyor

  • ARTIFICER: a blacksmith; one who made fuses, grenades, shells, etc.

  • ARTISAN: a skilled tradesman

  • ASHMAN: a dustman

  • ASSAY MASTER: a person who determined the amount of gold or silver to go in coins

  • ASSAYER: one who examined characteristics (weight, measure or quality) to determine a value

  • AUGER MAKER: one who made the carpenters augers for boring holes in wood

  • AULNAGER: See Alnager

  • AURIFABER / AURIFEX: a goldsmith

  • AVENATOR: a hay and forage merchant

  • AVOWRY: term for the lord of the manor

  • AXLE TREE MAKER / AXLE TREE TURNER: one who made axles for coaches and waggons

    Return to Top of Page

  • BACKMAKER: a person who made "backs", vats, tubs, a Cooper

  • BACKSTER: [obsolete] originally, a female baker; later, a baker of either sex

  • BACK'US BOY: kitchen servant

  • BADGER: a licensed pauper who wore a badge with the letter "P" on it and could only work in a defined area; a corn miller or dealer; an itinerant food trader

  • BADGY FIDDLER: a boy trumpeter in the military

  • BAGMAN: a travelling salesman; one who showed samples and solicits order for a manufacturer

  • BAGNIOKEEPER: a person in charge of a bath house or brothel

  • BAILIFF: [1] a court attendant entrusted with duties such as the maintenance of order in a courtroom during a trial; [2] an official who assisted a British sheriff and who had the power to execute writs, processes, and arrests; [3] (chiefly British) an overseer of an estate; a steward

  • BALISTER: [obsolete] a cross-bowman

  • BAIRMAN / BAREMAN: pauper, beggar

  • BALANCER: a person employed in the coal mines to operate the "balance" which is a slope with a pulley at the top where empty coal tubs pulled full tubs up the slope

  • BALER: one who bales of hay

  • BALLAD MONGER: one who sold printed ballads on the street

  • BALLAST HEAVER: a person who loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships

  • BALLER UP: a person who assisted the potter by measuring out the balls of clay

  • BAND FILER: a metal worker in the gun making industry

  • BANDSTER: [obsolete] one who bound sheaves after reapers during a harvest

  • BANG BEGGAR: [slang] a constable who carried a strong staff

  • BANKER: a person who dug trenches and ditches to allow drainage of the land, placing the surplus earth in banks around the edge

  • BANKS MAN: [1] an overseer at a coal mine; [2] a bank manager

  • BANQUETER: a broker or banker

  • BARBER-CHIRURGEON - a person who practiced surgery and was a barber; in the 18th century an Act was passed that limited Barbers to hair-cutting, shaving, dentistry and blood letting

  • BARD: a poet or minstral

  • BARGEMAN: one who worked on or owned and operated a barge

  • BARKEEPER: a tollkeeper

  • BARKER: [obsolete] a tanner

  • BARKMAN: a bargeman

  • BARM BREWER: a person who made yeast

  • BARREL FILER: a person employed in the gun manufacturing industry

  • BARTONER / BARTON: a person in charge of the monastic farm, also known as a barton

  • BASIL WORKER: a person who worked with sheep and goat skins

  • BASKETMAN: person who made baskets and furniture from wicker; one employed to empty the basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the barges

  • BATHING MACHINE PROPRIETOR: one who owned and hired the changing huts used at the seaside in the 18th and 19th centuries by bathers

  • BATMAN: an officer's servant in the army

  • BATTLEDORE MAKER: a person who made the beaters used on clothes, carpets, etc. to remove the dust

  • BAWD: a procurer or procuress for a house of prostitution

  • BAXTER: [obsolete] a baker

  • BAYWEAVER: one who wove bay, a fine woollen fabric also known as baize

  • BEADLE: a town crier or warrant officer; a lowly parish officer appointed to keep order in church, punish petty offenders, and act as a servant or messenger of the parish

  • BEAMSTER: the man who worked at the beam in a tannery

  • BEAVER: one who made felt used in hat making

  • BEDMAN: a sexton

  • BEDDER: [1] an upholsterer; [2] one who took care of the breeding or birthing of cattle; [3] a bed-maker

  • BEDWEAVER: a person who made the webbing for bed frames, also a person who wove quilts

  • BEESKEPMAKER: beehive maker

  • BEEKEEPER / BEEMASTER: a person who raised and kept bees for their honey

  • BELL FOUNDER: one who made bells

  • BELL HANGER: the person who installed bells in churches

  • BELLMAN: a town crier employed to make public announcements in the streets

  • BELL RINGER: one in charge of ringing the town's church bells

  • BELLOWFARMER: person responsible for the care and maintenance of the church organ

  • BELLOWS MAKER: a person who made bellows used for organs or blacksmiths' fires

  • BELLY BUILDER: a person who built and fitted the interiors of pianos

  • BENDER: a person who cut leather

  • BERNER: [obsolete] a man in charge of a pack of hounds

  • BESOM MAKER: [obsolete] one who made brooms

  • BIBLIOTHECARY: a librarian

  • BIDDY: female servant usually of Irish stock

  • BID-STAND: [obsolete] one who bade travelers to "stand and deliver"; a highwayman or robber

  • BILL POSTER: a person who put up notices, signs and advertisements

  • BINDER: one who bound items such as books

  • BIRD BOY: a person employed to scare away birds from crops

  • BIRD CATCHER; a person who caught birds for selling

  • BIRDS NEST SELLER: a person who sold birds nest collected from the wild complete with eggs; these were then hatched by domestic birds and sold as pets

  • BLACKING MAKER: a person who made polish for shoes

  • BLACK BORDERER: a person who made black edged stationery for funerals

  • BLADESMITH: swordmaker or knife maker

  • BLEMMERE: a plumber

  • BLOCKCUTTER / BLOCKER: a person who made wooden blocks used in the hat trade; a person who laid down the blocks on which a ships keel was laid

  • BLOCK MAKER: a person who engraved the blocks used in the printing trade

  • BLOCK PRINTER: a printer who used wooden blocks for printing

  • BLOODLETTER / BLOODMAN: the person who used leeches for letting blood, thought to be a cure for many ailments

  • BLOOMER: a person who produced iron from ore

  • BLOWER: [1] a glass blower; [2] a person who operated a "blowing machine" used to clean and separate fibres in the textile trade; [3] a person who operated the bellows at a blacksmiths

  • BLUESTOCKING female writer

  • BLUFFER: a landlord

  • BOARDING OFFICER: one who inspected ships before entering port

  • BOARDWRIGHT: a carpenter

  • BOATMAN: a person who worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals; boat repairer

  • BOATSWAIN: an officer in charge of the sails and rigging

  • BOBBER: [1] a person who polished metals; [2] person who helped to unload fishing boats

  • BOCHER: [obsolete] butcher

  • BODEYS MAKER / BODY MAKER: a person who made bodices for womens garments

  • BODGER: a craftsman who made wooden chair legs and the spars

  • BOILERMAKER: one who worked with metal in any industrial setting

  • BOILER PLATER: a person who made rolled iron plate used to make boilers for steam engines

  • BOLTER: a person who sifted meal

  • BONDAGER: a female worker on a farm who was bonded

  • BONDMAN: a person bonded to a master for the purpose of learning a skill or trade

  • BONE BUTTON TURNER: a person who made buttons using a lathe

  • BONE LACE MAKER: one who made pillow lace

  • BONE PICKER: See Rag Picker

  • BONESETTER: a person who set broken bones

  • BONIFACE: an innkeeper

  • BOOK GUILDER: one who decorated books with gold leaf

  • BOONMASTER: a surveyor of roads with the responsibilities of maintaining and repairing the road

  • BOOT-CATCHER: the person at an inn whose business was to pull off boots

  • BOOTBINDER: one employed to operate the machines which bound footware

  • BOOT CLOSER: an employee who worked in the shoe trade stitching together all the parts of a shoe upper

  • BOOTHMAN: a corn merchant

  • BORLERA: a person who made cheap coarse clothing

  • BOTCHER: a cobbler; a tailor; an unskilled laborer

  • BOTTILER / BOTTLER: a person who made leather containers for holding liquids such as wine flasks or water bottles

  • BOTTLE BOY: a pharmacist's assistant

  • BOWLER: [1] a person who made bowls and dishes; [2] one who made the rounded part of spoons before casting

  • BOWLMAN: a dealer in crockery

  • BOWYER: [archaic] a person in the bow trader; an archer

  • BRABENER: a weaver

  • BRACHYGRAPHER: a person who wrote short hand

  • BRAKEMAN / BRAKESMAN: a person who operated the winch at the pit head; a person who operated the braking mechanism on trains and trams

  • BRASIATOR: a brewer of ale

  • BRASS FINISHER: one who polished brass goods

  • BRASS CUTTER: a person who made copperplate engravings

  • BRASS FOUNDER: one who cast brass

  • BRAYER: a person who ground things up in a mortar

  • BRAZIER: one who works in brass

  • BREACH MAKER: a person who made the breach for guns

  • BREWSTER: a female brewer

  • BRICKBURNER / BRICKMAKER: a person who used a kiln to make bricks

  • BRICKMAN / BREAKMAN: a bricklayer

  • BRIDEWELL KEEPER: the person in charge of a lock-up or jail

  • BRIDGEMAN: toll keeper at bridges

  • BRIGHTSMITH: tinsmith

  • BROADCLOTH WEAVER: a person who operated a wide loom

  • BROAD COOPER: a person employed as a go-between for the brewery and the innkeepers

  • BROGGER: a wool merchant

  • BROOM DASHER: a dealer in brooms

  • BROOM SQUIRE: one who made brooms from birch

  • BROWDERER / BROIDERER: an embroiderer

  • BROWNSMITH: a person who worked with copper or brass

  • BUCK WASHER: a laundress

  • BUCKLER / BUCKLESMITH: a person who made buckles

  • BUCKLE TONGUE MAKER: a person who made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt

  • BULLWHACKER: a bullock or oxen driver

  • BUMBOAT MAN: one who met ships at anchor, with goods for passengers and crew to purchase

  • BUNTER: a rag and bone woman

  • BURLER: one who dresses or readies cloth for sale by removing flaws, knots, or imperfections

  • BURMAIDEN: [also BOWERMAIDEN] - a chambermaid or lady in waiting

  • BURYEMAN: a grave digger

  • BUSHELER: a tailor's assistant

  • BUSKER: [obsolete] a hair dresser

  • BUSS MAKER: a maker of guns

  • BUTNER: button maker

  • BUTTON BURNISHER: one who polished buttons

    Return to Top of Page

  • CABBIE: driver of a small horse drawn passenger vehicle

  • CAD: a person employed to feed and water horses at coach stops

  • CADDY BUTCHER: horse meat butcher

  • CADGER: a beggar

  • CAINER: a person who made walking sticks

  • CALCINER: a person who burnt bones to make powdered lime

  • CALENDER: a person who listed documents

  • CALKER: an astrologer or magician

  • CAMBIST: a banker or one who dealt in notes and bills

  • CAMBRIC MAKER: a person who made a fine linen or cotton fabric called cambric

  • CAMERIST: a lady's maid

  • CANDLE MAKER / CANDLER: one who made and sold candles

  • CANDY MAN: [1] an itinerant candy salesman; [1] {England} a bailiff or process server

  • CANER: a person who made the seats for chairs out of woven cane

  • CANTER: a beggar or vagrant

  • CANTING CALLER: an auctioneer

  • CANVASER: a person who made canvas

  • CAPE MERCHANT: the head merchant in a factory

  • CAPER: a cap maker

  • CAPTAIN: [1] a person in charge of a ship or a group of soldiers; [2] an overseer

  • CARDER: one who carded wool

  • CARDMAKER: [1] A person who made the handheld implement used for carding wool and cotton; [2] the maker of playing cards

  • CARNIFEX: [obsolete] an executioner or butcher

  • CARTER: a wagoner, stable headman, or charioteer

  • CARTOGRAPHER: a map maker

  • CARTOMANCER: a fortune teller who used cards

  • CART WHEELER: one who made cart wheels

  • CARTWRIGHT: one who made carts or wagons

  • CASTER / CASTOR: maker of small bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar, etc.

  • CASTRATOR: [also GELDER] one who castrated farm animals

  • CATTLE JOBBER: a person who bought and sold cattle

  • CAULKER: a person who made boats watertight by caulking the seams

  • CELLARMAN: one who looked after the beer, wines and spirits in public houses or the warehouse

  • CHAFFERER: a dealer in chaff

  • CHAISE MAKER: wicker cart maker

  • CHALONER: blanket maker

  • CHAMBERLAIN: a steward to either royalty or nobility, in charge of the household

  • CHAMBERMAID: a female servant who attended to the bedrooms in a house or inn

  • CHAMBERMASTER: a shoemaker who worked in his own home

  • CHANDLER: originally, one who made or sold candles; a retail dealer in provisions, groceries, etc.

  • CHANTY MAN: the sailor who led the singing on board ship

  • CHAPELER: a person who made and sold hats

  • CHAPMAN: an itinerant peddler or one who kept a booth in a marketplace

  • CHARCOAL BURNER: a person who made charcoal usually in the woods where the trees were cut

  • CHARWOMAN: a cleaning woman hired by the day

  • CHASER: engraver

  • CHEESEMAN / CHEESE MONGER: cheese dealer

  • CHRONOLOGIST: one who recorded official events of historical importance

  • CLICKER: a merchant's servant who would stand at the door and invite customers into the store; a foreman in a shoemaker's shop

  • CLOD-HOPPER: a ploughman or agriculture laborer

  • CLOGGER: one who made wooden shoes for sale

  • CLOTHIER / CLOTHESMAN: a person who made or sold clothes

  • CLOWER: a person who made nails

  • COACHMAN: a person who drove any coach

  • COAL HEAVER: one who unloaded coal from ships

  • COALMAN: a person who sold coal usually from a horse and cart, house to house

  • COALY: a coal heaver

  • COBBLER: a shoemaker

  • COCKFEEDER: a person who looked after fighting cocks

  • CODMAN: a fish seller

  • COGMEN: men who bought and sold a coarse cloth called cogware

  • COILLOR: [obsolete] a collector

  • COISTSELL: a groom in charge of the care of a knight's horse

  • COLLAR MAKER: a person who made collars

  • COLLIER: a coal miner or coal merchant

  • COLPORTEUR: an itinerant book salesman, most often one employed by a society to travel about and sell or distribute Bibles and religious writings

  • CONEY CATCHER: a rabbit catcher

  • CONFECTIONERY: a maker of sweets; sometimes, one who made medicines or poisons

  • CONNOR: one who tested, examined, or inspected

  • COOPER: one who made or repaired wooden casks, kegs or tubs

  • COPEMAN - [1] a dishonest merchant, especially in horses; [2] a receiver of stolen goods

  • COPER: a horse dealer

  • COPPERSMITH: one who worked with copper

  • CORDER: a colonial official whose duty was to verify cords of wood before sale

  • CORDWAINER: a shoemaker or worker of leather

  • CORK CUTTER: one who worked with cork

  • CORN CUTTER: a podiatrist

  • COSTERMONGER: originally, a seller of apples; a fruiterer, especially in the open street

  • COTELER / COTYLER: one who made and repaired knives

  • COUPER: one who bartered, dealt, or bought and sold

  • COURANTEER: a journalist, reporter, or newspaper publisher

  • COURTIER: the owner and driver of a horse and cart known as a court

  • COWHERD: a cow keeper; one who tended cows

  • COWPER: one who made wooden items

  • CRACKER BOY - a boy employed to clean and sort slate and other impurities from the coal crushed by the crackers (machines that crush anthracite coal)

  • CRAFTIMAN: a craftsman

  • CRAMER: a peddlar who sold books in the marketplace; a hawker

  • CRATE MAN: a person who sold eathenware door to door

  • CRIMPET MAKER: a person who baked crumpets

  • CROCKER: one who made crockery; potter

  • CROFTER: a tenant who worked a small piece of ground, having another vocation, such as fishing

  • CROOKMAKER: a person who made shepherd's crooks and walking sticks

  • CROPPER: a tenant who worked a piece of ground and got a portion of the crop in payment

  • CROWNER: a coroner

  • CURER: one who cured tobacco

  • CURRIER: a craftsman who treated animal skins with oil or grease

  • CUTLER: one who made, dealt, and sharpened knives, scissors, and other cutting instruments

    Return to Top of Page

  • DAIRYMAN: a man who rented, owned, or managed a dairy and made his living by selling dairy products

  • DAMSTER: in logging operations, one who supervised the building of a dam

  • DAY LABORER: a man who worked on a hire-by-the-day basis

  • DECOYMAN: a person employed to decoy the wild fowl, animals, etc. into a trap or within shooting range

  • DELVER: ditch digger

  • DIKER: one who built dikes or dug ditches or trenches

  • DISHER / DISH THROWER: a person who made bowls and dishes

  • DISH TURNER: one who made wooden bowls or dishes

  • DOCK MASTER: a person in charge of a dockyard

  • DOG BREAKER: dog trainer

  • DOG LEECH: a veterinarian

  • DOMESMAN: a judge

  • DOOR-KEEPER: a janitor, porter, or guard

  • DOWSER: a person who claimed to be able to find water using a forked stick or dowsing stick

  • DRAINER: a person who made drains

  • DRAPER: originally, a maker of woolen cloth, later a dealer in cloths of all kinds

  • DRAWER: one who drew and served liquor for tavern customers

  • DRAYMAN: one who drove a cart carrying heavy loads, often used in connection with a brewery

  • DRESSER: [1] one who dressed another (a tirewoman); [2] surgeon's assistant in a hospital

  • DRESSMAKER: clothing maker

  • DRIVER: the overseer of a group of slaves

  • DROVER: a driver of sheep and cattle

  • DRYSALTER - one who dealt in salted or dried meats, pickles, sauces, chemical, and dyes

  • DUFFER: a peddler or hawker who sold cheap or trashy goods

  • DUSTMAN: a janitor or garbageman

  • DYER: one who dyed material

    Return to Top of Page

  • EARER: a ploughman

  • EGGLER: an egg or poultry dealer

  • ELYMAKER: oilmaker

  • EMBOSSER: a person who moulded or carved designs that were raised above the surface of the material

  • EMPRESARIO: a man who performed a specific deed, such a importing a certain number of settlers, in return for land grants and power; land broker, settlement scheme promoter, showman

  • EMPTOR: a buyer

  • ENGRAVER / ETCHER: one who cut or carved designs or lettering in metal or stone

  • ENUMERATOR: census taker

  • EREMITE: hermit

  • ESSENCE PEDDLER: one who sold medicines, flavorings, elixirs, etc.

  • EXCISEMAN: a government official who collected excises (taxes)

  • EYER: a person who made eyes in needles used for sewing; also called a Holer

    Return to Top of Page

  • FACTOR: a commissioned agent; one who sold goods for another in his own name and received a commission

  • FAGETTER: a person who made up faggots into bundles; seller of firewood

  • FANNER: one who winnowed (separated the chaff from the grain by means of air movement) grain with a fan

  • FARRIER: a blacksmith or horse-shoer

  • FASHIONER: one who fashioned or formed anything, especially clothing

  • FEATHER-BEATER: one who cleaned feathers

  • FEATHER-DRESSER: a person who cleaned and prepared feathers for sale

  • FEATHERMAN: a dealer in feathers and plumes

  • FELLER: a woodcutter

  • FELLMONGER: one who removed hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making; a dealer in animal skins and hides, especially sheepskin

  • FELTER: a worker in the hatting industry

  • FENCE VIEWER: a person legally appointed to inspect and report on the condition of fences.

  • FERRER: a smith who worked in iron

  • FISH FAG: a woman who sold fish

  • FLAX DRESSER: one who prepared flax prior to spinning

  • FLESHER: [1] a butcher; [2] one who worked in a tannery

  • FLESHMONGER: one who dealt in flesh; a pimp

  • FLETCHER: a maker of and dealer in bows and arrows

  • FLOATER: a vagrant

  • FLUSHERMAN: a person who cleaned out water mains

  • FLYING STATIONER: a street broadsheet seller

  • FOGGER: [1] a peddlar who carried small wares from village to village; [2] a low-class lawyer; [3] a middleman in the nail and chain trade; [4] an agricultural laborer who fed cattle

  • FOOT-BOY: a servant or attendent in livery

  • FOOT-MAIDEN: a female attendant

  • FOOTMAN: a servant who would run errands among his other duties

  • FORGER: blacksmith

  • FORESTALLER: one who bought goods before they come to market with the intention of raising the price

  • FOSSETMAKER: a person who made faucets for ale-casks

  • FRAME SPINNER: a worker on a loom

  • FRINGEMAKER: one who made fringes or ornamental borders of cloth

  • FRIPPERER: one who bought and sold old clothes

  • FRISEUR: a hair dresser

  • FRUITERER: a person who bought and sold fruit

  • FRUITESTERE: a female fruit seller

  • FULKER: a pawnbroker or money lender

  • FULLER: a person who fulled cloth by increasing the weight and bulk of fabric by shrinking, beating, or pressing it

  • FURBISHER: a person who polished armor

  • FURNER: a baker; one in charge of the ovens

  • FURRIER: one who bought, sold, and/or made furs

  • FUSTIAN WEAVER: a maker of corduroy

    Return to Top of Page

  • GAFFER: a headman or foreman of a work gang

  • GANGREL: a vagrant or roving beggar

  • GANNEKER: an alehouse keeper

  • GAOLER: [obsolete] a jailer

  • GARCION: a servingman or groom, usually a young man or boy

  • GATER: a watchman

  • GATWARD: a goat keeper

  • GAUNTER: a glover

  • GELDER: castrator of animals, especially horses

  • GILDER: one whose occupation was to overlay an item with gold leaf

  • GINOUR: an engineer

  • GIRDLER: one who made girdles

  • GLAZIER: a glass cutter; a person who glazed pottery, paper, etc.

  • GOLDSMITH: a banker; one who dealt in articles made of gold; a craftsman who makes vessels and ornaments of gold

  • GOOSE HERD: one who herded geese

  • GOOSE HERDER: an itinerant tailor

  • GRACE WIFE: a midwife

  • GRAFFER: a notary or scrivener

  • GRAINER: one who produced artifical grain in wood

  • GRANGER: a farmer, bailiff, or steward of a farm

  • GRAVER: one who carved or engraved letters or figures in stone

  • GRAZIER: one who pastured and raised cattle for market

  • GREEN GROCER: a retailer of greens

  • GREENSMITH: worker in copper or latten

  • GRINDER: one who operated a grinding machine in any of several trades

  • GUMMER: a person who improved old saws by deepening the cuts

    Return to Top of Page

  • HABERDASHER: a person who sold men's furnishings such as hats, shirts, neckties, handkerchiefs, gloves, etc.

  • HACKNER: one who made or used hoes, mattocks, etc.

  • HACKNEY MAN: one who rented horses and carriages

  • HAIRWEAVER: weaver of cloth composed wholly or partly of horsehair

  • HAND WOMAN: a midwife; a female attendant

  • HARLOT: [1] loose woman; [2] vagabond, beggar, rogue; [3] male servant, attendant or menial

  • HARPER: a performer on the harp

  • HATCHELER: one who cleaned or dressed flax

  • HAWKER: an itinerant peddler or huckster

  • HAYMONGER: a dealer in hay

  • HAYWARD: an officer formerly charged with the repair of cattle fences and the retention of cattle in the town common.

  • HEDGER: one who planted or trimmed hedges

  • HEELMAKER: one who made shoe heels

  • HENCHMAN: a horseman or groom

  • HEWER: a miner who cut coal, stone; a face worker in a mine

  • HIGGER: a person who peddled merchandise

  • HIGHWAYMAN: a robber who worked the public roads

  • HIND a farm laborer, household or domestic servant

  • HOBBLER: [1] a soldier on horseback; [2] one who towed a boat with a rope along a river bank

  • HOD: a bricklayer's laborer

  • HODMAN: a mason's helper

  • HOGGARD: a pig drover

  • HOOPER: a cooper; one who put the hoops on casks or tubs

  • HORNER: a worker in horn making spoons, combs, or musical horns

  • HORSE-CAPPER: a dealer in worthless horses

  • HORSE COPER: a horse dealer or breeder

  • HORSE COURSER: a man who keeps race horses

  • HORSE LEECH: veterinarian

  • HOSIER: a retailer of stockings, socks, gloves, nightcaps, etc.

  • HOSTLER: [1] a stableman or groom; [2] one who serviced railroad engines

  • HOSTELER: one who received and lodged guests

  • HOUSE JOINER: one who built house frames

  • HOUSEWRIGHT: a carpenter or house builder

  • HOYMAN: a person who engaged in the carriage of goods and passengers by water

  • HUCKSTER: a peddler or salesman

    Return to Top of Page

  • ICEMAN: an ice dealer; one who delivered ice to customers

  • INFIRMARIAN: a person in charge of an infirmary

  • INNHOLDER: an innkeeper

  • INTELLIGENCER: a spy

  • INTENDANT: a director of a public or government business

  • INTERFACTOR: a murderer

  • IRONMASTER: the owner or manager of an iron foundry

  • IRONMONGER: a dealer in iron and hardware

  • IRON SMITH: blacksmith; worker in iron

  • IVORY WORKER: one who made such things as piano keys, combs, billard balls, and buttons

    Return to Top of Page

  • JACK: a young male assistant, sailor, or lumberjack

  • JACKSMITH: a maker of lifting machinery

  • JAGGER: a carrier, carter, peddler or hawker; in mining, a man who carried ore on a pack-horse from a mine to the smelter; a boy who had charge of the jags or train or trucks in a coal mine

  • JAKES-FARMER: one who emptied cesspools

  • JOBBER: [1] a person who bought in quantity and sold to individual dealers; [2] one who worked by the job or did piecework; [3] a person who worked in an official capacity and was dishonest, using the office for his own gain

  • JOBMASTER: Supplied carriages, horses and drivers for hire

  • JOINER / JOYNER: a carpenter who did interior finish work by joining pieces of wood

  • JONGLEUR: an itinerant minstrel

  • JOURNEYMAN: one who served an apprenticeship and was no longer bound to serve a master

  • JOUSTER: hawker or peddler of fish

  • KEDGER: a fisherman, or one who peddled fish

  • KEELMAN: a bargeman

  • KEMPSTER: a wool comber

  • KIDDIER: [1] skinner; [2] dealer in young goats

  • KNACKER: [1] one who made harnesses; [2] one who bought old horses and sells the flesh for dog meat, etc.; [3] one who bought and wrecked old houses and sells the various parts

  • KNELLER: a chimmney sweep who solicited customers by knocking on doors

  • KNOCKKNOBBLER: a person whose duty it was to chase dogs out of church if they became a nuisance

  • KNOLLER: bell toller

    Return to Top of Page

  • LACEMAN: a dealer in lace

  • LACEWOMAN: a lady's maid

  • LAGGER: a sailor

  • LANDS JOBBER: one who bought land on speculation and sold it to others

  • LANDSMAN: an inexperienced sailor

  • LAND WAITER: a customs official who examined, weighed, and took account of goods that had just been landed (off a ship)

  • LASTER: one who worked or shaped shoes on a last [the mold of the human foot made of wood and used to shape shoes]

  • LATTENER: a maker of or worker in latten, a mixed metal of yellow color, either identical with or closely resembling brass

  • LAUNDERER: a person who washed linen

  • LAVENDAR: a washerwoman

  • LEECH or SAWBONES: physician

  • LEGERDEMAINIST: magician

  • LEIGHTONWARD: a gardener

  • LIGHTERMAN: one who owns or is employed on a lighter, a large flat-bottomed barge used to unload and load ships where the water is too shallow for the ships to dock

  • LIMNER: one who illuminated books or parchments; one who paints or draws

  • LINENER: a linen draper; shirtmaker

  • LINKERMAN: a person who carried a link or torch to guide people through city streets at night for a small fee

  • LISTER: one who kept a list of persons being taxed and their property

  • LITSTER: a dyer; one who dyed fabrics

  • LOADSMAN / LODESMAN: a pilot of a ship or boat

  • LOBLOLLY BOY: a ship's doctor assistant

  • LOCK KEEPER: overseer of canal locks

  • LONGSHOREMAN: one who worked on the waterfront loading and unloading ships

  • LORESMAN: a teacher

  • LORIMER: a maker of bits and metal mounting for horse bridles, generally a maker of small ironware and a worker in wrought iron

  • LUNGS: a servant whose duty was to blow the fire of an alchemist

    Return to Top of Page

  • MADERER: one who gathered and sold garlic

  • MALEMAKER: a maker of 'Males' or travelling bags

  • MALENDER: a farmer

    >

  • MALSTER: one who made or dealt in malt

  • MANGLE KEEPER: a woman who offered use of the mangle to others for a fee

  • MANTUAMAKER: a dressmaker

  • MASON: a stonecutter; one who worked with stone or brick

  • MASTER: a skilled workman or one in business on his own

  • MASTER MARINER: the commander of a ship

  • MASTER OF THE ROLLS: an equity judge

  • MATCHET FORGER: knifemaker, or machete maker

  • MEADER: a mower

  • MEALMAN: dealer in meal or flour

  • MECHANIC: [1] Manual laborer; [2] Operator of a machine

  • MEDICINE PEDDLER: an itinerant salesman who dealt in herbs, elixers, pills, etc. which were bought in large batches and sold under his own label

  • MELDER: a corn miller

  • MENAGE-MAN: an itinerant vendor who sold goods to be paid for in installments

  • MERCATOR: a merchant

  • MERCER: a person who dealt in costly fabrics, especially silks

  • MERCHANT: an occupation that might mean anything involving the buying and selling of a variety of products

  • MESSENGER: [1] (Plymouth Colony) a constable; [2] (England) one who was appointed by a court to handle certain duties in a bankruptcy case

  • METALMAN: a worker in metals

  • METERER: a poet

  • MIDSHIPMAN: usually, a wealthy second or third son who could not inherit

  • MIDWIFE: a woman experienced in the birthing process who helped other women in the birth of a child

  • MILLER: one who owned or operated a flour mill

  • MILLERESS: miller's wife

  • MILLINER: [1] a seller of fancy wares and articles of apparel; [2] a maker of ladies hats and bonnets

  • MILLWRIGHT: one who planned and built mills or mill machinery

  • MINER: a worker in a mine, such as coal, iron, etc.

  • MINT MASTER: the person in charge of a mint

  • MIXER: bartender

  • MONEY-SCHRIVENER: a person who raised money for others

  • MOULDER: one who made molds for casting or one who molded clay into bricks

  • MUDLARK: sewer cleaner, riverbank scavenger

  • MUFFIN MAN: itinerant seller of muffins

  • MULESKINNER: a mule driver

  • MULETEER: one who drove a team of mules

  • MULTURER: a miller

  • MUSIKER: a musician

  • MUSTARDER: one who made and dealt in mustard

    Return to Top of Page

  • NAVIGATOR: a laborer digging canals and later, railways

  • NECESSARY WOMAN: servant responsible for emptying and cleaning chamber pots

  • NECKER: a worker responsible for the feeding of cardboard into the machine that makes boxes

  • NEDELLER: one who made needles

  • NETTER: a net maker

  • NIGHT SOILMAN: one employed to empty cesspits, ashpits and backyard toilets

  • NIGHT MAGISTRATE: a constable

  • NIGHTWALKER: a watchman or bellman

  • NIMGIMMER: doctor, surgeon, or apothecary

  • NOB-THATCHER: one who made wigs

    Return to Top of Page

  • OCCUPIER: a tradesman

  • OILMAN: a person who sold the oil for lamps

  • OLITOR: a kitchen gardener

  • ORDERLY: a non-commissioned officer or private in the miitary service assigned to look after the needs of superior officers or to carry orders or messages

  • ORDINARY KEEPER: innkeeper

  • ORFEVER: a goldsmith

  • OSTREGER: a keeper of goshawks

  • OSTLER: See Hostler

  • OUT-CRIER: an auctioneer

  • OWLER: a sheep or wool smuggler

    Return to Top of Page

  • PACKMAN: a peddler, or person who travelled around carrying goods for sale in a pack

  • PACKER: one who packed goods for preservation, such as pickles or herring

  • PAINTRESS: a woman employed in the pottery industry to hand-paint the finished articles

  • PALING MAN: one who dealt in eels; fishmonger

  • PAN SMITH: one who made pans; metalworker

  • PANTER: keeper of the pantry

  • PARKER: one who kept a park; a caretaker

  • PASSAGE KEEPER: a person who kept passages and alleys clean

  • PASTELER: a pastry maker

  • PASTOR: a shepherd or herdsman

  • PAVER: one who maintained pavements; a person who laid paving stones

  • PAVYLER: one who put up pavilions or tents

  • PAWNBROKER: one who loaned money with interest against items of value left for security

  • PEAGER: a toll-keeper

  • PEDAILE: a footman; a foot soldier

  • PEDDLER: a person who traveled from place to place selling small goods

  • PELTERER: a person who worked with animal skins

  • PERFUMER: a maker or seller of perfumes

  • PERCHEMEAR: one who made parchment

  • PERIWIG MAKER: a wigmaker

  • PESSONER: a fishmonger

  • PETERMAN: a fisherman

  • PETTIFOGGER: a small time lawyer retained by a small or mean business

  • PETTY CHAPMAN: an itinerant dealer in small goods, a peddler

  • PEW OPENER: a person hired to open the doors to private pews in church

  • PHARMAOPOEIST: a person who sold medicines; an apothecary

  • PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER: a maker of scientific instruments

  • PICAROON: a pirate, or a pirate's ship; a thief, adventurer, or rogue

  • PIECE BROKER: one who sold material remnants

  • PIGMAKER: a person who made pig or cast iron; pottery worker

  • PIGMAN: [also MUGGER] a seller of crockery

  • PIKELET MAKER: baker who specialised in making small pancakes or crumpets

  • PIKEMAN: a miller's assistant

  • PIKER: tramp or vagrant

  • PILL BOX LIDDER: one responsible for making the lids of pill boxes in the pottery trade

  • PILLER: a robber

  • PILOT: one licensed to steer ships through difficult waters

  • PINDER: a person whose duty was to catch and confine stray animals

  • PINER: [1] a pioneer; [2] a laborer

  • PINNER: a pin maker

  • PINNER UP: [1] a dressmakers assistant; [2] person who sold broadsheets or ballads in the streets

  • PIPER: an innkeeper

  • PITMAN: a coal miner; one who worked in a pit

  • PLAIN WORKER: one who performed plain sewing or needlework as opposed to an embroiderer

  • PLAITER: one who made straw plaits used in making hats

  • PLANKER: one who planks or kneads the body of the hat during felting

  • PLOUGH JOGGER: a plowman

  • PLOWMAN: a farm worker; a husbandman

  • PLOWRIGHT: one who made or repaired plows

  • PLUMASSIER / PLUMER: a person who made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers

  • PLUMBUM MAN: a plumber; one who worked with lead pipes

  • POINTER: someone who sharpened needles or pins

  • POLEMAN: a surveyor's assistant

  • PONDERATOR: an inspector of weights and measures

  • PORTABLE SOUP MAKER: a person who converted soup into a dry form for transporting from place to place

  • PORTER: [1] a pallbearer; [2] a doorman

  • POSTILLION: one who worked on long distance coaches and whose duty it was to change the horses at stops

  • POST RIDER: one who carrierd mail over a post road

  • POTATO BADGER: a potato seller

  • POT BOY: person who worked in public houses washing and removing dirty pots and other menial jobs

  • POTTER: one who made or peddled pottery or earthenware vessels

  • POTTER CARRIER: a chemist or pharmacist

  • POUCH MAKER: a person who made pouches or purses

  • POULTER: one who dealt in poultry

  • POYNTER: lace maker

  • PRESTIDIGITATOR: a magician; a juggler; one who juggles words

  • PRICKER: witch hunter

  • PUBLICAN: [1] an inkeeper or tavern keeper; [2] a person who collected fees of any kind such as tithes, tolls, tributes, customs, etc.

  • PUGGER: usually a woman or child employed by brick manufacturers to produce clay paste by treading

  • PULLEYMAKER: one who made pulleys for hoists

  • PUMPMAKER: a person who made pumps

    Return to Top of Page

  • QUARRIER: a quarry worker

  • QUARRYMAN: quarry worker

  • QUILLER: a person who operated a machine that wound yarn onto spools

  • QUILTER: a person who quilted material

  • QUISTER: one who bleached things

  • RAG CUTTER: someone who cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper

  • RAG GATHERER: usually children, employed to clear the rags from the machinery in the mills

  • RAG MAN: a person who went from street to street collecting and selling old clothes and rags

  • RAG AND BONE MAN: one who went from street to street with a cart and collected any old rubbish

  • RAG PICKER: a person who sorted through the leftover rags to find reusable ones

  • RATONER: a rat catcher

  • REDSMITH: goldsmith

  • REVENUER: taxman who enforced tax laws on liquor

  • RIGGER: one who worked with the rigging of a ship

  • RIPPER: a person who brought fish inland to the market

  • RIVERMAN - unlicensed employee of a river boat, such as agent, barker, bartender, clerk, cook, deck hand, etc.; usually does not refer to the owner, master, mate, or pilot, however, it is not always the case

  • RODMAN: a surveryor's assistant who carried a leveling rod

  • ROPER: a rope or net maker

  • ROVER: an archer

  • RUGMAN: rug dealer

  • RUNNER: [1] a smuggler; [2] a messenger, collector, or agent

  • RUSTLER: a cattle thief

    Return to Top of Page

  • SADDLER: one who made saddles, harnesses, horse collars, bridles, etc.

  • SADDLE TREE MAKER: one who made the frames for saddles that the saddler used

  • SALOONIST: a saloon keeper; one who promoted the idea of having saloons for drinking

  • SALTER: a maker of and ealer in salt; a drysalter

  • SANDESMAN: a messenger, envoy, or ambassador

  • SAPPERS AND MINERS - soldiers who belonged to the engineer corps whose duty was to make trenches or saps

  • SARTOR: a tailor

  • SAWYER: one who cut timber into logs or boards

  • SAY WEAVER - a weaver of say, a cloth of fine texture resembling serge

  • SAYER: a poet

  • SCAVELMAN: one who kept the waterways and ditches clear

  • SCHOOLMASTER: teacher

  • SCHRIMPSCHONGER: one who carved bone, ivory, etc. into pieces of art

  • SCRIBE - an official clerk transcriber; one who copied manuscripts before printing was developed

  • SCRIMER: a fencing master

  • SCRIPTURE READER: A person employed by the local clergy to go from house to house reading parts of the bible to try and encourage people to attend church;also read scriptures during some services

  • SCRIVENER: a clerk or notary; formerly, a moneylender; a broker

  • SCULLERY MAID: a female servant who performed all the menial tasks

  • SCULLION: a male servant who performed all the menial tasks

  • SEALER: an inspector who was elected by the town to put his "seal" or stamp of approval on items he inspected, tested and certified

  • SEARCHER: one who was employed at a custom-house station to inspect incoming goods; a customs-man

  • SEEDSMAN: one who dealt in seeds; a sower

  • SEMI LORER: a person who made leather thongs

  • SEMPSTRESS: seamstress

  • SEWSTER: a seamstress

  • SHANTY-MAN: a lumberman

  • SHARECROPPER: a person who would farm ground owned by another, and divide the crops or the profits with the owner

  • SHEARER: one who removed the fleece from sheep

  • SHEARGRINDER: one who sharpened shears, scissors

  • SHEARMAN: one who sheared cloth, metal, etc.

  • SHEATH MAKER: a person who made scabbards for swords

  • SHEEPMAN: a person whose business was raising sheep; a sheepherder

  • SHEPSTER: a female pattern cutter; a dressmaker

  • SHINGLER: a roof tiler who used wooden tiles or shingles

  • SHOESMITH: a cobbler; one who shod horses

  • SHIP MASTER: the owner or commander of a ship

  • SHIPWRIGHT: a carpenter skilled in building and repairing ships

  • SHOE-FINDER: a person who sold shoemakers' tools and appliances

  • SHOE-WIPER: a servant whose duty it was to clean shoes

  • SHORESMAN: a person who made his living on the shore in the fishery business; a shore-gunner

  • SHRAGER: a person who trimmed and pruned trees

  • SILK THROWSTER: a person who wound, twisted, spun, or threw silk fibers in preparation for weaving

  • SILVER SMITH: a person who worked with silver

  • SKEPPER: a person who made and sold beehives

  • SKINKER: a tapster; one who drew ale

  • SKINNER: one who dealt in animal skins; a mule driver

  • SLATER: one who slated roofs

  • SLOP SELLER: a person who sold cheap, ready-made garments

  • SMELTER: [1] one who worked in a smelter melting down ores; [2] a fisherman who fished for smelts

  • SMITH: one who made or repaired metal items

  • SNOBBER: a shoemaker or cobbler

  • SNOW WARDEN: a person whose duty was to make sure the snow was evenly dispersed on the streets so the sleigh runners could move easily

  • SNUFFER MAKER: one who made the candle snuffer for putting out or "snuffing" candlelight

  • SOAPBOILER: a soap-maker

  • SOJOURNER CLOTHIER: a traveling clothes salesman

  • SOUTER: a shoemaker

  • SPALLIER: a tin works laborer

  • SPERVITER: a keeper of sparrow hawks

  • SPICER: a grover or one who dealt in spices

  • SPINNER: one who spins yarn

  • SPLITTER: one who operated a splitting machine or who split things by hand

  • SPOONER: a person who made spoons

    <

  • SPURRIER: a person who made spurs

  • STAMPMAN: a person who worked with an ore-crushing stamp mill

  • STAPLER: a dealer in various goods

  • STATIONARY TENDER: see STOKER

  • STATIONER: a bookseller; one who sold paper, quills, ink stands, pencils, and other writing items

  • STAY MAKER: a corset maker

  • STEERSMAN: the helmsman of a ship

  • STEP BOY: one employed to help passengers to enter or leave a coach

  • STEVEDORE: a workman employed either as overseer or laborer in loading and unloading the cargoes of merchant vessels

  • STEWARD: a person entrusted with the care and management of another's estate or household

  • STITCHER: one who sewed, decorated with stitching, etc.

  • STOCKINGER: one who knitted, wove, or dealt in stockings

  • STOKER: a person who tended a furnace; stokeed the fire in a furnace; shoveled coal to feed a furnace.

  • STONE CUTTER: one who cut and dressed stones

  • STONER: a person who cut stones

  • STONEMAN / STONEWARDEN: a surveyor of highways

  • STONE PICKER: one hired to remove the stones from the farmers' fields before planting

  • STONE WORKER: one who worked with stone such as masons or quarriers

  • STRAW JOINER: a person who thatched roofs

  • STREAKER: one who prepared the body for burial

  • STREET CLEANER: a street sweeper

  • STRINGER: a person who made the strings for bows

  • SUCKSMITH: a person who made ploughshares

  • SURVEYOR: one who determined the boundaries, area, or elevations of land or structures on the earth's surface by means of measuring angles and distances, using the techniques of geometry and trigonometry

  • SUTLER: a person who followed an army camp peddling provisions and supplies

  • SWAIN: [1] a herdsman; [2] a servant; a young man who was a knight's attendant

  • SWAMPER: [1] a laborer who cleared roads in a swamp or forest; [2] a person who did odd jobs in a saloon

  • SWEEP: chimneysweep

  • SWINEHERDER: a pig keeper

  • SWORD CUTLER: one who made and mounted swords

    Return to Top of Page

  • TABLER: one who boarded others or was a boarder himself; boarding house operator

  • TAILOR: one who made or repaired clothes

  • TALLOW CHANDLER: a person who made and sold tallow candles

  • TALLY-CLERK: a person who counted votes; one who kept track of cargo or merchandise

  • TALLYMAN: a person who sold goods on credit and was paid by installments

  • TANKARD BEARER: a person employed in the drawing and carrying water from public pumps and conduits

  • TANNER: one who tanned or converted hides into leather

  • TAPER WEAVER: a person who made candlewicks

  • TAPISER: one who made tapestry; an upholsterer

  • TAPSTER: a barmaid or bartender

  • TAPPER: a tavern-keeper

  • TAVERNER: an innkeeper

  • TAWER: one who made white leather

  • TEAMSTER: one who drove a team for hauling cargo

  • TENTER: one who looks after machinery in a factory, such as a loom tenter

  • THACKER: a thatcher

  • THATCHER: one who covered roofs with straw or reeds

  • THRESHER: a person who separated the grain from the husks and straw

  • THROWSTER: one who threw (wound or twisted) silk into thread

  • TICKNEY MAN: a person who sold earthenware from town to town

  • TIDE GAUGER: a person who monitored the tide

  • TIDE WAITER: a custom house officer

  • TIEMAKER: one who made wooden railway ties

  • TILER: a person who put tiles in place either on the roof or floor

  • TILLER: a farmer; a cultivator

  • TILLMAN: a farmer; a ploughman

  • TINKER: an itinerant repairman who mended pots and pans; a jack-of-all trades

  • TINNER: a worker in a tin mine; a tinsmith; one who made tinware

  • TINTER: an artist skilled in tinting

  • TILTMAKER: a person who made canvas awnings or canopies

  • TIMEKEEPER: a person responsible for making sure things happened on time such as workers arriving or departing, trains, coaches, etc.

  • TIMES IRONER: a servant responsible for ironing the daily newspaper

  • TINCTOR: a dyer

  • TINKER: a travelling repairer of pots and pans

  • TINSMITH: a person who worked with tin

  • TIPPER: person who put the metal tips on arrows

  • TIPPLER: a person who kept an ale house

  • TIREWOMAN: a woman who assisted in the dressing room, especially in the theater; a dressmaker; a costumier

  • TOBACCO SPINNER: cigar maker

  • TOLLER: a person who collected tolls

  • TOLLGATE KEEPER: one who worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road

  • TONSOR: a barber

  • TOOL HELVER: a person who made tool handles

  • TOPMAN: a sailor who served in the top mast station; the man who stood at the topmost point when sawing lumber

  • TOPSMAN: the foreman or head cattle drover

  • TOWN CRIER: a person who made public announcments in the streets

  • TRADESMAN: a shopkeeper or skilled craftsman

  • TRAMPER: [1] a vagabond; a tramp; [2] a person who trampled or walked on clothing in the wash to clean them

  • TRAMPLER: an attorney

  • TRANQUETER: a person who made hoops

  • TRANTER / TRAUNTER: a peddler with a horse and cart

  • TREEN MAKER: a person who made domestic articles from wood

  • TREENAIL MAKER: one who made the long wooden pins used in shipbuilding

  • TRENCHERMAKER: a person who made wooden boards or platters for serving food from or cutting and slicing food on

  • TRENCHERMAN: a cook

  • TRUCHMAN: an interpreter

  • TRUGGER: a person who made long shallow baskets

  • TUBBER: a person who made tubs and barrels

  • TUBEDRAWER: a person who made tubes

  • TUNIST: one who tuned musical instruments

  • TURNER: a person who worked with a lathe

  • TURNKEY: a prison warden or jail keeper

    Return to Top of Page

  • UPHOLDER: upholsterer and also a seller of secondhand goods

  • UPHOLSTERER: one who finished furniture by putting on the padding and cloth

  • UPRIGHT WORKER: a chimney sweep

  • VALET: a male servant who attended a nobleman or gentleman

  • VATMAN: [1] a person employed in the paper making industry to put the paper pulp into the moulds; [2] a person who worked with vats in beer and wine making

  • VERGE MAKER: a person who made the spindles used in clocks and watches

  • VERRIER: a glazier

  • VERSER: a versifier; a poet

  • VICTUALLER: a grocer

  • VINTAGER: grape farmer, wine maker

  • VINTNER: a wine merchant

  • VIRGINAL PLAYER: one who played a musical instrument similar to a harpsichord

  • VULCAN: blacksmith

    Return to Top of Page

  • WAFERER: one who made and sold wafers or thin unleavened cakes

  • WAGONER: a driver of a wagon; a carter

  • WAINWRIGHT: one who built or repaired wagons

  • WAITMAN / WAKEMAN: night watchman

  • WALKER: a cloth-worker

  • WALLER: [1] a person who built walls either brick or dry stone; [2] one who worked making coarse salt

  • WANTCATCHER: a person employed to catch moles

  • WARDER / WARDEN: a person in charge of prisoners

  • WARPER: [1] one who set the warp thread on the looms; [2] one employed to move boats by hauling on the warps (the ropes attached to the boats)

  • WARRENER: a person in charge of a portion of land used for breeding rabbits and other small game

  • WASHMAN: a person who applied the wash (or coating) of tin when making tinplate

  • WATCH FINISHER: a person employed to assemble watches and clocks

  • WATCHMAN: one whose job it was to guard the streets at night

  • WATER BAILIFF: an official in charge of the fishing rights on a stretch of water; a river policeman or in coastal towns a customs official

  • WATER CARRIER: a person who carted and sold fresh water

  • WATER GILDER: a person who trapped water fowl

  • WATER LEADER: a person who carts water for sale

  • WATERMAN: person who worked with or on boats usually on rivers

  • WATTLE HURDLE MAKER: a person who made a type of fence from wattle to keep the sheep, i.e. construction of poles intertwined with twigs, reeds, or branches

  • WAY-MAKER: a person employed to make roads

  • WAY MAN: surveyor of roads

  • WEATHERSPY: an astrologer

  • WEBBER: a weaver

  • WEEDER: a person employed to remove the weeds from the gardens of the rich

  • WEIGHER: a person employed on the docks to weigh the cargo as it was unloaded

  • WELLMASTER: one in charge of the local well with the responsibility of ensuring clean water for the village

  • WELL SINKER: a person who dug wells

  • WELLWRIGHT: a person who made the winding equipment used to raise the bucket in a well

  • WET GLOVER: a person who made leather gloves

  • WET NURSE: a woman employed to suckle the child of another

  • WETTER: [1] a person employed to dampen paper during the printing process; [2] a person in the glass industry who detached the glass by wetting

  • WHACKER: one who drove a team of oxen, horses, etc.

  • WHARFINGER: the person who owned or managed a wharf

  • WHEELER: [1] a wheel maker; [2] a person in the textile industry who attended to the spinning wheel; [3] a person who led the pit ponies that pulled the tubs underground in the mines

  • WHEELWRIGHT: a person who repaired and made wheels and wheeled vehichles

  • WHEERYMAN: a person in charge of a wheery (a small, light rowing boat)

  • WHIPCORD MAKER: a person who made whips

  • WHIPPERIN: one who handled the hounds in a hunt

  • WHITEAR: a cleanser of hides

  • WHIT COOPER: one who made barrels from tin

  • WHITE LIMER: a person who plastered walls using lime and water plaster

  • WHITENING ROLL MAKER: a person who made the whitening used in whitening walls of cottages

  • WHITENER: a person who bleached cloth

  • WHITE SMITH: a maker of utensils in tin, especially dairy utensils

  • WHITE TAWER / WHITTAWER: a saddler, harness-maker

  • WHITEWING: a street sweeper

  • WILLOW PLAITER: one who made baskets

  • WINDER: in the textile industry, a person who transferred the yarn from bobbins onto cheeses or into balls ready for weaving; in the mines a person who operated the pulley or winch

  • WINDSTER: a silk winder

  • WIRE DRAWER: one who made wire from metal by drawing the metal through various size holes in a template

  • WOODBREAKER: one who made wooden water casks

  • WOODRANGER / WOOD REEVE: a person in charge of the forest or woods

  • WOOLCOMBER: one who operated the machines that separate the fibers ready for spinning

  • WOOL DRIVER: one who brought the wool to market

  • WOOL GROWER: sheep farmer

  • WOOL SORTER: a person who sorted the wool into different grades

  • WOOLSTED MAN: a seller of woollen cloth

  • WOOL WINDER: one who made up balls of wool for selling

  • WORSTED MANUFACTURER: a person who made worsted

  • WRIGHT: a skilled worker in various trades, i.e., shipwright, wheelwright, cartwright, etc.

    Return to Top of Page

  • YARDMAN: rail road yard worker

  • YATMAN: a gate keeper

  • YEARMAN: a person contracted to work for a year

  • YEOMAN: farmer who owns his own land