Occupations
The following list of occupations was sent across some of the genealogy and history mailing lists in September 1998, with this comment: “… I have put together this “LIST OF OCCUPATIONS” used in the older records. 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 War Chart 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
| Old Term | Modern Term |
|---|---|
| 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-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 & 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 | Bleacher of cloth |
| Wright | Workman, especially a construction worker |
| Yeoman | Farmer who owns his own land |