They did WHAT?

By Mary Ann Hetrick

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• 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 water tight by using tar or oaken-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 compositor 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 curry comb; 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 - Am 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
• Wheel wright - One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc.
• Whitesmith - Tin smith; 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

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This list was provided by: Dan Burrows /dburrows1@juno.com/

 

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