Old World Occupations

Posted 7-Sep-1997

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 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
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 supplies
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

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