Researchers of the colonial period have a lot of terminology to learn. Here are definitions of occupations. Some of them stayed the same for centuries; others have dropped out during the march through the decades. In many cases civilization has advanced to the point where some of the work colonial Americans did has been taken over by machines and other inventions, or the products they worked with are outmoded for other reasons.
Definitions for Unfamiliar Colonial Occupations
These are some of the occupations that may not be familiar to members of modern society.
- Alewife: A woman who keeps a tavern
- Besom-maker: Broom maker
- Calender: Person who presses cloth or paper
- Cooper: Barrel maker
- Cordwainer: Shoemaker
- Endholder: Innkeeper
- Farrier: Horse doctor or person in charge of horses; more recently, someone who shoes horses.
- Ginerr: Joiner, or carpenter
- Grecher: Grocer
- Headborough: Constable or deputy constable
- Hilliard or Hiller: One who covers houses with slate
- Millow: The operator of a sawmill, gristmill, flour mill, etc.
- Savant: In one context a servant; in another, a wise man
- Slaymaker: A maker of reeds, or slays, for looms
- Sutler: One who provides an army with supplies
- Tawer: Someone who makes hides into leather without tanning them
- Wittawer: One who tawes skins into white leather
Occupation Definitions That Can Be Guessed At
Some definitions are just words whose spelling no longer uses the medieval form, or words that relate to the service or product being offered. Many of them can be correctly guessed.
Carrier: Person who offers hired cart transportation
Cartwright: Man skilled in wagon making
Dareman: Dairyman
Fence Viewer: Persons appointed to inspect farm fences
Glover: Maker or seller of gloves
Gobar: Jobber
Hawker: Peddler
Hedger: One who trims and tends hedgerows
Ironmonger: Dealer in iron goods
Limeburner: Maker of lime
Malster: A brewer of malt beverages
Millwright: Man who designed or erected mills in the days before mechanization
Nettir: A knitter
Outrider: A mounted attendant riding before or behind a carriage
Packman: An itinerant peddler
Ploughwright: man who made or repaired ploughs
Poulterer: A dealer in poultry
Roper: A rope maker
Shipwright: A boat builder
Sizer: One who applied sizing to textiles
Slatter: A person who worked with or cut slate
Stokiner: A maker or weaver of stockings
Town Crier: News broadcaster
Occupations that Have Survived the Centuries
There are some occupations that have survived the centuries, although many of them are now pursued in rural areas or undeveloped countries.
- Apiarist: Beekeeper
- Apothecary: Druggist
- Bailiff: An officer who works for a sheriff and serves writs; further back, the King’s representative or an agent of the lord of the manor
- Blacksmith: Metal worker
- Clothier: Dealer or maker of cloth; master weaver
- Compositor – Printer; still a term 50 years ago, meaning people who hand set type; there are few places where this is still done
- Quarryman: stonecutter
- Revenuer: A federal officer enforcing the law against the illegal manufacturer of whiskey; today’s counterpart is an IRS agent
- Vintner: A wine merchant
Perhaps, 300 years from now, people will wonder what an astronaut, computer programmer, backhoe operator, anesthetist or oncologist were.
A companion article discusses occupations in colonial Massachusetts.
Sources:
This list is based upon others which appeared in the autumn, 1989 issue of the Blackhawk Genealogical Society Newsletter, the January, 1990 publication of the Illinois State Genealogical Society, and a 1994 edition of The Marin (CA) Kin Tracer, with additional occupations added by the writer.
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
