Old Time Occupations

This page last updated Thursday, 02-Mar-2000 21:49:47 MST

These are just some of the occupations that you might find on old documents. If you know of any others please let me know and I will add them. Shirley Solem

Return to St. Louis Co MNGenWeb

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
Hoslter: 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

Millinery: Hat maker

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 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