CAPITAL AREA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
Glossary of Terms
OLD TIME OCCUPATIONS:
Ships passenger lists, census returns and other documents used in genealogy may give an ancestor's occupation. This list gives more modern interpretations of those terms.
Right-click on a letter to browse the list:
Accomptant - accountant
Accoucheur - man who acts as a
midwife
Accoucheuse - midwife
Administatrix - female
administrator
Almoner - giver
of charity (alms) to the needy
Amanuen(sis) - secretary or stenographer
Aquarius - ewer;
waterman
Artificer -
maker or fixer of intricate objects; soldier mechanic who does repairs
Ashmanshipman - sailor
Aulnager - official
responsible for inspecting and measuring woolen cloth
Aurifaber - goldsmith
Avenator - plantifene;
hay and forage merchant
Axle
Tree Maker – maker of axles for coaches and wagons
Bailie - bailiff
Banksman - gives instruction
or assistance to driver; overseer at a mine pit
Barker - tanner
Baxter - baker
Belhoste - tavern keeper
Belleyetere - bellfounder
Blacksmith - one
who shoes horses
Bluestocking
– female writer
Boniface -
innkeeper
Borsholder - officer appointed
by the manor or parish, constable
Bowyer
- bowmaker
Brasiler - dyer
Brazier - brass
worker
Brewster -
brewer; beer maker
Brightsmith - metal worker
Brownsmith - copper or brass
smith
Burgonmaster - mayor
Burl -
cup-bearer
Burneman - carrier of barm or waters for brewers
Burnisher - metal polisher
Calendrer – a person who calenders cloth, a calender
Campaner - bell maker
Cancellarius - chancellor
Cardmaker - maker of cards
(instruments for combing wool)
Carner - granary keeper
Carnifex - butcher
Carpentarius - carpenter
Carter - maker
or driver carts
Caulker - filler
of cracks (in ships or windows)
Cautioner -
guarantor (One who becomes security for another)
Chaisemaker - carriage maker
Chaloner - dealer in shalloon (a material made in Chalons)
Chandler - maker
or seller of candles; retailer of groceries; dealer or trader
Chapman - merchant,
often itinerant
Chesterman - guard
Chiffonier -
wigmaker
Chirugion - apothecary or
surgeon
Cissor - tailor
Clark - cleric
or scribe
Clericus - clerk
Clerk - clergyman, cleric
Clicker -
printer in charge of final layout
Clicker - (shoe
mfg) in charge of lace holes
Cobbler - shoe
maker/repairer
Cocus (Keu) - cook
Cohen - priest
Collier -
coalminer
Colporteur -
peddler of books
Combere - woolcomber
Conveyor -
grantor or seller
Cooper - maker
or repairer of vessels made of staves & hoops ie.
barrels, casks and tubs
Coppice keeper -
one who takes care of small wood
Cordewanarius/Cordwainer/Corvisor - shoemaker,
originally any leather worker using Cordovan leather (leather from
Cordova/Cordoba, Spain)
Costermonger -
peddler of fruits and vegetables
Cotiler - cutler
Crayman - driver of a cart
carrying heavy loads
Crocker -
potter; maker of crocks
Crowner -
coroner
Cuhreur/Cunreur - currier
Culler - gelder of male animals
Cuper - cooper
Currrier - tanner of leather;
user of curry comb on horses
Cutler - one who
makes or sells knives etc.
Dareman - dairyman
Daunsel - gentleman in
waiting; groom; squire
Dexter - dyer
Diviner/Dowser -
one who finds water under the ground
Docker - stevedore; dock
worker who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser - finder
of water (or other items) using dowsing rods or witching stick
Draper - dealer
in cloth and dry goods
Drayman - driver
of the dray: a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads
(later a brewery delivery team ie. the Budweiser
Clydesdales)
Dresser -
surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Drover - driver
of animals to market; dealer in cattle
Drummer -
traveling salesman
Dubbere - cloth dubber ie. one
who raises the nap of cloth
Dudder - probably a maker of
coarse cloaks
Duffer - peddler
Dyer - one who
dyes cloth
Dysshere - probably a ditcher,
or in some cases a disher
-E-
Elymaker - oilmaker
Endholdernn - inn keeper
Enumerator -
census taker
Executrix -
female executor
Faber
- smith
Factor Agent -
merchant for commission (or factor); one
who transacts business for another (usually absent); Scottish steward or
bailiff of an estate
Faulkner -
keeper/trainer of falcons
Farmer -
tax-collector or bailiff
Farrier - horse doctor, one
in charge of horses; blacksmith; shodder of horses
Fell Monger -
one who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making
Fence Viewer -
person who inspects farmer's fences
Ferur/Ferator - farrier
or blacksmith
Feuar - holder of lands
granted for services
Fisher/Fishdryver - victualler
Flauner - confectioner
Flax Dresser -
one who works with flax fibers
Fleshewer - butcher
Fletcher - maker
of bows and arrows; arrowmaker
Forestarius - forester
Framar - farmer
French polisher -
polish wood by hand using French polish, wax or lacquer
Frereman - servant of the
Friars
Fuller - fuller
of cloth; shrinker and thickener of woolen cloth by
washing, heating and pressing; a felter; cleaner and
thickener of cloth; one who trampled cloth
Furber/Furbour - furbisher of armour
Furner – baker
Gaoler - jailer
Garcifer/Garcio - groom; attendant
Garlekmonger - garlicmonger;
dealer in garlic
Ginerr - joiner
Glassewryght - glasswright;
maker and mender of glassware
Glazier -
glazier; repairer of windows
Glover - dealer
or maker of gloves
Gobar - jobber
Grecher - grocer
Guilderer - maker of gold or
silver coins
Gynour – engineer
Hacker
- hoe maker
Hamberghmaker/Hamberow - horse collar maker
Hansard - weapon maker or
seller
Harper -
musician
Hatcheler - one who combed out
flax
Hawker - peddler
Haymonger - dealer in hay
Hayward - keeper
of fences
Headborough - constable
Hedger - one who
trims and tends hedgerows
Herd - shepherd
or herdsman
Hetheleder - provider of heather
for fuel
Higgler - itinerant peddler
Hillard/Hiller/Hillier - one
who covers houses with slate; tiler
Hind - farm
laborer
Holster
– a groom who took care of horses, often at an inn
Hooker - reaper
Hooper - maker
of hoops for casks, barrels, tubs etc.
Horsler - hostler (stableman
or groom), horse servant at an inn
Hosteler - innkeeper
Huckster -
seller of small articles/wares
Husbandman - a
farmer; animal husbandry; tenant farmer
Indentured
servant - one who has committed to working for someone for a fixed number
of years
Ironmonger -
dealer in iron goods
Jagger – fish peddler
Jorman - journeyman
Journeyman -
craftsman who had served his apprentice, a master craftsman
Joyner/Joiner -
joiner; skilled carpenter
Keeler
- bargeman
Keller - salt
keeper
Kellogg -
slaughter man
Kempster - wool comber
Kepegest – innkeeper
Lardner
- official in charge of pig food or keeper of the cupboard
Latouner - worker in latten (a
metal resembling brass)
Lavender -
washer woman
Lederer - leather maker
Leech -
physician
Limeburner - maker of lime
Limner -
draughtsman or artist
Lokeer - locksmith
Longshoreman - stevedore
Lorimer/lormer - bridlemaker
Macon/Macun/Marson - mason
Malender - farmer
Malster - brewer of malted
beverages (beer)
Manciple - steward
Marescallus - marshall
Marshall - horse
servant, or groom
Mason - stone
carver
Mayer -
physician
Medicus - leech; doctor
Mercator -
merchant
Millow - miller
Millwright - one
who designs or builds mills
Mintmaster - issuer of local
currency [mintner?]
Molendinarius/Muner - miller
Monger - seller
(of goods ie. ale, fish)
Muleskinner –
teamster
Neatherder - cow herd
Nedder - needle-maker
Nettir – knitter
Ordinary
Keeper- innkeeper; keeper of a fixed price Inn
Osler -
bird-catcher
Osnard - herder of oxen
Outrider -
mounted attendant riding before or behind a carriage
Packman
- itinerant peddler
Palmer - a
pilgrim; one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land
Paneler - saddler
Pannarius - clothier and draper
Pannebeter - pan-hammerer, or
perhaps clothdriver
Pardoner - one
licensed to sell Papal Indulgences
Parcheminer - parchment maker
Parochus - rector, pastor
Patroller
– patroller of slaves
Patton/Patten Maker
- a maker of a clog shod with an iron ring; maker of iron-rimmed pattens for footware. A clog was
a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
Peever - pepper-seller
Pelliparius/Peltarius - skinner
Peregrinator -
itinerant wanderer
Peruker/Perukmaker - wig maker
Pettifogger -
shyster; lawyer
Pictor - painter
Pigman - crockery dealer
Pilcher - maker of pilches
Pinder - keeper of the pound
or pinfold
Piscarius - fishmonger
Piscator - fisherman [Pescador (sp?) in Spanish]
Pistor - miller or baker
Plantifene - see avernator
Plomer - plumber
Ploughwright - one who makes or
repairs ploughs/plows
Plumber - one
who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained
glass windows
Porcher - pig-keeper
Porter -
gate-keeper or door-keeper
Poulterer - dealer in poultry
Puddler - wrought iron worker
Pynner - pin-maker
Quarrier - quarry worker
Quarryman –
stonecutter
Revenuer
- federal officer enforcing the law against illegal manufacturing of whisky
Rigger - hoist
tackler worker
Ripper - fish
monger
Roper - ropemaker; maker of rope or nets
Rotarius - wheelwright
Rower - builder
of (small) wagon wheels
Saddler
- maker and repairer of saddles and bridles
Safernman - grower of saffron
Samitere/Samite - maker of a kind of
heavy silk stuff
Sauntere - probably salt maker
Sausere - salter
Savant - servant
Sawbones -
physician
Sawyer - sawer of wood; carpenter
Scabbler - person who uses a scabbler (pick) to trim the sides of a tunnel
Schumacker - shoemaker; cobbler
Scribbler - minor
or worthless author
Scrivener - scribe
or clerk; professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
Scrutiner - election judge
Seinter - girdlemaker
Seler/sellarius - saddler
Serviens - sergeant
Servus - servant
Sevier -
sieve-maker
Sewer - tailor
or shoemaker
Sharman/Sherman/Shearman
- one who raised the surface of wollen cloth and
then sheared it to a smooth surface; cutter of woolen cloth
Shether - see vaginarius
Shrieve - sheriff
Sifker - sievemaker
Sissor/Cissor - tailor
Sizer - one who applies
size to textiles
Slater - roofer;
tiler
Slatter - slater
(same as hillard)
Slaymaker/Sleymaker - maker of reeds or slays (instruments to part
threads in weaving) for looms
Slopseller - seller of
ready-made clothes in a slop shop
Snobscat/Snob - shoe repairer;
cobbler
Soper - soapmaker
Sorter - tailor
Soyor - sawyer
Spicer - grocer
Spinster -
unmarried woman; spinner (female)
Spittleman - hospital attendant
Spragger - person who inserts
a piece of wood (sprag) between the wheels of a lorry
(truck) to bring it to a standstill
Spurrer/Spurrier - spurmaker
Stabler - ostler,
stableman
Stasyon/Stawsun - probably a
stationer
Stokiner - maker or weaver of
stockings
Squarewright - carpenter,
specifically a furniture maker
Squire - country
gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace
Stuff Gown/Gownsman
- junior barrister
Sugarer - dealer in sugar
(grocer?)
Sumner - summoner or apparitor
Supercargo -
officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial concerns
of the ship
Sutler - one who supplies an
army with provisions
Tabernarius - taverner; innkeeper
Tanner/Tannator - tanner; curer of animal hide into leather
Taper -
candlewick maker or seller
Tapley - one who puts the tap in an ale cask
Tasker - reaper
Tawer - one who taws (makes
hide into leather without the use of tanning)
Teamster - one
who drives a team (horses or oxen) for hauling
Teinter - dyer
Tenter - attendant for an
engine
Textor - weaver
Thatcher -
roofer (using thatch)
Thirdbororough - tithing man or
deputy constable
Tide Waiter -
customs inspector
Tinker - an
itinerant mender and seller of kettles, tin pots and pans
Tinctor - dyer or possibly a
painter
Tipstaff -
policeman
Todd - fox
hunter
Travers - toll
bridge collector
Tripper - dancer
Tucker - cleaner
of cloth goods
Turner - turner
of wood (using a lathe) into spindles
Upholder
- upholsterer; also a cheapjack and seller of secondhand goods
Vaginarius - sheather; scabbard maker
Venator/Venur - huntsman
Verderer - a Borsholder, Constable.
Victualer - tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with
food supplies
Vitner - wine merchant
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
Walker - fuller;
cloth trampler or cleaner
Webber/Webster - weaver;
loom operator
Wharfinger - owner of a wharf
Wheelwright -
builder/repairer of wagon wheels, carriages etc.
Whitcher - maker of chests
Whitesmith -
tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work
Whitewing - street sweeper
Whitster - bleacher of cloth
Whittawer - one who tans skin
into white leather
Wonkey-scoop - driver who
operates a one horse scoop
Wright -
workman, especially a construction worker ie.
Wheelwright
There are currently no terms for this category.
Yeoman
- farmer who owns his own land; freehold farmer
There are currently no terms for this category.
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