Occupations of Colonial American Ancestors

Definitions for Jobs in Early America

Jul 27, 2009 Rosemary E. Bachelor

The occupations of our colonial ancestors have terms both familiar and outdated. Find out what an alewife, besom-maker, flax dresser and stokiner were.

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.

The copyright of the article Occupations of Colonial American Ancestors in American History is owned by Rosemary E. Bachelor. Permission to republish Occupations of Colonial American Ancestors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.