Old Occupations

• 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 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 (descendant of Levi)
• Collier   Coal miner
• Colporteur   Peddler of books
• Cooper   One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves and 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 currycomb; 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
• Hostler   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 or 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
• 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 or 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 or 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
• 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