Things Wroth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 3

C List of Occupations

This is a list of some occupations of which many are archaic although surnames usually originated from someone's occupation.

◦CADDY BUTCHER - butcher that dealt in horse meat

◦CADDIE - messenger or errand boy

◦CADGER - beggar

◦CAFENDER - carpenter

◦CAFFLER - rag and bone collector

◦CAINER - made walking sticks

◦CAIRD - another term for a tinker

◦CALCINER - burnt bones to make powdered lime

◦CALENDER - one who listed documents

◦CALENDERER / CALENDERMAN / CALENDER WORKER - operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender) used to press and finish fabrics or paper

◦CALICO PRINTER - dyed and colored calico

◦CAMBRIC MAKER - made a fine linen or cotton fabric called cambric

◦CAMISTER - minister of the cloth

◦CANDLE MAKER / CANDLER - who made and sold candles

◦CAMBIST - banker

◦CAMERIST - lady's maid

◦CAMLET MERCHANT - seller of camlet, cloth used to make cloaks & petticoats

◦CANDY MAN - traveling candy salesman and also slang name for a baliff

◦CANCELLARIUS - chancellor

◦CANER / CHAIR BOTTOMER - one who made the seats for chairs out of woven cane

◦CANNALLER - canal boat worker

◦CANTER - religious speaker who uses cant

◦CANTING CALLER - auctioneer

◦CANVASER - one who made canvas

◦CAPER - cap maker

◦CAPILLAIRE MAKER - one who made orange flavored syrup

◦CAPITALIST - investor

◦CAPPER / CAP MAKER - made caps usually worn by the working class

◦CAPTAIN - in charge of a ship or a group of soldiers and also term for an overseer

◦CARDROOMER - term for anyone who worked in the carding room of the mills

◦CARDER - cards wool

◦CARDMAKER - maker of cards or instruments for combing wool

◦CARMAN / CHARMAN / CARTER / CARRIER - one who drove a vehicle used to transport goods

◦CARD NAILER / NAILORA - maintained the teeth (nails) on the carding machine used for preparing wool and cotton for weaving

◦CARNIFEX - butcher

◦CARPENTARIUS - carpenter

◦CARTER - one who carries or conveys in or as if in a cart

◦CART WHEELER - one who made cart wheels

◦CARTOGRAPHER - map maker

◦CARTOMANCER - fortune teller who used cards

◦CARTWRIGHT - maker of carts & wagons

◦CASHMARIE - one who sold fish usually at inland markets

◦CASTER / CASTORA - made small bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar etc

◦CASTRATOR - who castrated farm animals aka gelder

◦CATAGMAN - cottager

◦CATCHPOLE / CATCHPOLLA - sheriff's assistance or bailiff

◦CATECHISTA - teacher of religion

◦CATTLE JOBBER - buys and sells cattle

◦CAULKER - filled up cracks (in ships or windows) or seams to make them watertight

◦CEILER - puts up the ceilings in buildings

◦CELLARMAN - looked after the beer, wines and spirits in public houses or the warehouse

◦CEMMER - hand combed the yarn before weaving

◦CHAFF CUTTER - made chaff by cutting straw

◦CHAFFERER - dealer in chaff

◦CHAIR BODGER - traveling chair repairman

◦CHAISE MAKER - made carts from wicker

◦CHALONER - dealer in shalloon, a material made in Chƒlons

◦CHAMBERLAIN - steward to either royalty or nobility, in charge of the household

◦CHAMBERMAID - female servant attending to bedrooms in houses or inns

◦CHAMBER MASTER - shoemaker that worked from home as an outworker or selling direct

◦CHAUNTER - street entertainer who sung ballads

◦CHEESE FACTOR / CHEESEMAN / CHEESE MONGER - dealer in cheeses

◦CHANDLER - candle seller, grocer, provisioner, usually associated with provisioning ships

◦CHANTY MAN - sailor that led the singing of shanties on board ship

◦CHAPELER - made and sold hats CHAPMAN / COPEMAN / PETTY CHAPMAN / CEAPMAN - dealer or peddler of goods usually itinerant going from village to village.

◦CHARCOAL BURNER - made charcoal usually in the woods where the trees were cut

◦CHARTMASTER - middleman that negotiated mining contracts and suppiled the labour

◦CHARWOMAN - cleaning woman

◦CHATELAINE - mistress of a castle or house

◦CHIFFONIER - wig maker or ragpicker

◦CHILDBED LINEN WAREHOUSE KEEPER / DEALER - hired bedlinen for childbirth as most children were born at home

◦CHIMNEY SWEEP - chimney cleaner

◦CHINGLOR - rooftiler who used wooden shingles

◦CHIP - shipwright or carpenter

◦CHIPPERS LABOURER - assistant to a shipwright or ships carpenter

◦CHIROPODIST - treats diseases of the feet & hands

◦CHIRUGION or CHIRURGEON - apothecary or surgeon

◦CHOWDER - fish monger

◦CHRONOLOGIST - recorded official events of historical importance

◦CINDER WENCH - female who collected the cinders from gas works and sold them door to door

◦CLAKER - magician/astrologer

◦CLAPMAN - town crier

◦CLARK - clerk

◦CLASSMAN - unemployed laborer

◦CLAVIGER - servant

◦CLAY CARRIER - assistant to the shot firer in the pits

◦CLAYMAN / CLEYMAN - worked in the clay pits usually preparing the clay for making bricks and also one who coated the outside of buildings with clay to make them water proof

◦CLERICUS - clerk

◦CLERK - clergyman or cleric

◦CLICKER - worked in the shoe trade cutting out the uppers made the shoelace holes and one in charge of the final stage of layout before printing in printing industry

◦CLIPPER / CLIPPER ON / CLIPPER OFF - attached the coal carts to the wire or rope which was used to drag the carts to and from the coal face

◦CLOD HOPPER - plowman

◦CLOGGER - maker of wooden shoes

◦CLOTH LAPPER - took the cloth from the carding machine readied it for the next process

◦CLOTH LINTER / CLOTH PICKER - removed unwanted threads and lint from the finished material

◦CLOTHIER / CLOTHESMAN / CLOTHMAN - who made or sold clothes

◦CLOUTER / CLOWER - made nails also another term for a shoemaker for the former term

◦COACHMAN / COACH DRIVER - drove any coach

◦COAL BACKER - carried the sacks of coal from the coal barge to the coal wagons

◦COAL BURNER - made charcoal

◦COAL DRAWER - worked in the mines pushing or dragging the coal carts the the bottom of the pit

◦COAL HEAVER - unloaded coal COALMAN / COAL MERCHANT / COAL HIGGLER - sold coal usually from a horse and cart, house to house.

◦COALMETER - measured the coal

◦COAL RUNNER - attended the coal carts underground

◦COAL WHIPPER - unloaded coal from ships using baskets attached to a simple form of crane

◦COAST SURVEYOR / WAITER - customs officer who watched over the ofloading off goods on the coast

◦COBBLER - shoemaker

◦COBLEMAN - used a flat bottomed boat for fishing

◦COCUS - cook

◦COD PLACER - put fire proof containers which held the pottery for firing into the kiln

◦COINER - worked at the mint stamping out coins

◦COLLAR MAKER - made horse collars and one who made shirt collars

◦COLLIER - coal miner, a coal merchant or one who worked on the coal barges

◦COLONUS - Latin for farmer or husbandman

◦COLPORTEUR - traveling Bible or religious book salesman

◦COLOURATOR / COLORATORA - worked with dyes

◦COLOUR MAN - mixed the dyes in the textile trade and also assistant to a house painter

◦COMBER or COMBERE - combs wool

◦COMB MAKER - made combs either for the textile industry for combing wool etc. or the maker of hair combs

◦COMPOSITOR - set the type ready for printing

◦CONDER / CONNER - gave steering instructions to the steersman and also gave directions to inshore fisherman of fish movements on shoals (usually from the top of cliffs or rocks)

◦CONEY CATCHER - rabbit catcher

◦CONFECTIONER - candy maker

◦CONNER - inspector or tester

◦COOPER or CUPER - maker of barrels

◦COPEMAN / COPER - dealer in goods and also dishonest dealer in horses in the latter case

◦COPPERBEATER / COPPERBETER - coppersmith

◦COPPERSMITH - worked with copper

◦CORACLE MAKER - made coracles, a small round boat used for fishing

◦CORDINER / CORDWAINER / CORVINER / CORVISOR - originally term used for one who worked with Cordovan (a special leather from Spain) but later term used for shoemaker

◦COSTERMONGER - fruit seller

◦COSTER WIFE - female fruit seller

◦COTILER - cutler

◦COUPER - one who buys & sells

◦COURANTEER - journalist

◦COWHERD - cow tender

◦COWKEEPER - one who kept one or more cows (a common source of livelihood in cities) when a cow was kept in the back yard of a house, providing milk which was sold at the front door or window, forerunner of the local dairy

◦COXWAIN - ship or boat helmsman

◦CRIER - law court officer, auctioneer, town announcer

◦CRIMPER - member of navy press gang

◦CROFTER - tenant of a small piece of land

◦CROPPER - tenant who is paid with a share of the crop

◦CROWNER - coroner

◦CUHREUR (CUNREUR) - currier

◦CURER - cures tobacco

◦CURRETTER - broker

◦CURRIER - cures or tans hides

◦CUSTOMER - customs tax collector

◦CUTLER - knife seller or sharpener