Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 13

X, Y & Z Lists of Occupations

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

◦XYLOGRAPHER - one who used and made wooden blocks used in printing illustrations

◦YARDMAN - rail road yard worker

◦YATMAN - gate keeper

◦YEARMAN - one contracted to work for a year

◦YEOMAN - farmer who owns his own land

◦ZINCOGRAPHER - designer who etched in relief a pattern on zinc plates used for printing

◦ZITHERIST - player of a simple, flat many-stringed instrument

◦ZOETROPE MAKER - craftsman who made zoetropes, an optical toy in the form of a cylinder with a series of pictures painted on the inner surface which gave the impression of continuous motion when viewed through slits in the rotating cylinder

◦ZOOGRAPHER - described and classified

Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 12

W List of Occupations

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

◦WABSTER - weaver

◦WADSETTER - under Scottish law a creditor to whom a wadset is made; a wadset is a right, by which lands, or other heritable subjects, are impignorated by the proprietor to his creditor in security of his debt

◦WAGONER - wagon or cart driver

◦WAILER - one employed in the mines to remove the impurities from the coal

◦WAINWRIGHT - builder or repairer of wagons

◦WAIT / WAKEMAN - night watchman

◦WALKER / WAULKMILLER - cloth worker

◦WALLER - one who built walls either brick or dry stone, also a person who worked making coarse salt

◦WANTER / WANTCATCHER - mole catcher

◦WARDER -in charge of prisoners

◦WAREHOUSEMAN - in charge of or employee in a warehouse

◦WARPER - set the warp thread on the looms or employed to move boats by hauling on the warps (the ropes attached to the boats)

◦WARRENER - in charge of a portion of land used for breeding rabbits and other small game

◦WASHMAN - tin coater

◦WASTEMAN - checked the old workings for gas and maintaining them in the mines or employed to remove waste

◦WATCH FINISHER - assembled watches and clocks

◦WATCHMAN - town official who guarded the streets at night

◦WATER BAILIFF - official in charge of the fishing rights on a stretch of water

◦WATER CARRIER - carted and sold fresh water

◦WATER GILDER - trapped water fowl

◦WATER LEADER / LEDER / LODER - transported and sold fresh drinking water

◦WATERMAN - worked with or on boats usually on rivers

◦WATTLE HURDLE MAKER - made a type of fence from wattle to keep the sheep in

◦WAY-MAKER - employed to make roads

◦WAY MAN - surveyor of roads

◦WEATHERSPY - astrologer

◦WEBSTER / WEBBER - weaver (originally a female weaver)

◦WEIGHER - worked on the docks to weigh the cargo as it was unloaded

◦WELLMASTER - one in charge of the local well with the responsibility of ensuring clean water for the village

◦WELL SINKER - dug wells

◦WELL WRIGHT - made the winding equipment used to raise the bucket in the well

◦WET GLOVER - made leather gloves

◦WET NURSE - woman employed to suckle tthe child of another (common practice with the rich)

◦WETTER - dampened paper during the printing process or in the glass industry who detached the glass by wetting

◦WHARFINGER - owner of a wharf

◦WHEEL TAPPER - railway worker who checked for cracked wheels by striking them with a long handled hammer and listening for a clear ring

◦WHEELER - wheel maker, attended to the spinning wheel in the textile industry and one who led the pit ponies that pulled the tubs underground in the mines

◦WHACKER - horse or oxen team driver

◦WHEELWRIGHT / WRIGHT - maker or repairer of wagon wheels

◦WHEERYMAN - in charge of a wheery (a small light rowing boat)

◦WHIG - horse driver (Scottish term)

◦WHIPCORD MAKER / WHIPMAKER - made whips

◦WHIPPERIN - managed the hounds in a hunt

◦WHITEAR - hide cleaner

◦WHITE LIMER - plastered walls using lime and water plaster

◦WHITE SMITH - tin smith

◦WHITENING ROLL MAKER - made the whitening used in whitening walls of cottages

◦WHITTAWER - one who made saddles and harness

◦WHITENER / WHITESTER / WHITSTER - one who bleached cloth

◦WHITEWING - streetsweeper

◦WHITSTER - bleacher of cloth

◦WHITTAWER - preparer of white leather

◦WILLOW PLAITER / WEAVER - one who made baskets etc

◦WINDSTER - silk winder

◦WOODBREAKER - one who made wooden water casks

◦WOODRANGER / WOOD REEVE / WOODWARD - in charge of the forest or woods

◦WOOLCOMBER - operated machines that separate the fibres ready for spinning in woolen industry

◦WOOL DRIVER - one who brought the wool to market

◦WOOL FACTOR - wool merchants agent

◦WOOLEN BILLY PIECER - worked in the woolen mills to piece together the broken yarns

◦WOOL MAN /WOOL SORTER / STAPLER - one who sorted the wool into different grades

◦WOOLSTED MAN - a seller of woollen cloth (from worsted man)

◦WOOL WINDER - one who made up balls of wool for selling

◦WORSTED MANUFACTURER / SHEARMAN - one who made worsted

◦WRIGHT - builder or repairer

◦WYRTH - laborer

Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 11

T, U & V Lists of Occupations

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

◦TABLER - boarding house operator

◦TACKLER - an overlooker of power loom weavers

◦TAILOR - one who made or repaired clothes

◦TALLOW CHANDLER - made or sold candles

◦TALLY CLERK - kept count of goods arriving or departing from warehouses, docks etc

◦TALLYMAN / TALLYFELLOW - one who sold goods that were paid for in installments

◦TAN BARK STRIPPER - collected the bark that was used in the tanning process

◦TANNER - leather maker

◦TAPER WEAVER - one who made the wicks for candles

◦TAPITER / TAPICER - one who wove worsted cloth

◦TAPLEY - One who puts the tap in an ale cask

◦TAPSTER - bartender or barmaid

◦TAR BOY - applied tar (as antiseptic) to sheep when they were nicked by shearers

◦TASKER - reaper

◦TASSELER - one who made tassels used in furnishings or nobleman

◦TAVERNER - innkeeper

◦TAWER / TAWYER - white leather maker

◦TEAMER / TEAMER MAN / TEAMSTER - person in charge of a team of horses

◦TEEMER - person who emptied grain from the cart or who poured the molten steel into the moulds

◦TENTER / TENTERER - one who stretched the cloth on a machine while it was drying or looked after and maintained the machine used in the process

◦TEXTOR - weaver

◦THACKER - thatcher

◦THATCHER - one who covered roofs with straw or reeds

◦THIRDBOROUGH - an underconstable

◦THRESHER - one who separated the grain from the husks and straw

◦THROWSTER - one in the textile trade who twisted the strands of fibre together into yarn

◦TICKNEY MAN / WOMAN - sold earthenware from town to town

◦TIDE GAUGER / SURVEYOR - monitored the state of the tide

◦TIDESMAN / TIDE WAITER - customs official

◦TIEMAKER - one who made wooden railway ties

◦TIGER - small groom or pageboy in livery

◦TILER - one who put tiles in place either on the roof or floor

◦TILLER - farmer

◦TILLMAN - plowman

◦TIMES IRONER - servant responsible for ironing the daily newspaper

◦TINCTOR - dyer

◦TINKER - traveling repairman

◦TINNER - tin miner, tinsmith

◦TINTER OR TEINTER - artists who performs tinting

◦TIPPER - one who put the metal tips on arrows etc

◦TIPPLER - kept an ale house

◦TIPSTAFF - policeman

◦TIREWOMAN - female dresser, especially in the theater

◦TIXTOR - weaver

◦TOBACCO SPINNER - maker of cigars

◦TODHUNTER - employed by the parish to hunt foxes

◦TOE RAG - who worked at the docks as a corn porter

◦TOILINET MANUFACTURER - made toilinet (a kind of quilting)

◦TOLLER / TOLLGATE KEEPER / TOLLIE / TOLMAN / TURNPIKE KEEPER - worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road

◦TONSOR - Latin for barber

◦TOOL HELVER - made tool handles

◦TOPMAN - sailor who works in the ship's rigging

◦TOP SAWYER - upper man in a saw pit

◦TOPSMAN - head cattle drover

◦TOUCH HOLER - one who worked in the gun manufacturing industry

◦TOW CARD MAKER - one who made tow cards, used in the textile industry

◦TOWN CHABERLAIN - one who looked after the towns affairs

◦TOWN CRIER - one who made public announcments in the streets

◦TOWN HUSBAND - employed by the parish to collect the money from the fathers of illegitimate children for their upkeep

◦TOWNSWAITER - customs man

◦TOZER - worked in the wool mills employed to tose or tease the cloth

◦TRAMMER - young person who worked in the mines

◦TRAMPLER - lawyer

◦TRANQUETER - person who made hoops

◦TRANTER - peddler

◦TRAPPER - employed in the mines to open and shut the doors for the miners

◦TREEN MAKER - made domestic articles from wood

◦TREENAIL MAKER - one who made the long wooden pins used in shipbuilding

◦TRENCHERMAKER - made wooden boards or platters for serving food from or cutting and slicing food on

◦TRENCHERMAN - cook

◦TREPANGER - one who used a circular saw to cut timber

◦TRIMMER - trims a ship by re-arranging its cargo

◦TROACHER - pedlar

◦TRONER - weighing official at the markets

◦TROTTER / TROTMAN / TROTT - messenger

◦TROUCHMAN / TRUCHMAN - interpreter

◦TROVER - smuggler

◦TRUGGER - one who made long shallow baskets

◦TUBBER - one who made tubs and barrels ie a cooper

◦TUBMAN - English barrister

◦TUCKER - cleaner of cloth goods

◦TUCKER IN - maid who attended the bedroom and "tucked in the bedclothes"

◦TURNER - gymnast, lathe worker

◦TURNKEY - prison warder or jail keeper

◦TURNSPIT - one who operated the spit handle

◦TWEENIE / TWEENY - maid who worked "between the stairs" she assisted the cooks and the housemaids

◦TWISTER / TWISTERER - one who operated the machine used for twisting yarns and threads together

◦TWIST HAND - one who operated a lace machine

◦ULNAGER - one appointed to examine the quality of woollen goods to be sold

◦UPHOLDER - upholsterer and also a seller of secondhand goods

◦UPRIGHT WORKER - chimney sweep

◦VALET - male servant that attended a nobleman or gentleman

◦VALUATOR - who valued objects

◦VENATOR (VENUR) - huntsman

◦VASSAL - servant of the lowest order

◦VATMAN - one who put the paper pulp into the moulds in paper-making industry or worked with vats e.g. in beer and wine making

◦VERDERER - official in charge of the royal forest

◦VERGER - one who worked with the priest in the running the church

◦VERGE MAKER - one who made the spindles used in clocks and watches

◦VERRIER - glazier

◦VESTMENTMAKER - one who made the gowns worn by priests

◦VICTUALER - seller of food/drink

◦VIEWER - one who worked at the mines in a managerial capacity

◦VILLEIN - one who paid dues to the lord of the manor in return for use of the land

◦VINTAGER - grape farmer, wine maker

◦VINTNER / VINTER - wine merchant

◦VIRGINAL PLAYER - player of a musical instrument similar to a harpsichord

◦VULCAN - blacksmith

Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 10

S List of Occupations

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

◦SADDLER - one who made saddles, harnesses, horse collars, bridles

◦SADDLE TREE MAKER - one who made the frames for saddles that the saddler used

◦SAGGER MAKER - one who made the fireclay containers in which the stoneware was placed ready for firing

◦SALT BOILER - one who obtained salt by boiling water

◦SALTER / DRYSALTER / SAUCER - one who made or dealt in salt

◦SARCINET WEAVER - silk weaver

◦SALOONIST - saloon keeper

◦SANDESMAN - ambassador or messenger

◦SAND HOG - those who dug the tunnel under the river

◦SANDWICHMAN - wears a sandwich billboard for advertising

◦SAWYER - saws timber to boards

◦SAY WEAVER - one who made Say, material used for table cloths or bedding

◦SCAGIOLA MAKER - one who made imitation marble

◦SCALERAKER / SCAVENGER - employed by the parish to clean the streets

◦SCAPPLER - one who roughly shaped the stone prior to being finished by the stonemason

◦SCAVELMAN - employed to keep the waterways and ditches clear

◦SCHRIMPSCHONGER - artisan who carves in bone, ivory, or wood

◦SCRIBE - clerk

◦SCRIBLER - a minor or worthless author

◦SCRIMER - fencing master

◦SCRIVENER - clerk, notary

◦SCOTCH DRAPER / SCOTCHMAN - sold goods door to door with payment to be made by installments

◦SCREENER - screened the ore at the mines surface

◦SCRIBBLER - employed in a scibbling mill where the wool was roughly carded before spinning

◦SCRIBER - employed at the docks to mark the cotton bales with the approximate weight ready for selling by the brokers

◦SCRIPTURE READER - employed by the local clergy to go from house to house reading parts of the bible to try and encourage people to attend church, also read scriptures during some services

◦SCRIVENER - wrote out legal documents etc

◦SCRUTINEER - election judge

◦SCUTCHER - beat the flax to soften the straw in the bundles

◦SCULLERY MAID - female servant who performed all the menial tasks

◦SCULLION - male servant who performed all the menial tasks

◦SEAL PRESSER - employed in the glass industry to seal the bath against air intake which could spoil the finished surface

◦SEARCHER - customs man

◦SECRET SPRINGER - one made watch springs

◦SEEDSMAN - sower of seeds

◦SELF ACTING MINDER - one in charge of the automatic spinning mule in the mills

◦SEMI LORER - maker of leather thongs

◦SEMPSTER - seamstress

◦SENESCHAL - A senior steward at the Manor

◦SEWER HUNTER - scavenger who concentrated on the sewers trying to find valuable objects

◦SEWER RAT - bricklayer who specialised in making and repairing sewers and tunnels

◦SEWING CLERK - collector of clothing piecework

◦SEWSTER - seamstress

◦SEXTON - employee or officer of a church who cared and upkept church property and sometimes rang bells and dug graves

◦SHAGREEN CASE MAKER - one who worked with shagreen leather

◦SHANTY MAN - lumberman

◦SHARECROPPER - tenant farmer who would be paid with part of the crop

◦SHEARER - removed the fleece from sheep

◦SHEARGRINDER - sharpened shears, scissors

◦SHEARMAN or SHERMAN - shearer of cloth, metal

◦SHEATH MAKER - one who made scabbards for swords

◦SHEEPMAN - sheep herder

◦SHEPSTER - dressmaker

◦SHINGLER - A roof tiler who used wooden tiles (shingles)

◦SHIP HUSBAND - repairer of ships while in harbor

◦SHIP MASTER - owner or captain of a ship

◦SHIPWRIGHT - constructor or repairer or ships

◦SHOE FINDER - seller of shoe maker's tools

◦SHOESMITH - cobbler, one who shoed horses

◦SHOE WIPER - servant who polished shoes

◦SHOT FIRER - one in charge of blasting in mines or quarries

◦SHRAGER - one who trimmed and pruned trees

◦SHRIEVE - sheriff

◦SHUFFLER - yardman on the farms

◦SHUNTER - one who moved rolling stock around the railway yards

◦SHUTTLE MAKER - made the shuttles for the weaving mills

◦SICKLEMAN - reaper

◦SIDESMAN - one who assisted the churchwarden

◦SILK ENGINE TURNER - turned the wheel on automatic silk weaving looms

◦SILK THROWER - worker in the silk industry

◦SILKER - sewed the ends of the fabric to prvent the layers from separating

◦SILK DRESSER - prepared the silk for weaving

◦SILK MERCER - sold silk cloth and items made from silk

◦SILK TWISTER - silk spinner

◦SILVERSMITH - worked with silver

◦SISSOR or CISSOR - tailor

◦SIZER - applied the size to cloth or worked in a paper mill

◦SKEPPER / SKELPER - one who made and sold beehives

◦SKINKER - tapster in an ale house

◦SKINNER - dealer in hides, mule driver

◦SKIPMAKER - one who made the skips used in mining and quarrying for moving men or materials to the surface

◦SKIPPER - master of a ship

◦SLAPPER / SLAPER - one who worked in a pottery preparing the clay for the potter

◦SLATER - roofer

◦SLOPSELLER - seller of readymade clothes in a slop shop

◦SLUBBER - operated the machine used to prepare cotton for spinning

◦SLUBBER DOFFER - removed the bobbins from the spindles in the mills

◦SMALLWARE MAKER - who made smallware, e.g. tapes, braids etc

◦SMELTER - worker in a metal smelter, smelt fisherman

◦SMIDDY - smith

◦SMITH - metal worker

◦SMUGSMITH - smuggler

◦SNOBSCAT - one who repair shoes

◦SNUFFER MAKER - made the candle snuffer

◦SOAP BOILER (SOPER) - soap maker

◦SOJOURNER CLOTHIER - travelling clothes salesman

◦SOLICITOR - lawyer

◦SORTOR - tailor

◦SOUTER - shoe maker

◦SPALLIER - tin worker who performs chiefly menial tasks

◦SPERVITER - keeper of sparrows

◦SPICER - grocer or dealer in spices

◦SPINNER - spins yarn

◦SPLITTER - operated a splitting machine or one who split things by hand, e.g. stone, timber etc

◦SPOONER - made spoons

◦SPURRER or SPURRIER - maker of spurs

◦SQUIRE - (esquire) practitioner of a profession, a gentleman

◦STABLER - ostler

◦STALLMAN - keeper of a market stall

◦STAMPMAN - worker of an ore crushing machine

◦STATIONER - bookseller, seller of paper & writing implements

◦STATIST - politician

◦STAY MAKER - corset maker

◦STEEPLE JACKER - painted flag poles etc.

◦STEERSMAN - ship's helmsman

◦STENTERER - operated the cloth finishing machine

◦STEP BOY - employed to help passengers to enter or leave the coach

◦STEVEDORE - laborer who unloads and loads ships' cargoes

◦STEWARD - manager of property, purveyor of supplies or someone who attended passengers on conveyance

◦STICHER - one who does decorative stitching

◦STOCKINGER - knitter, weaver, or dealer in stockings

◦STOKER - tends the fire of an engine boiler

◦STONEMAN / STONEWARDEN - a surveyor of highways

◦STONE PICKER - employed to remove the stones from the farmers fields before planting

◦STONE WORKERS - worked with stone eg masons, quarriers etc

◦STOREMAN - one responsible for stored goods

◦STOWYER - one who stowed the nets away on fishing boats

◦STRAVAIGER - vagrant

◦STRAW JOINER - one who thatched roofs

◦STRAW PLAITER - one who made straw braids for the hat industry

◦STREAKER - one who prepared the body for burial

◦STREET ORDERLY / BOY - street cleaner

◦STRIKER - blacksmiths helper or harpooned the whale

◦STRIPPER - employed in the woollen trade to remove the rubbish from the carding machines

◦STRINGER - made the strings for bows

◦STUFF GOWSMAN - junior barrister

◦STUFF WEAVER - wove stuff (the coarse part of flax)

◦SUCKSMITH - one who made ploughshares

◦SUMNER - summoner or apparitor

◦SUMPTER - porter

◦SUTLER - merchant or peddler in an army camp

◦SWAILER - miller or dealer in grain

◦SWAIN - herdsman

◦SWEEP - chimneysweep

◦SWELL MAKER - one who made shallow baskets

◦SWINEYARD / SWINEHERDER - pig keeper

◦SWINGLER - one who beats flax to remove woody parts

◦SWORD CUTLER - sword maker

Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupation - Part 9

Q & R Lists of Occupations

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

◦QUARREL PICKER - glazier

◦QUARRIER / QUARRYMAN - quarry worker

◦QUILLER - one who operated a machine that wound yarn onto spools

◦QUILTER / QUILTRESS - one who quilted material

◦QUISTER - one who bleached things

◦QWYLWRYGHTE - wheelwright

◦RACK MAIDEN - girl employed in the tin mines of Cornwall to dress the ore

◦RAFFMAN - one who dealt in raff (saleable rubbish)

◦RAFF MERCHANT - seller of fibre used to make raffia bags etc

◦RAG CUTTER - one who cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper etc

◦RAG GATHERERS - employed to clear the rags from the machinery in the mills (usually children)

◦RAG MAN - one who went from street to street collecting and selling old clothes and rags

◦RAG AND BONE MAN - one who went from street to street with a cart and collected any old rubbish, usually in exchange for a small item, e.g. a block of soapstone

◦RAG PICKER - sorted through the left over rags to find re usable ones

◦RAKER - street sanitation worker

◦RATONER - rat catcher

◦RATTLEWATCH - town watchman

◦RECTIFIER - one who distilled alcoholic spirits

◦REDAR - interpreter of dreams

◦REDSMITH - goldsmith

◦REEDER - worked with reeds for hedging or thatching

◦REEDMAKER - made the pipe for a musical instrument or made a weavers implement (a reed) or reed cloth or the comb used in tapestry

◦REELER - operated the machine that wound the yarn onto the bobbin

◦REEVE - church warden

◦REEVER - shriever

◦REGISTRAR - official who registers events such as land purchases or births

◦RENOVATOR - one who repaired clothing

◦REVENUER - taxman who enforces tax laws on liquor

◦RICKMASTER - Captain of Horse

◦RIDDLER - wool stapler

◦RIFTERE - reaper

◦RIGGER - hoist tackle worker; works on a ship's rigging

◦RIPPER / RIPPIER - one who sold fresh water fish at the markets or maker and seller of baskets

◦RIVERMAN - worker on a river boat

◦ROCKMAN - worked in a quarry usually placing the charges on the rockface

◦ROCKGETTER - rocksalt miner

◦ROLLER COVERER - one who covered the rollers for the spinning process

◦ROLLEYWAY MAN - maintained the underground road in the mines

◦ROLL TURNER - carder of wool, cotton etc into rolls prior to spinning

◦ROMAN CEMENTER / PLASTERER - one who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing

◦ROPER - maker of rope or nets

◦ROVER - archer or operator of a machine used in cotton mills which prepared the carded fibre into rolls

◦RODMAN - surveyor's assistant

◦RUBBISHER / RUBBLER - sorted the small stones in the quarries

◦RUGMAN - dealer in rugs

◦RUNNER - smuggler, messenger and ironically one who worked for the magistrate best remembered as Bow Street Runners

◦RUSTLER - cattle thief

Things Worth Knowing ~ Occupations - Part 8

 P List of Occupations

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

◦PACKER - packs goods such as pickles or herring

◦PACKMAN - travelled around carrying goods for sale in a pack

◦PACK THREAD SPINNER - operator of the machine which made thread or twine

◦PAD MAKER - made small baskets used for measuring

◦PAINTRESS - woman employed in the pottery industry to hand paint the finished articles

◦PAPER-STAINER - one who made wallpaper

◦PALING MAN - seller of eels

◦PALISTER - one who ensured the parks were safe and well kept

◦PALMER - one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land

◦PANNIER MAN - fish monger

◦PANNIFEX - somebody who worked in the cloth trade

◦PANSMITH - made pans ie a metal wor

◦PANTER - keeper of the pantry

◦PANTLER - butler

◦PAPERER - inserted the needles into the paper ready for sale in the needlemaking trade

◦PARDONER - seller of indulgences

◦PARGETER - applied ornamental plaster to buildings

◦PARITOR - church officer who attended the magistrates and justices at court for the pupose of executing their orders

◦PARKER - park caretaker

◦PASSAGE KEEPER - kept passages and alleys clean

◦PASTELER - pastry chef

◦PASTOR - shepherd

◦PATTEN MAKER - clog maker or the person who made wooden soles (pattens) to fit under normal shoes to protect from wet and muddy ground

◦PAVER / PAVIOUR - laid paving stones

◦PAVYLER - put up pavilions or tents etc

◦PEDASCULE - schoolmaster

◦PEELER - policeman, constable, bobby (from Sir Robert Peel founder of the police force)

◦PELTERER - one who worked with animal skins

◦PERAMBULATOR - surveyor

◦PERCHEMEAR - one who made parchment

◦PEREGRINATOR - itinerant wanderer

◦PERUKER - wigmaker

◦PESSONER - fish monger

◦PETERMAN - fisherman

◦PETTIFOGGER - shyster lawyer

◦PETTY CHAPMAN - itinerant dealer in small goods, a pedlar

◦PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER - one who made scientific instruments

◦PHRENOLOGIST - diviner of a person's character based on the bumps on a person's head

◦PICKER - one who cast the shuttle on a loom

◦PIECENER / PIECER - one who worked in a spinning mill, employed to piece together any threads which broke (usually a child or woman)

◦PIGMAN - one who sold crockery or bred or looked after pigs on the farm

◦PIKELET MAKER - baker who specialised in making pikelets (a small pancake or crumpet)

◦PIKEMAN - miller's assistant

◦PIKER - tramp or vagrant

◦PILLER - robber

◦PILOT - ship steersman

◦PINDER - dog catcher

◦PINER - laborer

◦PINNER - pin make

◦PINNER UP - dressmakers assistant or one who sold broadsheets or ballards in the streets

◦PIPER - innkeeper

◦PISTOR - baker

◦PIT BROW LASS - female worker who worked on the surface of the mines

◦PITMAN - coal miner

◦PLAITER - maker of straw plaits used in making hats etc

◦PLAYDERER - one who made plaid

◦PLAIN WORKER - performed plain sewing or needlework as opposed to an embroiderer

◦PLANKER - one who planks or kneads the body of the hat during felting

◦PLEACHER / PLAICHER / PLATCHER / PLASHER - hedge layer

◦PLOWMAN - farmer

◦PLOWWRIGHT - maker or repairer of plows

◦PLUMASSIER / PLUMER - made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers

◦POINTER - sharpened needles or pins or lace maker

◦POINTMAKER / POINTMAN - made the tips of laces

◦POINTSMAN - railway worker who operated the points, used to change the line on which the train was travelling

◦POLDAVE WORKER - made poldave, a coarse fabric

◦POLEMAN - surveyor's assistant

◦POLENTIER - poulterer

◦POLLER / POWLER - barber

◦PONDERATOR - inspector of weights and measures

◦PORTABLE SOUP MAKER - converted soup into a dry form for transporting from place to place

◦PORTER - door or gatekeeper

◦POSTILLION - attacher of extra horses to wagons & coaches to help them up hills

◦POST BOY - carried mail from town to town, guard who travelled on the mail coach or outrider who travelled with the stagecoach as a postillion

◦POSTER - one who worked in the quarries breaking rocks

◦POTATO BADGER - seller of potatoes

◦POT BOY / MAN - one who worked in public houses washing and removing dirty pots also did other menial tasks

◦POTTER - maker or seller of pottery

◦POTTER CARRIER - chemist or pharmacist

◦POTTER THROWER - potter who used a wheel and therefore had to throw the clay

◦POULTER - seller of poultry

◦POWER LOOM TUNER - one who maintained the loom in mills

◦PRENTIS - apprentice

◦PRECEPTRESS - school mistress

◦PRICKER - witch hunter, pattern maker or a horseman

◦PRICK LOUISE - tailor

◦PRIG NAPPER - horse thief

◦PROCTOR - official of a university

◦PROP BOBBY - worked in mines checking the pit props

◦PROTHONARY - law clerk

◦PUBLICAN - innkeeper

◦PUDDLER - worked clay into puddle, worked with puddle to make things water tight eg canal walls or worked in puddling iron

◦PUGGARD - thief

P List of Occupations

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

◦PUGGER - produce clay paste by treading like grapes, usually women and children in brick manufacturing

◦PLUMBUM WORKER - plumber

◦PUNKY - chimney sweep

◦PUREFINDER - old women and young girls who went about the streets gathering dog droppings which were used for tanning leather

◦PURSER - ship's officer in charge of provisions & accounts

◦PUTTER IN - put things in to some form of mechanised process