Pre-war Occupations/Nativity
Definitions of Occupations (A work in progress)
- Agent
- Generic term - could be an express company agent, an insurance agent, or a station agent (railroad), etc.
- Attorney
- Self-explanatory, but lawyer, attorney and attorney-at-law are merged into this one category
- Bloomer
- Produces iron from ore
- Carder
- Prepares wool for spinning
- Carriage Trimmer
- A workman employed at the trade of carriage trimming (the uphostering of a carriage with leather, cloth, or other material)
- Cooper
- A person who makes or repairs casks, barrels, etc.
- Cordwainer
- Shoemaker
- Currier
- Cures or tans hides
- Diesinker
- One that makes or engraves metal dies for stamping or shaping.
- Drayman
- A dray driver, usually a flat-bed wagon without sides
- Farrier
- Horse shoer or blacksmith
- Hostler/Ostler
- Employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn
- Jobber
- A buyer in quantity to sell to others (wholesaler), a pieceworker
- Joiner
- Carpenter, usually works with wood, i.e. doors, windows, stairs, etc.
- Mechanic
- A worker skilled in making, using, or repairing machines, vehicles, and tools.
- Morocco Worker
- Leather worker/tanner (frequently with goatskins)
- Moulder
- Maker of molds or castings, brickmaker
- Phrenologist
- Diviner of a person's character based on the bumps on a person's head
- Rowler
- Dictionary says archaic form of roller???
Source: Most these terms came from List of Some Early Occupations; others from The Free Dictionary.