The following are some commonly used abbreviations for US Census
documents:
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 make
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; OR
one who received the matter in the galley from the
compositors
and arranged it in due form ready for printing; OR
one who makes eyelet holes
in boots using a machine which
clicked. |
Cohen | Priest |
Collier | Coal miner |
Colporteur | Peddler of books |
Cooper | One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves
& 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 curry comb;
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 heavyloads |
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 |
Hoslter | 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/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 orstained 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/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 | Junior barrister |
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 supplies |
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
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