Morayshire Family History Sharing
Scottish Occupations
We have all have some sort of paperwork that has occupations
listed, Civil Registrations, Monumental Inscriptions, Census returns
and Probate records to name a few.
Over the years occupations have come and gone, new industries and
technologies have taken over from the workers on the land and crafters
This list is a partial extract of an occupations list on Scotroots Ancestor Service and is listed here with their permission, with additional occupations added by myself.
Occupation | Description |
Advocate | Solicitor acting in a Law Court |
Agricultural . Labourer (Ag. Lab) | A labourer working on the land. Will be seen in most documents as Ag.Lab. |
Annealer | Processed metal or glass by furnace-heating and immersion in chemical baths |
Annuitant | Person receiving an annual income or pension, the person concerned does not work and may never have done. |
Apprentice | Trainee bound to learn a craft or trade for a set number of years |
Assizor | A juror |
Bailie | Magistrate in a Scottish Burgh |
Bailiff | One who guards the fishing rights on a stretch of river |
Banksman | Mine worker at pithead who loads coal from the cages |
Bard | Poet or teller of stories |
Baxter | Baker |
Beetler | Textile mill worker operating a beetling machine to emboss fabric |
Blaxter | Bleacher of cloth |
Bleacher | Mill worker who whitened textiles, or paper |
Blockcutter | Person who hand-carves wooden blocks used for printing |
Blockmaker | A trader, broker |
Blockprinter | Person who prints on paper or cloth with carved wooden blocks |
Bobbin turner | Maker of wooden bobbins and spools for textile mills |
Bookmaker | "Bookie" accepts gambling bets, traditionally on racing horses, dogs, fighting in various forms |
Bottler | One who fills bottles, often in distillery |
Border | A smallholder |
Bowman | A sub-tenant who farms a tenant's cows for a season |
Brazier | Worker in brass metal |
Brewster | A brewer, a maker of beer |
Brusher | Coal miner who repaired mine passage roofs and sides |
Burgess | Man listed as merchant or craftsman in a town burgh - a Tradesman |
Cabinetmaker | Furniture maker |
Callenderer | Smoothed cloth or paper by passing through rollers |
Candler | One who makes or sells candles |
Carder | Prepares wool for spinning by brushing with wire pads to remove organic matter and knots |
Carter | Worked with horse and cart on farm or in towns |
Catechist | Instructor in religious doctrine |
Caulker | Filler of cracks more often than not in ships by sealing with tar |
Cellarman | Keeper of wine and spirits - in later years also included beers |
Chaisemaker | Carriage maker |
Chandler | Dealer in goods, more often than not in ship's supplies |
Charwoman | Cleaning woman |
Chowder | Seller of fish - a fishmonger |
Clagger | Person removing clags or dirty clots from a fleece |
Clark | Clerk - an alternative spelling |
Cloth Lapper | Driver of coach and horses |
Coal Trimmer | Person who stabilised coal-carrying barges/ships |
Cobbler | Maker or repairer of shoes |
Collier | Coal miner, usually a coal face worker |
Colourman | Mixer of dyes in textile trade |
Colporteur | Travelling book seller |
Compositor | Person who sets up type for printing |
Cooper | Maker of barrels and casks, often for distillers |
Cordiner / Cordwainer | Maker of fine leather shoes and boots. Can also refer to a worker in goatskin who made the finest gloves |
Costermonger | Street seller of apples, other fruit and vegetables |
Cottar | Tenant with only a cottage and maybe enough land to feed themselves |
Cow-feeder | Tenant of small farm with dairy cows |
Cowper | Maker of cups |
Crofter | Tenant of farm and cottage (croft), usually in Highlands and Islands. |
Currier | A curer or tanner of hides |
Custumer | Custom-house official |
Cutter | One who cuts the cloth for a tailor |
Dexter | Dyer |
Diker or Dyker | Builder of dry stone walls |
Docker | Worker at docks who loads and unloads ships cargo |
Domestic Servant (Dom. Serv. ) | A household worker |
Dominie | School teacher |
Draper | Dealer in fabrics and sewing materials |
Drawer | Mine worker pushing or dragging coal carts |
Dresser | 1. Surgeon's assistant |
Drover | Cattle dealer and mover of livestock. There are many Drover Roads in Scotland and between the Scottish Borders and England |
Drayman | Cart driver of a long cart without sides |
Drysalter | Dealer in pickles, dried or tinned meats, and sauces |
Dustman | Lifted street litter and domestic rubbish ( see 'scavenger' ) |
Dyker | Builder of dry stone walls |
Exciseman | Collector of taxes |
Factor | Estate agent for landowner, collector of rents. A middleman between two parties. |
Farm servant | Farm worker who was contracted to work for a farmer |
Farrier | Blacksmith who shoes horses |
Fencible | Soldier recruited at times of war, a militiaman |
Fireman | 1. Person in charge of a furnace, e.g.. on a train, ship or foundry 2. A fire fighter |
Fish curer | Dried and salted fish for transport in barrels |
Fishwife | Woman who carried and sold fresh fish from door to door. |
Fitter | Assembled wooden or metal parts , or machinery |
Ferry-louper | An Orkney name for incomer from mainland |
Feuar | Landholder under feudal system paid a feu (fee) to the overlord/ landowner |
Flaxman | One who deals in flax |
Fleshmonger / Flesher | A butcher or one who worked in a tannery |
Fletcher | A maker of arrows (an arrowsmith) |
French Polisher | A craftsman who uses sandpaper and oils to bring wooden furniture to a glass-like shine. |
Fruictman | One who sells fruit |
Furnaceman | Attended to furnace, often in metal a works |
Gaberlunzie | A beggar |
Gamekeeper | A guard and breeder of wild game (pheasants etc) on an estate |
Ganger | Gangsman leading a gang or squad of men |
Gangrel | Vagrant or tramp |
Gaoler | Jailer |
Guager | Excise officer |
General Labourer (Gen. Lab) | General labourer, one who can work in various industries doing general manual tasks |
Ghillie | Highland guard of wild game, especially deer |
Girnalman | In charge of meal store or granary |
Glover | Maker of gloves |
Granger | Keeper of grain store (granary) |
Grieve | Factor, collector of farming rents. Can also refer to the foreman or supervisor on a farm |
Groom | Responsible for looking after the horses on an estate |
H.L.W. (a common abbrev.) | Hand loom weaver |
Haberdasher | Seller of small clothing wares and sewing materials |
Hackler / Heckler | Lint dresser who separated the coarse flax with a toothed hackle |
Heritor | Landholder in a parish |
Hammerman | Metal worker, a smith |
Hatter | Maker of hats, a milliner |
Hawker | Pedlar, seller of small goods from door to door |
Hecklemaker | Maker of flax combs for use by heckler/hackler |
Herd | Shepherd |
Hetheleder | A person who sold heather as a source of fuel |
Hewer | Miner underground working the coal face |
Hind | Farm servant |
Hosier | Seller of long wool or silk stockings |
Hostler / Ostler | One who looks after horses at an inn |
Hooper | Maker of hoops for barrels |
Howdywife | Midwife |
Iron Miner | Miner of ironstone rock used in the production of pig iron |
Iron Moulder | Iron worker who poured molten iron from furnace into moulds |
Jackman | Attendant or man-at-arms, for a nobleman or landowner |
Japanner | Applied black gloss lacquer to furniture |
J.P. (abbrev.) | Justice of the Peace |
Jobbing man | Employed for a variety of small jobs or tasks |
Joiner | A wood worker, a carpenter |
Journeyman | 1. Qualified tradesman, apprenticeship served 2. Also a man who was employed by the day |
Kirk-master | Deacon in a church |
Kish maker | Maker of woven willow baskets |
Laird | Rural estate landowner, usually in the Highlands |
Lamplighter | Employed to light the gas street lamps in Victorian cities |
Lathsplitter | Prepared thins strips of wood (laths) for nailing to walls and ceilings as a base to spread plaster over |
Laundress | Washerwoman for clothes |
Lawrightman | Determined local weights & measures, and land tax |
Leerie | Another name for a lamplighter |
Lengthsman | Railway worker responsible for maintaining a length of rail track |
Limmer | 1. Thief or scoundrel 2. Artist who decorates manuscripts |
Lineator | Surveyor or measurer |
Litster | Dyer of cloth |
Lorimer | Maker of metal horse harnesses |
Lotter | Made up odd lots of wool and put them in batches for sale |
Maltster | Preparer of malt for brewing |
Mariner | Seaman, usually in merchant navy |
Mason | Stone cutter and layer |
Master | 1. Head school teacher 2. Skilled and self-employed craftsman or tradesman |
Master Mariner | Ship's captain |
Milliner | Maker of hats and female headwear |
Miner | Workers in mines, usually coal mines in the central regions of Scotland |
Monger | Seller of goods, eg iron-monger |
Nailer | Blacksmith maker of nails by cutting and shaping metal |
Navvie | A short form of the word " navigator", a worker digging out canal beds, later roads and railways. |
Night Soil Carrier | Person employed to remove and dispose of toilet waste |
Notary | Solicitor, lawyer |
Orraman | Spare man or odd-job man around the farm |
Ostler / Hostler | Hostler, one who looks after horses at an inn |
Overman | Supervisor in colliery checking mine and coal quality |
Pattern Maker | Metal pattern makers made forms and moulds for casting iron products |
Pauper | Person without money and means of earning a livelihood |
Pedlar | Seller of small goods from door to door |
Pendicler | Sub-tenant with some grass and arable land |
Pensioner | Originally meant someone receiving an Army pension after active service |
Periwig-maker | Maker of wigs for gentlemen |
Peuterer | A worker in pewter |
Pirn-winder | Mill worker who threaded yarn on weaving looms |
Pitheadman | Over-ground worker at a coal mine |
Pit Roadman | Mine worker preparing and repairing underground passageways |
Platelayer | Railway worker laying and repairing rails |
Plewman / Ploughman | Ploughman -Farm worker who works with horse and a plough |
Pointsman | Railway worker who operates rail points |
Pony Driver | Leading pony underground pulling coal hutches |
Porter | Baggage carrier; or gate keeper |
Portioner | Owner of land, previously divided amongst co-heirs |
Post Boy | Guard travelling on a mail coach |
Printfield worker | A mill worker who printed cloth with dyes and inks. |
Procurator | Lawyer or advocate |
Procurator-Fiscal | Principal public prosecutor in district |
Provost | Elected head of burgh council |
Puddler | Iron worker operating a puddling or ball furnace |
Quarrier | Worker in stone quarry |
Railway Lengthsman | Railway worker responsible for maintaining a length of rail track |
Ranselman | Was empowered by court to search houses for stolen property |
Reidare | Minor clergyman in early Church, a reader |
Relict | Widow |
Riever | Robber, originally of cattle |
Rivetter | Shipyard worker joining metal plates with hammered rivets |
Saddler | Maker and repairer of horse saddles and leathers |
Sandpaperer | Another name for a French Polisher |
Sawbones | Surgeon or physician. Is used in the Navy a greatdeal |
Sawyer | Worker in sawmill or timber pit |
Scallag | Poor male or female farm servant of a tacksman |
Scavenger | A"scaffie" is a dustman or street sweeper |
Schoolmaster | Head school teacher |
Sclater | Slater, a roof tiler with slates |
Scrivener | Writer employed to arrange contracts, prepare accounts, etc |
Scullery Maid | A kitchen servant |
Seamstress | Woman who sews, makes and mends clothes |
Servitor | Clerk or secretary |
Sexton | Layman guarding church building and vestments |
Sheriff | Chief officer of Crown in county |
Shingler | Roof tiler with wooden shingles |
Shipwright | Constructor and repairer of ships |
Ship Master | Owner or captain of a ship |
Skinner | Flayer of animal hides for leather |
Solicitor | A Lawyer |
Souter | Shoemaker |
Slater | A Roof tiler who works with slates |
Smith | Metal worker, more often than not refers to a blacksmith |
Spinster | A woman who spins textiles, is also a term for an unmarried woman |
Spirit Merchant | Dealer in spirits, wines and ale |
Sprigger | Embroiderer of fine lace and muslin, also boot and shoe finisher |
Square Wright | Is a carpenter |
Squattie (squatter) | A person with or without his family who lived on other peoples property without permission. In some places, there was a law that if they had by sunset a fire burning in a hearth with a chimney, they were allowed to stay and build a home. |
Station Master | A man in charge of a railway station |
Steward | Chief of household in a royal or noble family |
Stoker | Stoked fuel in to a furnace or boiler, e.g. on a ship |
Stravaiger | A wanderer, a vagrant |
Surfaceman | Laid and repaired surface of road or railway, or mine passage |
Surveyor of taxes | Responsible for calculating and levying taxes on property and possessions |
Tacksman | Farm tenant who sub-let rents or tacks |
Tailzeor | Tailor |
Tambourer | Embroiderer using hoops to hold the cloth |
Tanner | Curer of hides to make leather |
Tenementer | Tenant of dwelling in large town building, a tenement |
Tenter | Tuner and maintainer of power looms |
Thatcher | Roofer working with reeds or heather thatch |
Tinker | Travelling repairman , seller of pots and pans |
Todman | A man employed to kill foxes (tods) on an estate |
Towsman | Man in charge of the halyards on a fishing boat |
Trencherman | Cook |
Turner | A lathe operator, shaping wood or metal |
Type-founder | Printer who set out individual letters on printing blocks |
Vermin Trapper | A person employed to set traps and kill rats, mice, foxes, moles and other vermin |
Victualler | Supplier of food and provisions |
Vintner | Wine merchant |
Wadsetter | A wadset is a right, under Scottish Law, by which lands are honoured to acreditor in security of a debt |
Wainwright | Wagon maker |
Walkster | Cloth worker cleaning and thickening cloth by wetting and walking over it |
Wheelwright | Maker or repairer of wheels |
Whig | a carriage driver |
Whitesmith | Worker in tin and light metals |
Winder | Mill worker who wound the thread on weaving looms |
Wright | Joiner or carpenter |
Writer | Solicitor |
Writer to the Signers (Abbrev W.S) | A Solicitor |
Yarn bleacher | Bleacher of textile fibres, such as flax |
Yarn dresser | Preparer of flax fibres |
© Carol Sklinar 2003 - 2004