Hall Genealogy Old Occupation Names
The Flag of St George & England
Updated Sun, 19-Oct-2014
 

Q  R

 Q 
Old Name
New Name or Meaning
Quarantine (Station) From 1728, some Customs officials - Quarantines - were given the responsibility of watching quarantine hulks anchored offshore to ensure nobody left them before their period of quarantine had expired on arriving from abroad.
Quarrel Picker Glazier
Quarrier / Quarry Man Quarry worker (!)
Quay Clerk Clerk who worked at a wharf or quay, and still does so today
Querry Groom
Quiller Operated machinery winding yarn onto quills or spools A quill is a  reed on to which the thread of the weft was wound when weaving cloth.  More Info.
Quilter / Quiltress Quilted material
Quister Bleached articles
Qwylwryghte Wheelwright
R
Rack Maiden Girl employed dressing ore in the Cornwall tin mines
Raff Merchant Sold fibre used to make raffia bags etc.
Raffman Dealer in "raff" - saleable rubbish
Rag Cutter Cut rags into small pieces for papermaking
Rag Gatherers Cleared rags from mill machinery - usually children
Rag Man / Rag and Bone Man Toured the streets in his cart collecting rags and any old useable discarded items
Rag Picker Sorted useable items from rag collection
Rag-stabber Tailor (slang) mid 19c - also Stab-rag (military slang)
Raker Street cleaner
Ratoner Rat Catcher
Rattlewatch Town watchman
Reacher for Drawing Specific occupation in the cotton/silk weaving mills. Each thread has to be Drawn through the Eye on a Heald, ready for the loom and then separately picked out from the Beam of warp threads by the Reacher
Rectifier Distilled alcohol
Redar Interpreted dreams
Redman / Redeman Responsible for maintaining the haulageways and passages in a coal mine
Reddleman Sold the dye used by farmers to mark their sheep
Redsmith Goldsmith
Reeder Used reeds for thatching and hedging
Reedmaker 1) Made weaving reeds - a reed is a comb-like device for 'beating' the weft thread into place as it is passed by the shuttle, the warp threads passing between the teeth of the reed 2) Made reeds or pipes for musical instruments 3) Made reed cloth 4) Made tapestry combs
Reed & Heald Maker Also Reed Maker (above). Made equipment for the separation of the weft thread on cloth-weaving looms.   More Info.
Reeler

1) Received yarn on bobbins or paper tubes and arranged them on a shelf above the machine; guided and attached the end of the yarns to swifts (skeleton reels), which revolved and wound the yarn upon themselves in skein form; controlled the power drive on the machine; mended broken threads; removed the hanks or skeins of yarn from the machine when completed.
2) Puts woven cloth on to a reel for dyeing (more recent)

Reeve 1) Churchwarden 2) Royal or Manorial elected or appointed official
Reever Shriever; Sherriff
Regarder Surveyed woodland, hedges and fences
Registrar As today - registered events; land purchases, births, deaths etc.
Relieving Officer Official of the Poor Law Union to whom the poor or retarded persons in the parish could apply for poor relief
Renovator Repaired clothing
Resurrection Man Apart from using the bodies of hanged criminals, dissection was illegal, so 17c. British doctors took to breaking the law. 'Resurrection men' would look for recent burials, dig up the corpse and sell it to a doctor. At £3 a body, you could make a decent living out of the practice. Resurrection men became so unpopular that they ran the risk of being torn to pieces if caught by a mob.
Revenuer / Renenue Man Tax collector
Rice Dressser Removed the chaff, straw, small grains etc. to clean up rice grains for human consumption. Rice skins are polished off to give the white grain we normally use
Rickmaster Captain of Horse
Riddler Wool stapler
Riding Officer Employed by the Revenue to patrol 4-10 miles of coastline to detect smugglers. Paid no more than a farmer's labourer and hated, so dangerous. 18th century.
Riftere Reaper
Rigger Hoist tackle worker - esp. running and dismantling rigging of ships
Ring Spinner Operated a Ring Spinning Machine - Ring spinning was/is a method for the continuous spinning of cotton.  More Info.
Ripper / Rippier Seller of fish
Riverman Worked riverboats
Roadman 1) Worked on building and or maintaining roads - often had a stretch of road which he was responsible for filling in potholes etc. - usually a mile 2) A tramp or vagrant was also often referred to as a Roadman
Rockgetter Rock salt miner
Rockman Worked in the quarries, usually placing charges
Rodman / Poleman Surveyor's assistant - held the rod for the surveyor's theodolite observation
Roll Turner Carded yarn into rolls prior to spinning
Roller Coverer Covered the rollers in spinning
Rolley Man Delivery man
Rolleyway Man Maintained the mine's underground roadways
Roman Cementer / Plasterer Used "Roman Cement" - used in stuccoing
Rope Runner Accompanied sets of drams or tubs on the rope haulage system in a Colliery for the purpose of changing over the rope or ropes at the end of the run
Roper 1) Made rope or nets 2) Cotton spinning operative
Rover 1) Archer  2) Loaded cotton yarn onto bobbins, giving the yarn a twist, (Roving) after the Carding and Combing processes.
Rubbisher / Rubbler Sorted small stones in the quarries
Rugman Dealer in rugs
Rule Maker Made and calibrated rulers (for measurement)
Rully Man A Cart man - equivalent to today's lorry or truck driver
Runner 1) Runner or messenger for the magistrates -Bow Street Runner 2) Smuggler
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