In our thousands of records there are a wide variety of old jobs mentioned, many familiar to us in the 21st Century, but some which seem slightly peculiar to modern audiences. For this Archives A-Z we thought we would use the letter J to look at some of the more unusual jobs of old in our collections.
Dog-Whipper
A dog-whipper, or peace-keeper, actually had very little to do with dogs. Instead, a dog-whipper was a minor church official with limited responsibilities. In the collection we have one example of a dog-whipper being mentioned, and that is in the parish records of Lydlinch, where a dog-whipper was paid four shillings in 1742 for their work (PE-LYD/CW/1/1).
Journeyman
In modern terms, a journeyman is someone who moves around, never staying in one place too long. However, originally, a journeyman was a skilled labourer, a mechanic or artisan, who was hired to work for a single day. The nature of this work no-doubt led to a nomadic lifestyle, and our modern understanding of the term. There are countless journeymen in our records, such as James Middleton, journeyman painter in 1863 (D-1321/2/5); John Pitman, a journeyman parchment maker in 1832 (Q/S/J/5/1832/203); or Samuel Rose, journeyman mason of Sturminster Newton in 1843 (D-PIT/L/110).
Hostler
A hostler, or, depending on your accent, an ‘ostler’, was another name for a stableman. Generally speaking a hostler was someone who looked after horses at inns. Again, there are a few examples of this in our collections, including John Barnes of Poole, hostler, who was convicted of assault in 1835 (DC-PL/C/C/2/12).
Boonmaster
A boonmaster, also known as a waywarden, was the person with responsibility for the highways in their parish. In this, they had authority over their fellow parishioners when it came to repairing the highways. We have a few waywardens mentioned in the collections, but most of the representation comes through account books or financial documents, including an account book from which included waywardens’ accounts between 1688-1741 (PE-WOR/CW/1/1).
Hellier
If someone was a hellier, it simply meant that they were a slater, or a tiler, responsible for putting the roof slates onto houses. A good example of a hellier (in this case spelt ‘helliar’) is John Alford of Herstone, Swanage, who in 1671 acquired a house and land in Corfe Castle (D-BKL/A/E/6).
Chaise-driver
And finally, we now think of ‘chaise’ as in the term ‘chaise-lounge’, a curious, awkwardly shaped seat. But in the 18th and 19th centuries, a ‘Post-chaise’ was a horse and carriage, otherwise known as a gig. Therefore, a chaise-driver was someone who drove the horses and the gig. The gig and the seat share certain stylistic similarities, and we have a few examples of these drivers in the collection. Obviously someone who knew nothing, John Snow of Poole was a chaise-driver who was convicted for passing through the Turnpike Gate in Poole without paying the toll in 1812 (DC-PL/C/C/6/3).
Have you come across any other strange jobs carried out by your ancestors? Let us know in the comments below!