Glossary of Old Occupations - W

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

	Email to a friend Related Resources • Occupational Surnames • Old Occupations on the Web • Researching Your Ancestors' Occupations About Genealogy Subscribe to the Free Newsletter Your Email Address:

Wabster - weaver

Wadding maker - maker of wadding (usually made of old rags or cotton) for stuffing upholstered furniture

Wafer maker - maker of church communion wafers

Wagoner / Waggoner - teamster not for hire

Wailer - Mine worker who removed impure rocks in a coal mine

Wain house proprietor - owner of a building where wagons could be parked for a fee

Wainius - ploughman

Wainwright - wagon maker

Waiter - customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in

Waitman - Night watchman who guarded the gates of a city, usually marking the hours with the ringing of a small bell

Waker - A person whose job was to wake workers in time for early morning work

Walker / Waulker - fuller; cloth trampler or cleaner

Waller - 1) Specialist in building walls; 2) salt maker

Wardcorn - Watchman armed with a horn for sounding the alarm on the event of intruders or trouble. Common during medieval times.

Warker - Specialist at building walls, embattlements, and embankments

Warper / Warp Beamer - a textile worker who arranged the individual yarns which created the "warp" of the fabric upon a large cylinder called a beam.

Water bailiff - 1) A custom's officer who searched ships as they came into port; 2) one employed to protect fisheries from poachers

Water carter / Water carrier - Someone who sold fresh water from a traveling cart

Waterguard - customs officer

Webber / Webster - weaver; operator of looms

Wetnurse -  A women who feeds the children of others with her own breast milk (usually for a fee)

Wharfinger - a person who owned or was in charge of a wharf

Wheelwright - builder and repairer of wagon wheels, carriages etc.

Whey cutter - a worker in the cheese industry

Whiffler - an officer who went before an army or procession to clear the way by blowing a horn or trumpet

Whipcorder - a maker of whips

Whisket weaver - basket maker

White cooper - one who makes barrels from tin or other light metals

White limer - one who painted walls and fences with white lime

Whitesmith - tinsmith; worker of tin who finishes or polishes the work

Whitster - bleacher of cloth

Wing coverer - a worker who covered airplane wings with linen fabric

Wonkey scooper - person who operated a scoop-type contraption from a horse

Wright - a skilled worker in various trades

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Main Glossary of Genealogical & Historical Terms
 

<Back to Last Page>