Dictionary of Old Occupations
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Definitions of jobs Piece Broker - Pitcher
Piece Broker: a fabric merchant who dealt in remnants.
Piece Master: supervised Piece Workers.
Piece Worker: applied to many occupations. The title simply refers to the fact that the individual was paid according to the number of items produced. If you have this title in your family tree it may possibly refer to a factory worker or a home worker. The term 'Piece Work' is still used today.
Piecener: alternative name for a Piecer, who worked in the textile industry.
Piecer: worked in the textile industry. Responsible for repairing broken threads during weaving.
Pig Jobber: a livestock merchant who dealt in pigs.
Pig Man: a pig herder, or a pig trader.
Pigmaker: made pigs from smelted metal, used for transporting materials.
Pikelet Maker: baked and sold crumpets - a type of baker.
Pike Helve Maker: Made wooden helves, also known as hafts or shafts. These are the wooden handles for tools such as axes. A pike was a long handled axe used as a medieval weapon which essentially became obsolete in the 17th century, but axes are still used for agriculture and forestry to this day.
Pikeman: prior to 1700 the title referred to a soldier armed with a pike. Also a possible Scottish term for a crockery seller, or a man who collected fees at a toll road (turnpike).
Piker: a slang term for a Pikeman, or a derogatory term for a vagrant. In the US the term Piker is sometimes substituted for Pikey, referring to the lower class or travellers.
Piler: an arrow consists of four parts: the pile (a.k.a. head or point), the shaft, the nock and the fletching. A Piler fitted arrow heads to the wooden shaft of arrows.
Piller: a thief, 'one who plunders or pills'. Also a nickname for an debt collector.
Pilot: steered a ship or boat.
Pin Pointer: sharpened pins and needles during the manufacturing process.
Pinder: old term for a dog warden.
Piner: generic term for a labourer or workman. May also refer to pin-makers or Comb Makers.
Pinner: made pins for sale.
Pinner Up: assistant to a Dressmaker.
Pioneer: a military engineer.
Copyright: Jane Hewitt. This dictionary is authorised for use on www.familyresearcher.co.uk only.
Pipe Maker: made and sold pipes to smokers.
Piper: played bagpipes. Several online sources list this as meaning 'innkeeper', but I have yet to find evidence to confirm that. There is poem called 'The Innkeeper' by poet John Piper.
Pistor: Latin term for a baker of bread.
Pit Brow Lass: female surface worker at a mine or colliery.
Pit Brusher: worked in the mining industry, responsible for maintaining shafts and tunnel supports.
Pit Head Man: worked the headgear at the pit head of a mine.
Pit Man: generic term for a mine worker.
Pit Road Man: worked underground in a mine, responsible for keeping tunnels clear and safe.
Pitcher: Pitcher: alternate term for a Caulker, person who used tar (pitch) and fibres from old ropes to seal cracks in wooden ships, casks, windows etc. in order to make them watertight.
This dictionary is my own work, and copyright Jane Hewitt. I sometimes find unauthorised (i.e. stolen) copies of my website content appearing on other people's websites. If you should read a group of identical glossary definitions elsewhere on the web, consider whether such sites are reputable or not.
A History of Coal Mining in Great Britain by Robert Lindsay Galloway
A classic 19th Century book from medieval times through the Industrial Revolution.
Covers the developments of mining technology such as winches, lighting and engines, and contain s many fascinating anecdotes which highlight how dangerous coal mining occupations were throughout history.
