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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: Malcolm Bull on Wednesday 01 May 19 10:14 BST (UK)
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By one of those strange coincidences, within a few days I have come across people working as what looks like a tillifer. The example here came from the 1881 census for a family living in Stainland, near Halifax.
Any alternative readings or suggestions for what the work entails would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Malcolm
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Gotme stumped, too. The preceding word is "worsted", so indicative of something in the woollen industry, which is right for the area. Any chance you could show us a bit more of the page to aid comparisons of handwriting, neighbours' occupations etc?
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You probably know Worsted is a Quality woollen yarn. So this must be an occupation in the Woolen mills.
List of occupations here, but none seem to be exactly this one. Sorry
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=o0Ir3aGr_vUC&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=worsted+mills+occupations&source=bl&ots=BDJvbV5YWs&sig=ACfU3U14FXdnyDx2FVOpViVftfubrPpfTQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjGlOu3gvrhAhUGYysKHaEiBYoQ6AEwDHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=worsted%20mills%20occupations&f=false
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I can't see 'Tillifer' in the Dictionary of Occupational Terms http://doot.spub.co.uk/idx.php?letter=T
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The only reference to a tillifer that I can find is a type of disc plough.
it appears to be a surname as well.
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The nearest is
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The nearest I can find is
tillotter
949.—Other Packers, Wrappers, Labellers, Ticketers (XXIX. Warehousemen, Storekeepers, Packers)
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Found this
1881 census
Top occupations
Tillifer In Warehouse
Malky
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Found this
1881 census
Top occupations
Tillifer In Warehouse
Looking at the image for that one, it could also be read as tilliter :-\ (RG 11 /4449 / 101 / 21)
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Could it possibly be meant to be Filleter? (I haven't looked at the page image, but comparison of other letters might help to answer this.)
I haven't found this word in a dictionary, but one meaning of 'fillet', according to the OED, is 'a thin narrow strip of any material'; more specifically, in a Carding-engine, 'a strip of card-clothing'.
Joseph Wright's Dialect Dictionary includes 'filleting' as a West Yorkshire term for 'narrow strips of leather, india-rubber , or cloth, used for covering certain parts of a scribbling or carding machine'. One of his sources is a bit more precise: 'A piece of leather or cloth in which the pins of a carding-machine are fastened, and which is then fastened round a roller.'
Edited to add:
On the other hand, I like the look of Stan's tillotter too (OED has tillet or tillot, and tilloting, but not tilloter).
Another edit:
See my further thoughts at reply #12
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I think Mike and Stan are right, the occupation, is tilloter (or tilliter as written Malcolm's snip).
Here's another 1881 example
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Here's a larger section of the original 1881 census at Stainland for comparison
I agree that Stan's response - tilloter - is most likely.
MB
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In case anyone wants to check, the reference is RG11/4412 fo88 p17.
I tried looking for an upper-case 'F' in the same handwriting to see if my suggestion can be excluded. There aren't many to be seen, but p16 has a Cloth Fuller, and p19 has a Farmer and a Fireman (as well as another Tilliter). In all cases, the 'F' is clearly crossed, so I now think Filleter can be ruled out.
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Yep, def Tilliter(sic).
The other thing that sadly strikes me is the 12yo already skilled as a worsted spinner.
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From a Dictionary of obsolete and provincial English
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...and the OED
tillet/tillot
" A kind of coarse cloth, used for wrapping up textile fabrics and (formerly) garments; also for making awnings."
apparently from Old French tellette - a wrapper of cloth
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...and the OED
tillet/tillot
" A kind of coarse cloth, used for wrapping up textile fabrics and (formerly) garments; also for making awnings."
apparently from Old French tellette - a wrapper of cloth
Interesting.
In that case, it presumably also derives from the French word "toile".
Toile is a fabric, from the French word meaning "linen cloth" or "canvas", particularly cloth or canvas for painting on. The word "toile" can refer to the fabric itself, a test garment (generally) sewn from the same material, or a type of repeated surface decoration (traditionally) printed on the same fabric. The term entered the English language around the 12th century.
And ultimately from the Latin Tela, meaning web.