What is the most interesting occupation in your family tree? (#1: locked)

[Brian1]

Did some checking of a census return for Lancashire on behalf of a member 'down under' and came up with this occupation.

Butcher finisher in Laviage!

Anyone any idea of what a finisher in laviage could mean?
Brian

[mc8]

Did some checking of a census return for Lancashire on behalf of a member 'down under' and came up with this occupation.

Butcher finisher in Laviage!

Anyone any idea of what a finisher in laviage could mean?
Brian

I did a google on that and only surnames came up-is there a jewish link?

[philipsearching]

Mostly manual workers in my tree so far.  One great grandfather owned a cats' meat shop and described himself rather grandly as "purveyor of horseflesh".  Several silk weavers and rope makers (twine spinners) and a 14 year old girl tin miner (no idea if she worked underground or not).  One very distant relative was a lamplighter and knocker-up.

Amazing how many trades have completely died out in the 20th century

[philipsearching]

Anyone any idea of what a finisher in laviage could mean?
Brian

It could be a variant of the French "lavage" - washing.  Maybe he washed the corpses?

[Watermusic]

Either he worked for a butcher called "Laviage" - as I can only find this as a name

or lavage - as you suggest, phillipsearching - means

A washing, especially of a hollow organ, such as the stomach or lower bowel, with repeated injections of water.

He cleaned the tripes!

My mum loves tripe and onions! (Yeugghh)

Watermusic

By the way another one found this week Hemp Draper The draper meaning dealer in dry goods - he was a buyer of hemp for the rope industry.

[trellisick]

i have a sarah ann taylor, who at one point in her life was a mantel maker, for those of us who remember gas mantels
you can imagine that must have been a pretty intricate peace of sewing!!

Moderator comment:
The resulting discussion about "mantel maker" has been split off to this new topic
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,92986.0.html

[Christopher]

A Fancy Dress Party with everyone dressed in the attire of their ancestor with the most interesting occupation might well come up to the standard of the Chelsea Arts Ball.
I understand some of my ancestors were master mariners

[Sarndra]

My g g g g grandfather James KITCHENER  from Newington, Surrey, England was an ovenbuilder c1821.  Not much info about!

Sarndra

[Simma]

I would say the most interesting would be my great great great great grandfather who worked as a lime burner, and occupation I had to look up and which sounds fairly dangerous and unpleasant.

The most bizarre - my great grandmother was a glass bottle stopperer for a while.

Also, my paternal great great great great grandfather was a mariner, despite living several hundred miles inland.