Author Topic: Corporation Scavenger?  (Read 4386 times)

Offline jillynetter

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Corporation Scavenger?
« on: Wednesday 11 March 09 00:58 GMT (UK) »
I'm wondering if this is some kind of old name for a kind of refuse collector or a reference to being a scrounger, any ideas?
It is from the 1881 census in Carlisle, Cumberland
Cowen - Carlisle, Cumberland & Hexham Northumberland
Harrison - Carlisle & Cumberland
Beck - Carlisle & Cumberland
Ruddick - Carlisle & Cumberland
Wood - Wigton & Cumberland
Jordan - Wigton and Cumberland

Offline stanmapstone

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Re: Corporation Scavenger?
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 11 March 09 08:31 GMT (UK) »
A scavenger is basically a sweeper-up  I should think  most likely, he could be a road sweeper crossing sweeper, or street sweeper. Considering the amount of horse dung about there would be plenty of work.
See Road Sweeper http://tinyurl.com/4enz6

Stan
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline stanmapstone

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Re: Corporation Scavenger?
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 11 March 09 08:44 GMT (UK) »
A Scavenger was also a  rubbish collector or nightsoil man, a person contracted to remove  material from privies.

From the "Dictionary of Occupational Terms"
Category 970: General Labourers, or other unskilled workers.
Scavenger; see Sweeper
Sweeper; sweeper-up; scavenger; sweeps dust, dung, waste paper, leaves, ec., from surface of road or street and pavement, into heaps at the side of road with broom.......

From the OED. Scavenger
a. A person whose employment is to clean streets, by scraping or sweeping together and removing dirt.
c. fig. in various uses: One who collects filth; one who does ‘dirty work’;


Stan
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Offline jillynetter

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Re: Corporation Scavenger?
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 11 March 09 11:54 GMT (UK) »
Thankyou Stan it wasn't the nicest job then.
Cowen - Carlisle, Cumberland & Hexham Northumberland
Harrison - Carlisle & Cumberland
Beck - Carlisle & Cumberland
Ruddick - Carlisle & Cumberland
Wood - Wigton & Cumberland
Jordan - Wigton and Cumberland


Offline failsafe

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Re: Corporation Scavenger?
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 24 March 09 00:34 GMT (UK) »
A most interesting post since I too, of course in later years became a 'scavenger'

Its a term that has many meanings depending on your time frame.

in early days descibed as 'a person who searches for and gathers discarded items from garbage bins, etc; a person who cleans the streets...' (Chambers Dictionary) in other words a rubbish collector.

There was even such a term as a 'greater dustman or master dustman' yuk!

we would now recognise that job as a 'binman; ashman or other collequal terms.

failsafe
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