Tailors' earnings?

[shan42]

Anyone have an idea what sort of earnings a tailor would have made in the early-mid 1800s (Staffs). or if they woud have been comfortably off or pretty poor, please?

[patrish]

I dont think it was a very well paid job

[marcie dean]

Hi Shan42,
I think there is a possibility that it would depend on how good they were and whether they had a list of clients or whether they worked for someone else.
I have a James Hutcheon and at the age of 19 he stated he was a tailor.  10 yrs later and he was working on the railways, so obviously he found it difficult to make ends meet and found a better position.
Is there no link that we can use to find out.  According to someone I have been corresponding told me that if you wished to grade jobs it would possibly start: pauper, shoemaker, coalminer, fisherman,(food always being further up the list, maybe Tailor, butcher,grocer and top would possibly be Solicitor etc. Reverend (although they could be quite poor depending upon the generosity of the congregation.   What do you think?   marcie.

[shan42]

Thanks both... well he must have been good my ancestor because that's the only job I have for him - at least one of my lot weren't on the bread line, lol!!

I'm quite surprised about shoemakers though, I'd have thought they'd be a bit further up the scale.

[Ruskie]

I'm quite surprised about shoemakers though, I'd have thought they'd be a bit further up the scale.

Me too ...  Further investigation required I suspect. 

I would have thought that any skilled job with an apprenticeship would be higher up the scale - including shoemakers, blacksmiths etc. Marcie is probably correct when she says that it depends on their standing and success within their industry.

There were many jobs associated with coalmining - some more skilled than others so it would be difficult to lump these kinds of jobs together.

And what about Farmers - ag labs etc? Ag labs would be fairly low paid.  Depending on the acreage and crop, wether or not they were tennant farmers etc etc, I imagine that some farmers may be reasonably well off financially? 

Interesting question shan42. 

[Ruskie]

I think this might help with your query:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/07q8/

(lots of interesting stuff on that site - click on 'home')

[patrish]

What an instersting site  .. thanks Ruskie, I have bookmarked that.

I see that Tailors was not a particularly well paid job.

I based my previous assumption on  the fact that there were a lot of Jewish Tailors in the Bethnal Green East End of London and that was a very poor area.

I am not surprised about the Shoe makers,initially my gt. grandfather was one and his father a Cordwainer and they were very poor

[shan42]

Thanks for the link

So is 'cordwainer' pronounced 'cordiner' then?

[patrish]

I think it was pronounced as it was spelt