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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: gh485 on Sunday 19 February 12 17:08 GMT (UK)
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What did this occupation entail?
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" A Dictionary of Occupational Terms" has this definition for Merchant (trader); a wholesale dealer who buys goods wholesale from manufacturers or other merchants, and sells to other merchants or retailers; usually specifically designated, e.g. feather merchant, hide and skin merchant, hop merchant etc.
Stan
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Two possibilities occur to me -
1. Someone who buys and sells (or runs a shop) selling china
2. Someone who trades with China - I have met several people in my genealogical travels who are described as "East India Merchants" for example.
Would be worth cross-checking with trade directories for the area, Kelly's or the like.
Hope this helps
Graham
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In the Trade Directories they are usually listed as Glass & China Merchants. http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/
I assume you are referring to the UK, as "China Merchant" can mean a merchant in China, as a Google Book search shows.
Stan
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The Oxford English Dictionary defines Merchant as A person whose occupation is the purchase and sale of goods or commodities for profit. (Originally used gen. of any trader in goods not manufactured or produced by his or her own hand, but from the 16th cent. chiefly restricted to wholesale traders, esp. those having dealings with foreign countries.)
Stan