occupations - opinions?

[ali607]

In the late 1800s was a man who was a French Polisher likely to become a 'labourer' in the next decade? Also how about a wine cooper - could he mutate into a labourer in a decade?? Were these trades that you were trained in and likely to stick to?
What do you think?
Alison

[jorose]

Anyone could end up being a labourer, if they'd lost their other job or perhaps suffered some illness that stopped them from continuing in the work they'd trained for.  These would have been considered skilled professions; in particular, the Coopers are one of the Livery Guilds, so it could happen but there had to be some reason they'd had to turn away from their previous, better-paying occupation.

http://www.coopers-hall.co.uk/coopers/index.htm - there's some interesting history on the Worshipful Company of Coopers' site.

(I do recall a story about the life of a young man who was sent as a convict to Australia at 14, that the Bedfordshire and Luton record office had been delving into; his father, trained as a shoemaker but with an unfortunate liking for the booze, had to give up his trade in later years as his hands were no longer steady enough for the work.)

[Bill749]

Hi Alison

Time to do a bit of local and social history research!

Both of these trades would almost certainly have required a lengthy apprenticeship, and anyone would want to stick to a good trade.  However, you need to look at the area where they were living to try and work out what the employment situation was.

It might be that the industry in which they worked was going through a bad patch, so they had to take what work they could find.

Regards, Bill

[wheeldon]

As Bill pointed out you need to look at the changes of economics around this time.  Was there a war on /Industrial revolution etc?  People would change jobs to go where the money was.  If there was greater need for labourers rather than french polishers - he would have probably laboured.