Where on the social scale was a coppersmith in the early to mid 1800s please?

[hurworth]

One of our ancestors married a coppersmith.  I've been researching her family and her cousins had a wide range of occupations, but I'm wondering whether her husband had the same social standing as other relatives.

I have a feeling she was headstrong.  The rest of her family married within a fairly small social circle that was connected in some way, and I haven't worked out yet where her husband fitted in.

[Andrew Tarr]

I can't place it accurately on any 'social scale', but it would have been a skilled trade requiring a 7-year apprenticeship before qualification as a journeyman.  Rather like copper itself, I would guess it fell somewhere between a blacksmith (below, but an essential position in everyday life) and a silversmith (above; a true artisan, making desirable articles for profit).  Much of the kitchen equipment in grand houses was in copper, as any visit to one will show today.

[hurworth]

Thank you Andrew. 

I need to delve further into what line of business her sister's husband was in, but whatever it was he was declared bankrupt.  Her brothers went to boarding school. One became a surgeon (not trained at medical school as far as I can tell) and another managed the affairs on a local estate. 

One of her cousins was a milliner in a fashionable part of London and her husband was an importer of ribbons and laces.  On the census they have a dozen or so milliner's assistants living with them, some of whom are from France, so I think it was quite a successful enterprise.

Other cousins were farmers, but I don't think they owned the land.  From newspaper reports I gather they had enough spare time to play cricket and go fox hunting.

Funny you should mention silversmiths.  Her son-in-law was the gt-grandson of a silversmith.  One of his spoons came up on an auction site recently for an eye-watering sum.

[Andrew Tarr]

Other cousins were farmers, but I don't think they owned the land.  From newspaper reports I gather they had enough spare time to play cricket and go fox hunting.

You don't say what date you are referring to - I was guessing at 19th-century.  At that time not many 'farmers' owned the land they farmed, which were usually part of landed estates.  Those who were a bit above that level often called themselves 'yeomen', as did my g-g-g-grandfather in Devon.

[jim1]

As has been said a coppersmith was a skilled man however his social standing would depend on whether he worked for himself or someone else.
It's difficult to ascertain just from census entries as even quite wealthy men often referred to themselves by the trade they were in.
Where he lived may give an indication. Was he living amongst other seemingly wealthy people possibly with servants ? Did he leave a will ?

[hurworth]

In the case of the coppersmith it was early to mid 1800s Andrew. 

They're not on a census because they emigrated before 1841 so I can't use that for clues. Their son's baptism doesn't have an address and their marriage was prior to fathers' names and occupations being recorded unfortunately.

His death certificate says yeoman.