Some reading matter for you.
The one area that does remain constant in both censuses is the occupation of my great great grandmother SARAH WOOD. Her occupation is given as "Silver Burnisher" which was considered to be a particularly dirty and labour intensive trade. it was in effect the final process in the creation of Sheffield plate. This process gave the piece a highly polished look and aided in the concealment of impurities. A piece was first cleaned and smeared with soft soap before the process began. A mixture of white Calais sand and water were rubbed into the piece to remove any grease and dirt. An agate burnisher was used to rapidly move back and forth over the metal to remove scratches. The pores of the silver were closed by using a steel burnisher, which gave the piece a bright surface. Final burnishing was done with bloodstone, which produced a surface that was difficult to tarnish. A mirror-like finish was then rubbed into the piece using wet rouge and dried with soft, old linen. (Old Sheffield Plate, Shire Publications, Annere Bambery)
