scavenger?

[krissy]

hi there,
my grt granfather is listed as a scavenger? my idea is that he may well have been a sort of rag and bone mand, but can anyone tell me what he actually was please as this has lost me
thanks
krissy

[ricky1]

Hi
Old occupations has Scavenger down as a (1) street cleaner. (2)
also a child employed in a spinning mill to collect loose cotton lying on the floor under the machinery
ricky

[krissy]

hi ricky1,
that was quick and many thanks, as he was a middle aged man i assume he was more likely to be a street cleaner and not a factory boy.
some of these occupation terms really throw me but im glad thats been cleared up,
cheers
krissy

[robjam]

Hello, I also have a scavenger.  As well as those suggested, Chambers also has it as "the officer who collected the toll."  However, I fear that my ancestor was "a person who searches for and gathers discarded items from garbage bins" or even "someone who deals or delights in filth!"
Rob

[krissy]

hi robjam
i was thinking along those lines myself for my grt grandad, it just seemed a strange occupation to be in and scavenger sounds just that, one who scavenges things and probably things that others have chucked out.
hee hee
krissy

[romawi]

One of my relatives in 1881 has an occupation of "scavenger" does anyone have any idea of what this might mean. Good to know I come from good stock!!!



Moderator Comment: topics merged

[stanmapstone]

He could have been a mule scavenger, a scavenger in a steel works, a street scavenger, a scavenger in a textile mill, or a yard scavenger, all occupational categories.
Looking at the detailed descriptions a scavenger is basically a sweeper-up whatever the category. I should think the most likely would be a road sweeper, crossing sweeper, market sweeper, or street sweeper. Considering the amount of horse dung about there would be plenty of work.
See http://www.rootschat.com/links/019o/


Stan

[Bee]

Hi

my book of old trades describes a scavenger as:

rubbish collector/nightsoil man

now that's a job I wouldn't fancy

Bee

[stanmapstone]

From the OED.
Scavenger   A person whose employment is to clean streets, by scraping or sweeping together and removing dirt.  One who collects filth; one who does ‘dirty work’; A child employed in a spinning-mill to collect loose cotton lying about the floor or machine
An altered form of the obsolete Scavager An officer whose duty it was to take ‘scavage’, and who was afterwards also charged with the duty of keeping the streets clean.
Stan