Hi
I've recently found out that my ggg grandfather was a tailor in a small village in Northumberland and wonder if this occupation was passed down through his family.
I have just looked up the word Tailor in the Concise Dictionary of English Etymology by Walter W Skeat (1993). It appears it is a French and Latin word meaning a cutter - to cut or a cutter out. The Middle English equivalent was Taylor so perhaps this is where the name came from - certainly in terms of his children's baptism the first entry is spelled as Taylor and subsequently as Tailor. The dictionary informs that the Old French word is taillgor then tailleur - a cutter then tailler - to cut.
It seems that the word detail drives from it a small part or retaile - peece mealing - selling in parcels. Detailer is to cut into pieces. Entail it appears also derives from it and may have been a small portion of a heritage. The Old English word Entaile is to cut or to carve and so the trade may also have originated from stone carving or engraving!
This tailor ancestor seems to have been born in a tiny hamlet on the shores of North Northumberland which had only four or five building at the beginning of the 1800's so no roaring industry there. As much as I can make out he moved to his more permanent home in Lucker in the early 1820's and also seems to have taken over the mantle of representative on the Poor Relief Fund board from another namesake - perhaps his father or uncle.
It also appears that he was not the Master Tailor as that position was held by another long term resident family group in the village. His daughter married the local mill owner's son and became a permanent fixture in the village as her brothers - including my own gg grandfather - moved on to look for work in other trades. The census show that one son seems to have followed the trade for some time but then has either moved on or has moved to another trade as the occupation's demand dwindled - presumably as a result of factory produced clothes became available.
I wonder if there is any information about tailors' guilds or friendship societies. Any information about the history of tailoring or guilds would be appreciated.
Yours
J.A. Northumberland.
