Lighterman

[casram]

Many of my ancestors were Thames lightermen in London and they all served a 7 apprenticeship. Assume it would be the same in other places.
Carolyn

[linda51]

Thanks. I hope so, but I searched various databases and found nothing!!

[mazi]

The Thames is navigable right through to lechlade in Gloucestershire and maybe beyond, but there are locks on it 14 ft wide to accommodate barges, Thames lighters and Lightermen are a different thing altogether, and much bigger craft.

Prior to the railways the upper Thames was a very busy waterway, it seems likely your man was a barge man on this stretch of river.

If I have the dates right williams father died when he was six, so on his marriage cert. he may not have been fully aware of what his dad did for a living.
Mike

[linda51]

If I have the dates right williams father died when he was six, so on his marriage cert. he may not have been fully aware of what his dad did for a living.

That's a very good point Mike - Thanks very much! It may be better for me to look at poor law records as his mother would have needed help, then she died in 1830. Before I give up on apprenticeship/licenses do you know what records if any, exist for bargemen?

[jomcd967]

I have generations of Lightermen in my family, going back to the early 1700’s and they were all based in the London area.

This from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_Watermen_and_Lightermen

Jo