What Occupation was a Stearer?

[loobylooayr]

Thank you, AlanBoyd, Monica, Ian, GR2, Mike and Still Looking for the replies.
I've been out all day and had no internet signal 

Steamer could be a possibilty. As could calico print stearer. Sheep shearer I'm not so sure about.
Stear/Steer is the Scots for stir....so a stearer could potentially stir something??

The girl is Elizabeth Holland aged 13 at Riccarton. Her 11 year old brother Thomas is also a stearer.
There are other stearers among their neighbours and tearers too.



Looby

[MonicaL]

Maybe it is just that, a stearer? Although we can't find a ref for it!

In 1851 David was employed as a weaver, his brother Charles was a block printer and another
brother John was a stearer to a calico printer. https://historyhubulster.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Ballymoney-Constabulary-1822-1922.pdf / Pg.9

Monica

Added: I am 50/50 whether it should also read tearer as Alan has pointed out earlier 

[GR2]

Certainly in the 18th century a "steear" (= stir) of cloth was one being stirred round in a dying vat, so stearer = stirrer in the dying business seems a possibility.

[loobylooayr]

Thanks Monica and GR2-

Maybe I'll never know for certain what a stearer was -I suppose it may have been a local term for a particular occupation too.

Looby