What Occupation was a Stearer?

[loobylooayr]

Good morning,

I'm researching family in Kilmarnock, in the Riccarton district on the 1851 Census and have noticed several family members, some are young girls, and people at neighbouring addresses recorded as being a 'Stearer'.

Anyone any idea what this could be? I know the area had textile and shoe-making connections and wonder if a 'Stearer' could be connected to either.

Thanks in advance,

Looby

[AlanBoyd]

Stearer is not listed at

https://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/glossary/Dictionary-of-Old-Occupations-Index.html

and does not appear in A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations by Colin Waters.

Is it possibly "shearer"? I could imagine this might be someone who cuts leather – although it isn't noted as such in either of the above sources.

added: a newspaper search for “stearer” just turned up lots of misreadings of “steamer” which has given me the idea that it might be that, although again, no such entry in my sources.

[still_looking]

Mention of stearer here, see the quotations for context. Not sure it clarifies exactly what your ancestor was doing though.
https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/steer_v1_n1

S_L

[Mike in Cumbria]

I would guess at a "stirrer" of something, but I don't know what the something might have been.

[GR2]

Can you give us a name, so we can check transcriptions?

[Ian Nelson]

my guess ... sheep shearer
cheers, Ian

[MonicaL]

FreeCen, which is a reliable transcript most often, do have it as a Calico Printers Stearer www.freecen.org.uk/search_records/59027c10e9379091b1215ffc/jeanie-henry-1851-ayrshire-ayr-1841-?locale=en

This is one example from 1851. Not sure if that is the family you were lookng at Looby but you mention there were a number of entries like it.

Monica

[MonicaL]

Could it be steamer I wonder?

This girl in Kilmarnock shows as:

Janet Young, 18, Steemer [sic] at Printworks

A possible reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steaming_process_in_Lancashire_cotton_mills

Monica

[AlanBoyd]

building upon reply #6, the mention of calico printing has reminded me that, in Lancashire at least, the printer was assisted by a “tearer” (often one of his children). The tearer spread the dye paste over a piece of cloth (acting as a sort of palette), then the printer used his printing block to pick up dye from that cloth whereupon he would print on to the calico while the tearer prepared the cloth for the next round of printing.

printer’s tearer > printer stearer?

added: tearer is listed at the website that I linked to in reply #1