Your Ancestors Did What? Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One old time occupation that survived well into Victorian times was that of the 'palingman'. What did he do?

Answer: Sold eels

There are several references in Victorian census documents to people being employed as a 'palingman'.The name may come from the Dutch word for eel. The fence builder was called a palingwright, the man who mended buckets would be a tinker and the person who looked after the hedges was called a pleacher or lengthsman.

2. If your ancestor's occupation had been listed as a 'carder', which material would they have worked with?

Answer: Wool

Carding was a skilled job. Wool, and cotton, cannot be used in their unworked state. Carding was done to straighten out the fibres to ensure they all ran in the same direction. It was done using two brush like tools and the wool or cotton was brushed between them. If it wasn't done properly, the material was wasted. Carding is now done mainly by machine.

3. When crops were harvested by hand instead of machine some poorer people would be allowed to pick up the leftovers. What were these people called?

Answer: Gleaners

Gleaning goes back to ancient times. In ancient Jewish communities, farmers were not allowed to harvest to the very edge of a field so as to leave a small proportion of the crop for the poor. In England, during the 19th century, gleaning was a legal right for cottagers. A cottager was a person who lived in a cottage, usually on a larger Manor, and had little or no land of their own.

4. A 'fagetter' usually carried out his work in the countryside. Which commodity would he be associated with?

Answer: Wood

A 'fagetter' collected pieces of wood from local forests and bundled them up into faggots for sale as firewood. The original term faggot comes from the old French word 'fagot', meaning a bundle of sticks.

5. An old time occupation that disappeared a long time ago was that of 'kisser'. What would this person have made?

Answer: Armour

The name comes from the French for a piece of armour that protected the wearer's thigh from an upward thrust. It was called a cuisse. In medieval times good quality armour was made by skilled craftsmen and would be very expensive as it was 'made to measure'.

6. If your ancestor had been employed as a 'tipstaff', where would they have mainly operated from?

Answer: A law court

The position of 'tipstaff' has been traced as far back as the 14th century. It was an early form of policeman. The name originates because they carried a staff, or stave, that was metal tipped, usually with a crown, and used as a symbol of their authority.

Some staves could have the tip removed to reveal an arrest warrant inside the hollow body. As well as arresting people Tipstaves would also carry out duties within the court itself and this led to the modern court bailiff. The position is still in use today in a few places, but it is now either administrative or ceremonial in function.

7. An ancestor of yours has his job listed as a 'xylographer'. This means he made musical instruments from blocks of wood.

Answer: False

A 'xylographer' was a person who carved wooden blocks in preparation for printing. It was a relief carving, meaning the parts not intended to be printed on the page were removed. The image was produced along the grain because it was easier to carve this way. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, better tools meant that the wood could be carved across the grain.

This was called wood engraving.

8. As a young boy one of your forebears may have began his working life as a 'saggar maker's bottom knocker'. Which industry would he have worked in?

Answer: Pottery

A saggar was a container which protected items in a kiln during firing. To make one correctly required a skilled workman, the saggar maker. To produce the base, or bottom, of the saggar, less skill was required. A metal ring was filled with clay and it was knocked into shape with a large mallet called a mawl. The person that did this was the 'saggar maker's bottom knocker'.

9. In the early days of the cotton industry a machine was used to spin cotton on up to 400 bobbins at once. What was the occupation of the person that minded one type of this machine?

Answer: Throstle spinner

The machine got its name from the noise it made when it was working. It was said to sound like a song thrush. It worked in a similar way to Crompton's Spinning Mule. Information from the 1871 UK census shows that throstle spinners were still employed at that time. By far the vast majority would have been female.

10. If your forebear had been listed as a 'dresser', where would they have NOT been employed?

Answer: Coal mine

In a hospital a 'dresser' would have been employed as a surgeon's assistant. In a mill it was a person that prepared the yarns ready for spinning. In a foundry it would have been the man that removed the unwanted parts from a casting. Dressing, in this context, is used to mean the preparation, or finishing off, of something.

Source: Author romeomikegolf

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Snowman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The aftermath of the Industrial Revolution meant that many of the old occupations could be carried out by machines, whilst others just faded into history. Did your ancestors do any of these jobs?

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