Big Book - R

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Rack Maiden Girl employed dressing ore in the Cornwall tin mines

Raff Merchant Sold fibre used to make raffia bags etc.

Raffman Dealer in "raff" - saleable rubbish

Rag Cutter Cut rags into small pieces for papermaking

Rag Gatherers Cleared rags from mill machinery - usually children

Rag Man / Rag and Bone Man Toured the streets in his cart collecting rags and any old useable discarded items

Rag Picker Sorted useable items from rag collection

Rag-stabber Tailor (slang) mid 19c - also Stab-rag (military slang)

Raker Street cleaner

Ratoner Rat Catcher

Rattlewatch Town watchman

R.C. (abbreviation) Roman Catholic.

Reacher for Drawing Specific occupation in the cotton/silk weaving mills. Each thread has to be Drawn through the Eye on a Heald, ready for the loom and then separately picked out from the Beam of warp threads by the Reache

Real property/estate land and anything attached to it, such as houses, building, barns, growing timber, growing crops, etc.

Rec'd (abbreviation) received.

Receiver person appointed by court to hold property until a suit is settled.

Reconveyance property sold to another person is transferred back to the original owner

Rectifier Distilled alcohol

Redar Interpreted dreams

Reddleman Sold the dye used by farmers to mark their sheep

Redsmith Goldsmith

Reeder Used reeds for thatching and hedging

Reedmaker 1) Made weaving reeds - a reed is a comb-like device for 'beating' the weft thread into place as it is passed by the shuttle, the warp threads passing between the teeth of the reed 2) Made reeds or pipes for musical instruments 3) Made reed cloth 4) Made tapestry combs

Reed & Heald Maker Also Reed Maker (above). Made equipment for the separation of the weft thread on cloth-weaving looms.

Reeler Operated machinery winding yarn onto bobbins

Reeve churchwarden; early name for sheriff in England. Manorial supervisor of villeins. Minor local official.

Reever Shriever; Sherriff

Regarder Surveyed woodland, hedges and fences

Reg. (abbreviation) register.

Registrar As today - registered events; land purchases, births, deaths etc.

Relicta widow.

Relictus widower.

Relict widow.

Relieving Officer Official of the Poor Law Union to whom the poor or retarded persons in the parish could apply for poor relief

Researcher id card All researchers using original records at the National Archives or National Archives regional centres must get a researcher ID card. If you just plan to use microfilmed records, you do not need to get an ID card. To get an ID card you will be asked to fill out an application. You should bring photo identification, such as a driver's license, school identification card, or passport on your first visit to the archives. Researcher ID cards are free of charge and are valid for two years. The ID card must be presented at each visit.

Resurrection Man Apart from using the bodies of hanged criminals, dissection was illegal, so 17c. British doctors took to breaking the law. 'Resurrection men' would look for recent burials, dig up the corpse and sell it to a doctor. At £3 a body, you could make a decent living out of the practice. Resurrection men became so unpopular that they ran the risk of being torn to pieces if caught by a mob.

Ret. (abbreviation) retired.

Revenuer Tax collector

Rev (abbrev) Reverend

Rickmaster Captain of Horse

Riddler Wool stapler

Riding Officer Employed by the Revenue to patrol 4-10 miles of coastline to detect smugglers. Paid no more than a farmer's labourer and hated, so dangerous. 18th century.

Riftere Reaper

Rigger Hoist tackle worker - esp. running and dismantling rigging of ships

Ring Spinner Operated a Ring Spinning Machine - Ring spinning was/is a method for the continuous spinning of cotton.

Ripper / Rippier Seller of fish

Riverman Worked riverboats

RO Records Office

Roadman 1) Worked on building and or maintaining roads - often had a stretch of road which he was responsible for filling in potholes etc. - usually a mile 2) A tramp or vagrant was also often referred to as a Roadman

Rockgetter Rock salt miner

Rockman Worked in the quarries, usually placing charges

Rodman / Poleman Surveyor's assistant - held the rod for the surveyor's theodolite observation

Roll Turner Carded yarn into rolls prior to spinning

Roller Coverer Covered the rollers in spinning

Rolleyway Man Maintained the mine's underground roadways

Roman Cementer / Plasterer Used "Roman Cement" - used in stuccoing

Roper 1) Made rope or nets 2) Cotton spinning operative

Rover 1) Archer 2) Loaded cotton yarn onto bobbins, giving the yarn a twist, (Roving) after the Carding and Combing processes.

Rubbisher / Rubbler Sorted small stones in the quarries

Rugman Dealer in rugs

Rule Maker Made and calibrated rulers (for measurement)

Rully Man A Cart man - equivalent to today's lorry or truck driver

Runner 1) Runner or messenger for the magistrates -Bow Street Runner 2) Smuggler

Rustica country girl

Rusticus country boy

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