Genealogy Chat

Does anyone know if the above job means the man would be working away leaving any wife and children at home please?

Journeyman, A tradesman who has served his trade apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but originally hired by the day. The name derives from the French for day - jour In the medieval system, towns had special privileges and trades and crafts were controlled by guilds. The workplace was run by the master who employed apprentices and journeymen, Journeymen had completed their apprenticeships and were qualified to do the job (ie be paid daily wages). In time they could become masters in their own right, but this would require acceptance by the guild - and presumably a certain amount of capital. In this context journeyman simply means a time served craftsman entitled to a man's wages From Old occupation site http://rmhh.*co.*uk/occup/index.html remove * from address Roy

From one of the free online dictionaries........... Journeyman A man who served his apprenticeship in a trade and worked as a fully qualified employee. The term originated in the regulations of the medieval trade guilds; it derives from the French journée (‘a day’) because journeymen were paid daily. Each guild normally recognized three grades of worker – apprentices, journeymen, and masters. As a qualified tradesman, a journeyman might have become a master with his own business but most remained employees. Reg

LOU A tradesman who has served his trade apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but originally hired by the day DEBS

You've probably seen my search for a John Parsons who is not on census with wife and children. I've just found a John Parsons living alone (with other journeymen) and wondered if that was him having to work away.

If this helps I can tell you that from 1850 to 1870 approx my gt grandfather who was a joiner traveled around leaving his wife and increasing number of children to live with his in laws. He actually came from near York but for one census was at Wimbledon (I think it was) with his brother who collected a wife from Woolwich. One brother ended up in Middlesbrough and the other just outside Hull. Clive

Thanks Reg, Porkie and Debs.

Thanks for that Clive. I think I'm going to have to give up on this one, I've spent months on it and I'm still at square one.