occupations & apprenticeship.....

Marie Svedahl · Post by **Marie Svedahl** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:42 am

Hoping someone can share knowledge on 19th century occupations in Scotland.

My gr.gr.granddfather was a "slater" in Edinburgh during the 1840s & 50s. After his death in 1860 he was referred to as a "slater & glazier." I've done some google searches and learned something of the sort of labour involved in these occupations.

One question I have: would these occupations have required an apprenticeship? A slater doesn't seem as complex a job as, say a stone mason, so would it require a shorter learning period?

My ancestor was an "Ag.Lab" on the 1841 census but when he married in 1846, his occupation was given as "slater." A change of career in no more than five years.

What kind of records were kept to list those Apprenticing, or those who had advanced to Journeyman, etc? How accessable are these records?

Marie

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:49 am

Both the occupations of a slater and a glazier would require an apprenticeship of several years.

Some apprenticeship records survive, - you're best to contact archives in the locality to see what they can advise, although there are some records at NAS in Edinburgh.

In the cities and the burghs there were guilds and incorporations of trades who often banded together, - see http://www.tradeshouse.org.uk/about.php, - for the Glasgow situation. They may also be able to advise on extant apprenticeship records.

Davie

Marie Svedahl · Post by **Marie Svedahl** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:31 pm

Davie
Thanks for your reponse and information. I remember learning about apprentices and all that in school but that was a lo-o-o-ong time ago and my recollection of just what we learned has pretty well faded!

Some apprenticeship records survive, - you're best to contact archives in the locality to see what they can advise, although there are some records at NAS in Edinburgh.

Sorry for being so dumb on this, but what is NAS? National Archives of Scotland?

Took a peek at the Glasgow site, looks interesting and will be going back for more in depth read.

Marie

Post by **AndrewP** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:00 pm

Yes, NAS = National Archives of Scotland. You can find information about them and the documents that they hold from the following website.

http://www.nas.gov.uk/

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

Marie Svedahl · Post by **Marie Svedahl** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:46 pm

Great, Thanks Andrew.

Marie