Genealogy Chat

Hi, does anyone know what this was exactly and in which industry? I'm assuming it's something mechanical rather than a hair comb!

Thanks!

Have you tried this site? Has a list of old occupations.

http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/c2.html

In this case it says:

Comb Maker Comb maker for 1) textile industry 2) hair

Or this site:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/thursday.handleigh/demography/occupations-wages-money/old-occupations/oldocc-c.htm

A person who made combs, either for the textile industry for combing wool etc., or the maker of hair combs.

Where was this person living? If Yorkshire then strong links with textiles, especially cotton.

Jan

COMB MAKER

A person who made combs either for the textile industry for combing wool etc. or the maker of hair combs.

From.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/trades.html#C

Christine

Hi Jan and Christine

Thanks for your replies. Very interesting - so it could be hair combs after all. He was living in Aberdeen in the 1840s (he was married in that decade). I'm not sure whether they had a textile industry there at that time.

The links could also be useful for other relatives as my research continues. Thanks again.

Best wishes
Christine

There would be a textile industry in Aberdeen.

Yorkshire was mainly wool.
Lancashire mainly cotton.

Christine

Comb Maker Comb maker for 1) textile industry 2) hair

http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/c2.html

Great! Thanks very much to all of you for your help, which was much appreciated.

Regards
Christine

I just found this disgusting and unbelievable occupation!!!

Purefinder / Pure Gatherer Old women & young girls who collected dog droppings used in the tanning industry

The Combmakers in my tree made Hair combs from turtle shells in NSW.

All interesting stuff! I haven't found out whether the combmaker in my family moved around yet (only know about one of his children, who was also born in Aberdeen) but will fiind out soon. I would like to know if he was a combmaker of hair combs or for the textile industry but I might find out as I look at more censuses - sometimes they describe their occupation slightly differently.

Regards
Christine

Try Googling Combmaker Aberdeen (or comb maker Aberdeen) quite a bit of info including a link to this thread!

Tess

Hiya,

Just came across your post - Aberdeen did have a few textile works, but due to lack of work many of them started to make other goods e.g combs.

Combmakers sometimes worked from home.

Sir David Stewart 1835-1919 joined his family business Messrs S R Stewart & Co - (Aberdeen) largest combmaking business in the world.

I think there were about 12 different textile works - I suppose at different times.

I dont know if this is of any help to you

Cheers

Anne

Hiya Tess, Anne and Ann
Thanks for the extra info. I've googled combmaker and Aberdeen and it is indeed very interesting. This thread comes up as first hit now!
Ann, could you give me more details on it meaning shoemaker please? If this ancestor was a shoemaker it would be very symmetrical as I'd then have one on each side (my paternal English side and my maternal Scottish side)!
Thanks and regards
Christine

Hi Christine,

I also have a combmaker in Aberdeen in my husbands tree, so found your thread interesting, I know there was a comb factory and also Granholm Mill which was the Crombie family Mill, we had ancestors working there as well, I am following the Forbes family.

Good luck.

Sandra.

Hi Sandra

That's interesting. Did you find lists of employees for the Crombie family mill to find out that your ancestors worked there? I'd love to find out exactly where my ancestor worked and hence what kind of combmaker he was. His name was James Bruce, quite a common name in Scotland (and the north-east in particular).

Good luck with your research too!
Regards
Christine

Hi Joan
Thanks so much for the advice and your suggestion to contact the Family History Society in Aberdeen. Who knows, I may be able to become a freeman of a particular city (maybe Aberdeen if he did an apprenticeship there)!
Thanks for explaining too that a combmaker is not a shoemaker. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I do have another ancestor who is a shoemaker and he has been variously described on different docs as a shoemaker, bootmaker and cordwainer. I didn't know that the word cordwainer came from Cordoba! I'm fascinated to learn that as I'm also into word derivations and love languages!
Thanks again,
Best wishes
Christine