Genealogy Chat

I have an acestor whose marriage cert has his occupation down as silk draper? One of his childrens birth certs he is a bricklayer journeyman. I have a death cert but can't verify it's actually him but occupation is mason. Could a bricklayer journeyman be a mason? Naomi

Hi Naomi The only bit of your question I know anything about is the 'journeyman' bit. I got a baker journeyman on one of the first certs I received and assumed that he went door-to-door selling his cakes .... until I saw a thread on here that 'journeyman' means employed by somebody else and can apply to any trade. So your bricklayer journeyman means that he worked for someone rather than being employed. Good luck with the rest of your query, Mandy :)

Hi Naomi There seems no reason why a bricklayer could not become a mason. Both build walls, but normally a mason would also be used to cutting stone, even carving it sometimes, whereas a bricklayer would lay bricks of standard sizes to a 'bond' or pattern. Regards Stan

Naomi. . . . There was an article in my Family History Magazine by Mick Rowle who does Radio phone In's on Genealogy. .. Journeyman. . . . . It could refer to any trade, it was a name given to any man who had finished his apprenticeship. and was not tied to any Master Tradesman. I agree with Stan's definition of Stone Mason. MIKE.