So what is a carman?

[lee58]

:confused::confused: Is it a mis-spelt cabman?
Or, as others have suggested a census occupation for thieves and burglars.
Have got one of these in the family whose daughter married a policeman?
Lee58

[Jan1954]

Carman/Charman/Carrier/Carter/Cartman

Driver of (horse-drawn) vehicles for transporting goods. Carmen were often employed by railway companies for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. Modern day van driver. Also sometimes someone who drove horse-drawn trams was called a Carman.

[margarita]

This web-site http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/c.html

gives the definition

"Carman/Charman/Carrier/Carter/Cartman

Driver of (horse-drawn) vehicles for transporting goods. Carmen were often employed by railway companies for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. Modern day van driver. Also sometimes someone who drove horse-drawn trams was called a Carman."

margarita

[Ladkyis]

If you use the search facility on this forum -type in carman - you will see a lot of threads where this occupation is discussed.

I very often use the search button before I do anything else just incase whatever I want to know has been discussed before. I also use Google in the same way, although that is a way to lose half a day as you get sidetracked by some of the results LOL

[lee58]

Thank-you all,
Am pleased to know that a carman is an honourable occupation.
I did actually use the search facility prior to making this enquiry. This is where I came up with the thieves and robbers senario
Lee58

[benny1982]

In 1886 at 73 in London my ancestor was a carman for a while. I wonder if it was on the railways or just a horse and cart driver.

[Clive Blackaby]

On a related occupation, I have an ancestor who was recorded as a "Horse Keeper". First suspicions that this may have been a mis-transcription were soon dispelled: that's definitely an "R"
He appears later as a Drayman, the first of several generations of workers with Whitbread's brewery first in East London and later in Hertford