William Whitlock, Journeyman Tanner, Bermondsey

[Thomasin]

William Whitlock was a Journeyman Tanner, he claimed on his 1856 marriage certificate, and his father before him. What did being a journeyman involve? If he was bound to a master, could this be the reason why, together with his wife Selina, he seems to disappear from the censuses?

On the 1851 census (HO107; 1563; 488; 3) Selina's sister, Emerlen Elliott (transcribed as Emerson) is down as, I thought, a Furrier. Could this be Currier? There's no other capital 'F' on the page to compare it with, but I still think it's Furrier. Would this still be connected with the Bermondsey tanneries, and could this be how Selina met William?

So many unanswered questions - and so late at night!

Thomasin

[MarkJ]

A journeyman was essentially someone who had completed their apprenticeship. Thus they were not bound to any master.
They were often emplyed by a master craftsman and could chagr for each days work - hence the name Journeyman which derives from the French word for one day - journee (with the accent over the last e by the way!) - which is also the derivative root of journal

Wikipedia has a page about the term here -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journeyman

Mark

[Thomasin]

Thank you, Mark. However, I'm still left with the question of where William was at the next (1861) census. He can't have been dead, because I have found what I believe to be a second son, aged 7, living with his grandmother in 1871.

Does anyone have any ideas on my second question - would the job of Furrier be in any way connected with a tannery?

Thomasin

[Procat]

Hi Thomasin,

Looking at this site I suspect that a Furrier (unlike a Currier) would not be directly connected to a tannery.

[Thomasin]

Hi Doug

Yes, I agree. I was Googling 'tannery Bermondsey' last night - I had no idea that tanning was such a major industry in that area, and didn't realize that for the last forty years or so, on frequent train journeys to London, I had probably been riding past my ancestors' workplaces.

Could you possibly have a look at the 1851 entry (HO107; 1563; 488; 3) and see if you agree with my reading of 'Furrier' for 'Emerson' (Emerlen)?

Thomasin

[Procat]

Hi Thomasin,

I think it is Furrier. It is shocking writing but I think a currier would be more likely to be a male rather than a 17 year old girl.

My first impression when looking at it was Furrier - then I started trying to read all sorts of other things into it which just made it worse.

[Penny Gallo]

https://books.google.com/books?id=TjH...#PPA95-IA11,M1 from Liza Picard's book on Victorian London has several pages on the logical proximity of trades such as hat-making factories with the Bermondsey Tanners. Fur coats as we know them weren't the fashion until the end of the Victorian period, as fur was used for linings and trimmings, BUT the hat trade also used fur - listed here. I have also come across "out of work Furrier" as an occupation in the East End on the 1881 census. It sounds a bit of a 'highly'scented' trade. I do remember passing the local "Skin and Hide" factory on my way to school - blimey!

[Thomasin]

Hallo Penny

Thank you for that link - it's very interesting. It's intriguing to learn that there was, in fact, a link between tanning and the fur trade. What an awful job tanning must have been!

Thomasin

[benny1982]

Hi

I have a few ancestors who came from the Bermondsey area and there was quite a few tanneries in the area over the decades. Tanning, fishmongering and ropemaking were probably the 3 biggest trades in that area.

If you google old maps of London, there will be several sites with maps of the Bermondsey area as well for you to look where the tanneries were.

Ben

[Thomasin]

Thanks for that, Ben. I shall have a look at those maps in a minute. Last night I landed on a page of the 1841 census where most of the wage earners were willow weavers, or other weavers of some kind. That wasn't Bermondsey, I think it was Tower Hamlets, and I wondered why there was such an accumulation of weavers there. I came to the conclusion that the River Thames must be the answer, with willow perhaps being brought downriver and landed nearby. I'm sure it wouldn't have been imported in those days!

Off to look for tanneries ..............

Thomasin