OCCUPATION - WHARFINGER
At least one of my distant relatives, a Thomas Edwards of Liverpool, was listed on his daughter’s marriage certificate as working as a wharfinger in 1891.
Today the modern term for such an occupation is harbourmaster, but the ancient profession had much the same responsibilities - to be responsible for receiving and checking off the goods received into the harbour as they were unloaded from the ships.
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| Wharfinger House - Bradford Upon Avon, England - 2014 |
At the larger locations, the wharfinger often had offices located there. Run a quick image search in Google and it is surprising how many of them have now been turned into bed & breakfast accommodation… probably paying more now than the original job actually did back in the day!
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| Wharfinger House, New Bedford, Mass - 1936 |
At least one of the jobs my grandad Jack Welsh had during his life was as a freight checker on the Liverpool Docks. The rumour was that he’d worked the quays at the Albert Dock in Liverpool itself, although I’ve yet to track down any records which would prove this.
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| Albert Dock, Liverpool - 2013 - (c)GSeaman |
Just one other research task to add to the list.
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