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Dive into the past with this short series about our ancestors' professions
©️Gallica - BnF
It is not uncommon to find the professions our ancestors practiced in archives. While many of them were rather common, discovering an unusual profession is one of the #genjoys of a genealogist!
Discover in this article, 10 professions of our ancestors that have disappeared or evolved from their time to today.
No, your ancestor the amadoueur was not employed to flatter and thus achieve his ends. He was actually a maker of amadou, a spongy substance derived from certain fungi, used for its flammable power. It was used in the 18th century as a fire starter in lighters. It can also be used to stop bleeding, it is a substitute for snuff, and today it is transformed into a very supple leather for the textile industry.
Although its name seems to hold, this profession is no less unusual today. Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century, the cabin renter rented, on the beaches, horse-drawn cabins to take bathers out to the sea. Drawn in their cabin by a horse, bathers could easily approach the sea or the ocean.
The bagottier was a man who made bagots. He was in charge of transporting light luggage for travelers at train stations. He thus helped unload stopped trains and accompany people to their exit or vice versa.
Reading the meaning of this word, one can guess that this was not an easy but not less useful profession. The décrotteur had to clean, either the streets of mud after the rain, or the shoes or clothes of passersby. We found décrotteurs near crossroads, bridges, or other places of passage. They could also be itinerant.
Although we know better the caterpillar-eating birds that only live on caterpillars, being a caterpillar picker was indeed a profession. Indeed, this person had to remove caterpillars from trees and plants.
The dice maker, like the clog maker with his clogs, was a maker of dice. While some sources attribute him the making of sewn dice, the dice maker mainly made playing dice. In bone, horn, wood, clay, or wax, the dice maker could also work ivory, silver, stone, or gold to make more prestigious dice. Since the 13th century, the marking of dice is standardized; opposite faces must always add up to 7.
The vermicellier was not known for his fidelity, but for his preparation of pasta and vermicelli, in Provence. Also called vermicelli maker, people came to buy food pasta from him. A reference to vermicelli makers is found in The Father Goriot by Balzac. People have been eating pasta in France since the 16th century.
The crier, or Evening Usher, was hired for the power of his voice. His role was to shout, at the door of shows or his employees, the names and qualities of guests as they arrived. Various tasks were given to the crier, such as reciting the show schedule to attract passersby or calling horse-drawn carriages at the end of the performance.
A few years ago, Firmin (real name Michel Weber) became known on TV for his unusual profession: he is the last professional royal crier in France. He is the last descendant of a line of royal criers from 1780 to 1936 at the court of England. Quite a feat for this former dog master!
Cantors have existed since Antiquity. Also called conductors of praise, cantors have the role of making the divine word heard through song in churches. A Chief Cantor will preside over the singing in front of the choir, and a Sub-Cantor will have to respond to him and replace him.
Have you ever been to a gastelier? Well yes! They are actually the ancestors of pastry chefs. The gastelier (derived from gastel, which means cake in Old French) is none other than a maker or seller of cakes. Today, some pastry shops use this term on their storefronts; are gasteliers about to come back into fashion?