anne roberts wrote:
Hi there just wondering if someone could help me out, again!
Am looking for a marriage between a Edward LEWIS and a Mary.
He was borb C1820 in Llangelly Cardiganshire, and is listed in the 1841 1851 and 1871
censuses as Occupation shoemaker. Problem is in 1871 census(which is the one my g gran is
in so def the right one) occup is Cordwainer. I have no idea what a cordwainer is but
would he change jobs like that? Also cant find him in the 1881 census. His wife Mary was
born in Swansea. Their 1st child Joshua was born in 1845 so presumably they married around
then. Want to be sure i have the right one before i send for a marriage cert,they lived in
Merthyr early on then in Aberavon. Cheers Anne
Hi Anne,
Cordwainer is another name for a shoemaker - Wikipedia gives the
following definition
A *cordwainer* (or *cordovan*) is somebody who makes shoes
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoes> and other articles from fine soft
leather <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather>. The word is derived from
"cordwain", or "cordovan", the leather produced in Córdoba, Spain
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B3rdoba%2C_Spain>. (This has no
connection with the so-called "Corinthian leather
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_leather>" used in the Cordoba
automobile <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Cordoba>.)
Historically, there was a distinction between a /cordwainer/, who made
shoes, and a /cobbler <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobbler>/, who
repaired them. However, this distinction gradually weakened,
particularly during the twentieth century, with the predominance of shoe
retailers who neither made nor repaired the shoes themselves.
Hope this helps
--
Peter
Neath