Archaic occupation 1500s-1900s
What was a stationer?
A stationer sold paper, ink, ledgers, and books, and in earlier centuries the Stationers' Company controlled the whole book trade. The name comes from having a fixed station or stall, unlike itinerant sellers. Apprentice records of the Stationers' Company are indexed and searchable. You will find the term in English records, mostly 1500s-1900s.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is a stationer in modern terms?+
A stationery and book retailer. Treat the match as a guide rather than a swap: tools and markets changed, so read the title against the record's own date (1500s-1900s).
Why do census occupation columns use words nobody says now?+
Enumerators wrote down whatever the household told them, spelled by ear, and local trade slang went straight onto the form. Directories, apprenticeship papers, and wills often carry the fuller wording for the same person.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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