Archaic occupation 1600s-1800s
What was a woolcomber?
A woolcomber combed wool fibres straight and parallel with heated combs, preparing the long staple for worsted spinning. The charcoal comb stoves made it a notoriously unhealthy home trade, concentrated around Bradford and the worsted towns. You will find the term in English records, mostly 1600s-1800s.
Hit a term like this in a record you are working on? AncestorIQ reads the record and explains terms like this in context. See how Deep Research works. Stuck on the ancestor as well as the wording? Start with how to work a genealogy brick wall.
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is a woolcomber in modern terms?+
A textile preparation worker. Treat the match as a guide rather than a swap: tools and markets changed, so read the title against the record's own date (1600s-1800s).
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.
Stop translating old records by hand.
AncestorIQ reads the record and explains terms like this in context: the occupation column, the cause on the certificate, the clause in the will. Add one ancestor and let Deep Research do the reading.
No credit card needed. Your tree stays yours.
