Solater

wtmsr · Post by **wtmsr** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:12 am

I have an ancestor in Edinburgh ca. 1680's and his occupation on a Birth OPR is "Solater". Two of the witnesses were also "Solaters".

Can anyone lend a hand as to what occupation this may have been? I'm wondering if it was a corruption or variation of a shoemaker.

Post by **marilyn morning** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:19 am

Hello wtmsr,

Welcome to TalkingScot!

I didn't find a Solater listed here, however they do have Souter listed, with no definition yet?

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/thursday.hand ... docc-s.htm

Again no Solater listing, but this time there is a Souter, which is a shoemaker.

Another site to check would be

BBC Scotland - Web Guide An excellent site for learning about the history of Scotland, Scots and people ... There are maps, a list of parishes and a glossary to old occupations to ...

Regards
Marilyn

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:43 am

Could it be related to the saltmaking industry?

Salter / Saucer: Made or dealt in salt
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/s.html

jennyblain · Post by **jennyblain** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:45 am

At that date there could well be a contraction in the word, and the letters hard to read. Can you post a copy of the OPR entry?

Jenny
who's getting increasingly interested in handwriting of that period...

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:47 am

Historically and from one dialect to another, the interchange of /l/ and /u/ happens all the time, as does the loss (or insertion!) of vowels in the middle of the word. That doesn't solve anything, though, since both salater > souter and salater > salter/saucer are natural changes

After frantically looking high and low for my old faculty ID card with my library access code on it... I was finally able to access the Oxford English Dictionary online

In the OED there is: Souter; 1. A maker or mender of shoes; a shoemaker or cobbler.
Variants: Forms: . 1 sutere, 3 sutare, 4-5, 8-9 sutor (5 sutore), 6 sutour, 8 suter; 4, 9 sutter. . 4 soutere (zout-), 4- souter (6, 9 soutter, 9 sooter); 5 soutare, 5- soutar (9 sootar); 9 soutor. . 4-5 sowtere, 4- sowter (6 sowtter); 5 sowtare, 5-6 sowtar (6 sowttar).

Not a single one with an /l/ in it...

On the other hand, under "salter" there are several meanings:
1. A manufacturer of or dealer in salt
2. A workman at a salt-works.
3.a One who salts meat or fish.
b. One who salts bodies, in embalming.

I think it more likely that a vowel was inserted between the /l/ and the /t/, but who knows?

Okay, I'll take off my linguist's cap now and rest from all that rushing around

Regards,
Sarah

wtmsr · Post by **wtmsr** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:07 pm

Thank you to those who replied. I found an earlier doocument for the same person and on this one he is called a "Skloater". Didn't clarify anything for me, but I'll have a look at the sources that you've collectively suggested.
I'll post a scanned copy of both documents shortly.
Regards
Tim