1871 census - occupation "Bower" .....

[Norman Downs]

I've just found my g.g.grangmother on the 1871 census.

Her occupation is listed as a "Bower". Can anyone tell me what this was.

She lived on a farm in Ayrshire - her husband is listed as a ploughman and her daughters as dairymaids.

The only suggestion I've come across is a maker of archers' bows - doesn't sound very likely to me. What do all you bright sparks out there think?

Norman

[AndrewP]

Of the definitions of bower given in the Chambers English Dictionary, the only one near to an occupation is:
bowerwoman - a chambermaid
presumably from
bower - a lady's private room, boudoir

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

[Norman Downs]

Thanks for that Andrew.

Norman

[sonos]

Hello there

I too have come across the occupation of Bower for a male ancestor & found out the following - thought it was quite interesting....

"Bower of Cows: generically, an alternate term for a Dairyman. More specifically, found this occupation in the 1851 census for Ayreshire, Scotland where the occupation is listed as 'Dairy Man or Bower of Cows'. Given that one definition of 'bower' relates to a dwelling place, and another relates to a cottage, suspect this might refer to a domestic farm hand who tended cattle and dwelt nearby."

Info taken from http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/gloss ... ng-B6.html

Hope that helps


gillian

[sonos]

OH! I just realised that your posts are from 2004!!!!!!! You probably have found out the answer in that time!!!! Hope you weren't holding your breath! Lol

g

[Russell]

Hi Gillian and a warm welcome to TalkingScot especially at this time of year
It's never too late to post useful information on Talkingscot. Not everyone has the facility extract the info they need from their computer and the wonderful, informative World Wide Web so even if Norman spent ages with and has found his answers there will be others with the same unanswered question. =D> =D> =D>
I hope you have both questions and answers for all the other members across the world. We love challenges as much as we appreciate well sourced answers.

Russell

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings from New Zealand.

While a younger Kiwi may not associate the word "BOWER" with housed cattle, I certainly do. Perhaps because of my Rural (Dairy) Irish and Scottish roots. As cattle are/were not traditionally winter housed here in NZ, it is not commonaly used in a New Zealand context.

Alan SHARP.