"Collector of dust"?

[Just Gillian]

Does Zadoc Wallage's occupation read collector of dust and, if so, does anyone know what this means please?

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/browse/...n=Wallage&st=g

He was a brickmaker when his son was baptised some years earlier.

[Phoenix]

Dustman. Read Our Mutual Friend to get an idea of what it entailed.

[Just Gillian]

Thanks Phoenix. I could never get into Our Mutual Friend but perhaps I should give it another go.

[Lindsay]

Gillian, I have a 'dust collector' in my tree. He also describes himself as a dust contractor and a scavenger at different times, and it must have been very profitable because he left thousands when he died (1870s). Where there's muck there's brass!

He also bought a brick-making business on the edge of London - I think the dust/ashes were used in the brick-making process, and the holes brickmaking left behind were a good place to dump any waste that couldn't be recycled.

As Phoenix says, Our Mutual Friend gives an idea of the business.

[Just Gillian]

Thanks Lindsay. That's really interesting. I had been thinking the dust was maybe a by-product of the brickmaking rather than the other way round.

I don't know if my man made any money. He died in 1856 and I haven't been able to find him in 1841 yet even though there is a finite number of possible mistranscriptions of Zadoc. (Wolledge is a different matter of course lol)

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Just Gillian

I haven't been able to find him in 1841

Ancestry have him as Ladoc Walledye He is a wood dealer.

[Just Gillian]

Ooh great! Thanks Merry! He certainly had a varied career. And Zadoc mistranscriptions clearly weren't as finite as I had thought lol

I've scooped up loads of my Wolledges by just searching for W*l*ge, H*l*ge and M*l*ge. I (stupidly) hadn't thought of y as an option for g so I'll go through records again with the y substitute and hopefully find a few of the missing ones. Medge is the worst I've come across so far!

[Jackie H]

Some interesting detail about dust collecting here

http://u.cc.utah.edu/~tsk2/omfpage.html

[Just Gillian]

Thanks Jackie. That made fascinating reading. The estimated tonnage of dust per household per annum amazed me!

Interesting to learn that dustbins and dustmen were originally exactly that too.

[HarrysMum]

Oooooh "Collector of dust" I might use that as my occupation on the next census.....lol

Sounds better than "sloppy housewife"...