Census Occupations - Brush Maker
Below are some resources I recommend if any of your ancestors in your family tree were brush makers.
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z
Description: Someone who made brushes. Brush makers tended to be literate and educated men, as opposed to the besom or broom makers. Within the industry there were different types of brush to be made which roughly equated to a hierarchy. The paint brush was the most complex, requiring an apprenticeship of some 7 years. Different types of brush required different fibres. Bristle, from a wild pig's, boar's or hog's back, shoulder or neck, was used for decorating brushes and soft sweeping brushes. Hair, from badger, hare, ox, sable or squirrel, was used for fine brushes in cosmetics or painting. Fibre, from foreign plants such as Coco or Bassine, were used general brushes. Fibre was cheap as it was used for packaging during transportation of goods such as sugar. By the 1880's brush making by hand was in decline as mass production took over. Women were mostly employed to operate these knot-picking and punching machines as they were known.
Websites:
Society of Brush Maker's Descendants
Town Field School: Bensons of Birmingham
Reading materials:
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