General Chat

Have just come across an ancestor on a census whose occupation is a white smith. Have heard of a black smith, but not a white smith. Can anyone enlighten me? Penny

I *think* it's someone who works with tin

penny it is a tin smith, sandra

Definitely a tin or white metal smith - one of my ancestors was one. They came in different sorts. Some did more decorative things, and others dealt in pipework I think (when gas lighting came along there was great demand for pipes and I understand they were sometimes made from gun barrels fixed together). Angela

Thank you very much Paul, Sandra and Angela for your replies. I'm glad there's some knowledgeable people out there, as I didn't have a clue! Penny

If it is in the motoring era, white metal was used in the main and big end bearings in engines.......possibly also in the steam age.........

Hello Penny
When I left school in Wimbledon back when God was a boy, I started work in a small blacksmiths forge which specialised in the making of very large wrought iron gates. Which were sometimes decorated with leaves, flowers, and other such things and were often made of copper, bronze, or tin and sometimes mild steel. That was the job of the Whitesmith that I started training for. Unfortunately the owner went up to another set of gates (made of pearl I believe) So that was the end of my job.Hope this helps. Jon

:-)

Hello Jon.......we had a forge in the village until the late '80s.

He made fence rails, gates etc and once mended my twin buggy for me:)

I think whitesmith is pretty broadly a worker in non-ferrous metal.

Welcome to the boards John

Penny posted this 9 years ago so may not be checking for replies now

interesting that it was found though.......innit?

LOL..............I hadn't noticed the date of the OP but it is interesting to read :-D