Came across an ancestor of my husband's who was a shipwright. We never heard of the word or occupation before. Now I had a vague idea it was something to do with ship work. So I looked it up, its a skilled carpenter working on the ship, repairing or building main frame of boat/ ship. The ancestor was working for Harland and Wolff, Belfast. Thought I would share this incase someone else came across this occupation.
I have many shipwrights in my ancestry She04, and never realised that it was a term not known by all! Most of mine worked at the time that all the ships being built for Trafalgar and other great sea battles were being fought. I also had a direct ancestor who was a Commander in the Royal Navy who fought and sailed on many different ships out of Greenwich in Kent. However, a couple of new words to me in recent times are Millwright and 'Wordwright', which I had never heard of before! Diana
Millwright's were plentiful in Yorkshire when I was a gal, sadly most of the mills have now closed. Wright is an occupational surname, many Wright's around these parts: Wright, Cartwright, Wainwright, Arkwright, Wheelwright.
I don't know yet Gillyflower, I'm trying to find that out. I need to find out what union he belonged to first. He was working there at the time. Ive another ancestor who was rumoured to be a rivitter on the titanic.
