One occupation keeps coming up in census entries/marriage records for a local family, and that's 'team owner'. Have googled it and can't seem to find it in the usual lists of old occupations.
Presumably, a team owner is someone with a team of horses? One step up from a carter? One particular family in Birkenhead lists all the sons as 'team owners'... either they all had shares in the same team, or kept an awful lot of horses!
They aren't all on the same site, nor even in England, but they are mainly on farms, whereas I was wondering more as you did, about carters, cabbies etc.
MaryA Our Facebook Page
Names - Lunt, Hall, Kent, Ayre, Forshaw, Parle, Lawrenson, Longford, Ennis, Bayley, Russell, Longworth, Baile
Any census info in this post is Crown Copyright, from National Archives
In recent months whilst doing look ups and bits of research for friends, both had grandfathers and great grandfathers recorded as Team owners, both friends had prior knowledge of this and stories to tell. Both families could be described as Townies and both had stabling in Birkenhead. One of the grandfathers had the majority of his horses taken off him in 1914 for the war effort.
Some of us will remember the milk horse and the rag and bone man and his nag, not exactly teams, but prior to the mechanical age, stabling and teams of horses was a common sight in towns and cities as we all know.
A Carters cart could be pulled by horse power or man power I assume, depending on size.
Probably the same family, Bert - there were enough of them. One of them married a local farmer with 160 acres - they were my husband's great-grandparents, but he knows very little about them.
I imagined a 'team' being three or four 'in-hand' or bigger. Perhaps they went to where the work was - on farms or maybe even pulling loads on the docks.
I have horses; I can't imagine how people felt when strangers walked in and took their animals for the war effort. An old lady once told me about the day they removed hers from a hunt yard - she never saw them again, and never got over it.
It didn't occur to me that a cart could be man-powered. Of course.
As a youngster I remember there being stables up what we called "wide entries" and also on main roads. These were in residential areas. Usually two horses would haul the heavy carts used on the docks, so I suppose this could be described as a team. If you google Liverpool Carters there are a number of interesting websites including a forum that deals with genealogy and many photographs.
I'm wondering if you mean the Scottie Press site? they also had a lovely write up about the memorial to the Carters and the plaque - thinking about it, I'm fairly sure there was a day pity it was about a month ago, that the Museum of Liverpool Life were celebrating the history of carters too, if you look on their facebook page I'm sure there were some photographs.
MaryA Our Facebook Page
Names - Lunt, Hall, Kent, Ayre, Forshaw, Parle, Lawrenson, Longford, Ennis, Bayley, Russell, Longworth, Baile
Any census info in this post is Crown Copyright, from National Archives
Yes, Scottie Press was one of the sites, another appears under the heading Nerve 16-Liverpool Horse Power, www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve16/horse_power.php ,
(hope I got that url right), which is mainly text. I remember The Echo issuing a special about the carters and their horses a few years ago, I think this might have been to coincide with the unveiling of the memorial. Don't know if this is still available. Another thing I remember was the drinking trough for horses outside St Patricks church on Park Road, Dingle with the carters queuing to give their horses a drink.
Hi Fledge,
Been away for a few days so missed you original post. It is interesting that the term Teamster found its way across the Atlantic where it is now synonymous with the trucking and transportation industry, even to the point where the major trade union in that area is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT or Teamsters), one of the largest unions in the United States.
Not Liverpool, it's London but nevertheless interesting anyway, it looked a little later than 1927 to me, but what do I know.
Watch out for the horse drawn cart being pulled over London Bridge and then a few seconds later look to the right side of the road carefully to see a hand pulled cart.
MaryA Our Facebook Page
Names - Lunt, Hall, Kent, Ayre, Forshaw, Parle, Lawrenson, Longford, Ennis, Bayley, Russell, Longworth, Baile
Any census info in this post is Crown Copyright, from National Archives
I never tire of them either, Bert - I spend whole evenings on YT watching old footage of hanson cabs and trams. The Manchester city centre one is a favourite - there's so much going on.
DS - of course! Jimmy Hoffa... International Brotherhood of Teamsters. I should've known that.
Friend of ours had a working team of Clydesdales, trained in all gears - sadly he's passed on now.
Of course.
