Have come across what I think is the word "chainwoman" as an occupation on an 1841 census. There are two of them on the same sheet and they are in the company of a sawyer and 2 woodsmen. Could this have been maybe something connected with moving cut timber out of the forest? Or any other ideas?
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your interest. I have had a closer look and compared it with other entries written by the same person and I've come to the conclusion that the word is "charwoman". There is what looks like a dot over the word, so possibly an "i" but I think now it is a blob of nothing. So much more mundane, what a shame!
If you wanted to have a look it is an 1841 sheet for Tintern Parva (HO 107 /747 /22) and the sheet number is 11 in the top right corner or page 15 in the original numbering. Her name is Ann Brown living on Monmouth Road.
Regards, Maggie