Daily AncestorCollier
A collier was a coal miner; in older and iron-making records it could also mean a person who made charcoal.
In most American records, especially Pennsylvania anthracite country, collier means coal miner. The word could also mean someone who sold or shipped coal, and a collier was also a ship that carried coal.
Near charcoal iron furnaces of the 1700s and 1800s, collier meant a charcoal maker. Check whether the area had coal mines or iron furnaces.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1920 census
Thos. Price, 33, Collier, Wales
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Daily Ancestor. "Collier." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/collier. Last checked 2026-10-01.