Daily AncestorFlatboatman
A flatboatman worked a flatboat, a big flat-bottomed boat that floated farm goods down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, often to New Orleans.
A flatboat was a rectangular, square-ended craft carrying freight and passengers on American inland rivers. It went one way only: downstream with the current, after which it was broken up and sold for lumber, often at New Orleans.
Pennsylvania farmer Jacob Yoder, who floated a flatboat of flour from the Monongahela down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans in the early 1780s, is often credited with starting the trade.
As seen in a recordRiver town records, 1790s to 1850s, and the 1850 census
Jesse Pruett, flatboatman
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Flatboatman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/flatboatman. Last checked 2026-10-10.