Daily AncestorForgeman
A forgeman worked at a forge, hammering hot iron into bars or heavy shapes, essentially a blacksmith working on an industrial scale.
At an early ironworks the forge turned cast pig iron into tougher wrought iron bars by reheating it and working it under heavy hammers, often powered by a water wheel. Forgemen did this hot, skilled work, frequently in a team.
Later the title also covered men who shaped hot metal under steam hammers in railroad shops, steel plants and machine works.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Henry Lutz, 34, Forgeman, Iron works
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Forgeman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/forgeman. Last checked 2026-10-01.