Daily AncestorFounder
A founder cast metal, pouring molten iron, brass or other metal into molds; at old ironworks the word could also mean the man running the blast furnace.
A founder worked in or owned a foundry, where melted metal was poured into molds to make stoves, pots, machine parts, bells and the like. Iron founder and brass founder name the metal.
At an early blast furnace the founder was the skilled worker in charge of smelting the ore. Read the word in context, since a founder can also simply be the person who started a church or company.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Wm. Russell, 47, Iron founder, Ohio
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Founder." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/founder. Last checked 2026-10-01.