Daily AncestorHod carrier
A hod carrier was a laborer who carried bricks and mortar to bricklayers and masons in a hod, a box on a pole held on the shoulder.
The hod was a three-sided trough on a long handle, resting on the shoulder. The hod carrier climbed ladders and scaffolding all day keeping bricklayers supplied.
It was heavy, unskilled work: the hod carrier was a laborer serving the bricklayer or mason, not a tradesman himself.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1920 census
Jas. Moran, 28, Hod carrier, Ireland
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Hod carrier." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/hod-carrier. Last checked 2026-10-01.