Daily AncestorJailer
A jailer kept prisoners confined in a jail or prison; gaoler is the British spelling of the same word.
Jailer, gaoler, guard, warder and keeper were all historical names for what is now called a corrections officer, and turnkey was a slang name. The word goes back through Middle English to an Old French word for a jail keeper.
Today the same job is called a corrections officer in the United States and a prison officer in Britain and Ireland.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1940 census
Saml. Pike, 48, Jailer
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Jailer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/jailer. Last checked 2026-10-10.