Daily AncestorLandwaiter
A landwaiter was a customs officer who oversaw goods being landed from ships and checked them against the ship's papers.
Where the tide waiter guarded a ship on its way in, the landwaiter stood on the wharf while cargo came ashore. He examined and counted the goods, compared them with the declared cargo and made sure the right duties would be charged.
Like tide waiter, it is a customs title of the colonial and early national era, mostly found in port towns.
As seen in a recordCustoms house rolls and port town records
Wm. Pell, Landwaiter, Custom House
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Landwaiter." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/landwaiter. Last checked 2026-10-01.