Daily AncestorMercer
A mercer was a merchant who dealt in textiles, especially silks and other fine cloths.
The word comes from Old French mercer, a merchant, and in England came to mean a trader in cloth, typically fine fabric not made locally, such as imported silk. Small-town mercers often sold other dry goods too.
The word is now largely obsolete outside the Worshipful Company of Mercers, first in precedence of the great livery companies of London. Related titles are draper and haberdasher; a clothier, by contrast, usually made cloth.
As seen in a recordEnglish parish, probate and apprenticeship records, 1600s and 1700s
Thos. Allwood, of London, Mercer
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Daily Ancestor. "Mercer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/mercer. Last checked 2026-10-10.