Daily AncestorMuleskinner
A muleskinner was a mule driver who handled a team of mules pulling freight wagons or other heavy loads.
Despite the name, a muleskinner did not skin mules. The word is slang for a skilled driver who could manage a long team of mules with reins, voice and whip, on freight roads, army supply trains and construction jobs.
In census returns the same man may be listed simply as teamster or driver. As an old military slang term it could also mean a cavalryman.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1900 to 1940 census
Wm. Tate, 31, Muleskinner, Freighting
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Daily Ancestor. "Muleskinner." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/muleskinner. Last checked 2026-10-01.