Daily AncestorPlater
A plater coated metal goods with a thin layer of silver, nickel or other metal; in shipyards a plater fitted the steel plates of the hull.
Wiktionary gives both senses: someone who plates metal, and someone who installs sheet metal and armor plating on ships, trains and the like. Electroplating, invented by the Italian chemist Luigi Brugnatelli in 1805, uses an electric current to deposit the coating, and an electroplater does that work.
Look at the industry or employer to tell which plater you have: a silverware or hardware works, or a shipyard.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Frank Dunleavy, 30, Plater, Silverware factory
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Plater." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/plater. Last checked 2026-10-12.