Daily AncestorRopemaker
A ropemaker twisted hemp or other fiber into rope, usually in a ropewalk, a very long narrow building or lane where strands were laid out and twisted.
Ships needed huge amounts of rope, so ropewalks were common in port towns. In the long, narrow walk, strands of fiber were laid out and twisted together, first into yarn, then into strands and finally into rope.
Ropewalks were full of hemp dust, which burns fiercely, and fires were common. Do not read ropewalker as the same job, since that word meant a tightrope performer.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Michael Ryan, 33, Ropemaker, Mass.
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Daily Ancestor. "Ropemaker." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/ropemaker. Last checked 2026-10-01.