Daily AncestorSailmaker
A sailmaker cut, sewed and repaired sails, usually in a sail loft on shore or as a member of a large ship's crew.
Sails were made from long strips of heavy canvas sewn by hand with palm and needle. Sailmakers worked in a sail loft, a large open upper floor where whole sails could be laid out, and big ocean-going ships often carried a sailmaker to keep sails in repair.
In the U.S. Navy the sailmaker was also a warrant officer in charge of the sails. In port towns the trade often ran in families.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Josiah Doane, 48, Sailmaker, Mass.
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Daily Ancestor. "Sailmaker." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/sailmaker. Last checked 2026-10-01.