Daily AncestorTinker
A tinker was a traveling mender of pots, pans, kettles and other metal household goods.
The tinker went from place to place, patching holes and soldering leaks in kitchen utensils. Unlike the tinner, who worked from a shop, the tinker was usually on the move.
In Britain and Ireland the word was also applied, often unkindly, to traveling communities. In American records it usually just describes the job.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Michl. Ward, 50, Tinker, Ireland
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Daily Ancestor. "Tinker." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/tinker. Last checked 2026-10-01.