Daily AncestorWaterman
A waterman worked on the water, usually carrying people or goods in small boats; less often the word meant someone who supplied or sold water.
In port cities watermen rowed passengers and small cargoes across harbors and rivers, much like a cab on the water. In some regions the word later came to cover men who fished or gathered shellfish for a living.
Watch for the other meaning: a water carrier, or an attendant at a cab stand who watered the horses. The rest of the household and the place usually make the sense clear.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Saml. Ward, 51, Waterman, Md.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Waterman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/waterman. Last checked 2026-10-01.