Linda, I have done little research on blacksmithing. My great-great-grandfather was a blacksmith, first in Germany (Erfurt and Hamburg), then in Chicago. In Chicago city directories, beginning in 1883, he is listed first as a blacksmith. Later he is listed variously as a manufacturer of tools, ironworker, and still sometimes as a blacksmith. The shop was always at the same address, so I suspect the only thing that really changed, was that he no longer made horseshoes. A few of his household pieces survive in the family. I have a meat carving set, with sharpening tool that he made for his oldest daughter, my grandmother. We use that carving set all the time. This grandmother married one of the men who worked for her father. Five years after his death, she married again - the brother of another man who worked in the shop. Please let us know when you publish your research. I'm sure I'm not the only one interested. Lois