I have several Meshachs (spelt every which way) in my Jervis family who were in Longton/Lane End. The first was born c1784 and several of his descendants were given the name, It probably wasn't very popular with them, but it does make researching easier! Regards Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: <DrGeneal@aol.com> To: <ENG-STS-THE-POTTERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 15, 2005 5:04 PM Subject: [Pots] Meshec and the lath treader - any Ideas? > I thought after 50 years of Genealogy I'd seen most things but today I had > two novelties presented to me by the 1891 census of Newcastle-under-Lyme > The writing is by no means immaculate but the boy is named MESHEC and the > daughter of 18 years is a "lath treader" The rest of the family work at an > iron works, presumably Shelton bar and have perfectly ordinary English names. > Fed into the 1901 census the search turned up almost 200 !! Meshachs but I had > not seen it before. > What on earth does a lath treader do? are these bits of wood used wet to > make them pliable? > > the enumerator has added the word "Earth" in the vicinity.A possibility is > that she operated the treadle of a lathe, but that seems a peculiar job for a > girl. Anybody any ideas (particularly a plasterer?) DrGeneal > > > > ==== ENG-STS-THE-POTTERIES Mailing List ==== > The List for the Pottery Towns of the Ancient County of Staffordshire > > >