Dorothy Stewart's account of her family's life and business in Hell's Kitchen was just terrific! This question may sound silly, but can someone give me some idea of what a "machinist" would have done in NYC in the 1870-1900 period? Both my grandfather and great-grandfather identified themselves as "machinists" in the 1880 and 1900 Censuses and I wish I had a better, more complete sense of what they did and how they did it. Yes, the Industrial Revolution was well underway by then and NYC was a manufacturing center. Would a factory floor "grunt" operating a lathe, a grinder or punch-press have described himself as a "machinist"? Did someone have to be skill-trained to qualify for the title, "machinist," or was it a sort of a generalized, one-size-fits-all descriptor for any man who worked in a factory or small machine shop, regardless of specific function? Does anyone know of a book, books or articles that describe the NYC working man's life for that era? Thanks. G. Alexander

G. A machinist, as the name implies, is a person who is skilled in operating a machine. My father and his brothers were listed in U.S. censuses and the NY State Renumerations as machinist from 1910 to their retirement as working in Todd Shipyard in Red Hook Brooklyn. Vince----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 3:47 AM Subject: [IRISH-NYC] What Life Was Like in Hell's Kitchen > Dorothy Stewart's account of her family's life and business in Hell's > Kitchen was just terrific! > > This question may sound silly, but can someone give me some idea of what a > "machinist" would have done in NYC in the 1870-1900 period? Both my > grandfather and great-grandfather identified themselves as "machinists" in > the 1880 and 1900 Censuses and I wish I had a better, more complete sense > of what they did and how they did it. > > Yes, the Industrial Revolution was well underway by then and NYC was a > manufacturing center. Would a factory floor "grunt" operating a lathe, a > grinder or punch-press have described himself as a "machinist"? Did someone > have to be skill-trained to qualify for the title, "machinist," or was it a > sort of a generalized, one-size-fits-all descriptor for any man who worked > in a factory or small machine shop, regardless of specific function? > > Does anyone know of a book, books or articles that describe the NYC working > man's life for that era? Thanks. G. Alexander > > > > ==== IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY Mailing List ==== > Please visit the list websites: > http://www.irishinnyc.freeservers.com > http://www.inyc.freeservers.com > They are works in progress. Thank you for your patience! > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > >