A 'pithead man' is a surface worker - i.e. he didn't go underground, but worked moving and emptying the 'hutches' (mine waggons) or maybe on the sorting tables picking out stones among the coal ( earlier this would be done by women and children ). He might also have to 'brush out' (sometimes called 'redding up') coal dust from machinery (especially the cage / shaft gear etc) and keep bearings lubricated ... When the 'tally' system was in use, where teams of miners (often brothers and sons), worked together on a 'contract' to mine a certain amount of coal in a certain time, then the family's 'Pithead Man' (another relative) would keep careful record ( a tally) of the hutches of coal sent up to the surface by that 'team', and their total weight in that working day or 'shift'. Each hutch would be marked (carefully) by the youngest member of the 'team' underground and the Pithead Man would recognise that mark and supervise the weighing and recording. Disputes over 'altered' marks etc were common and it would be up to the Pithead Man for the 'contractor' ( often the oldest man working in the team ) to make sure they were credited for all the coal dug out. Their wages ( as a contracted 'team' ) depended on accurate and timely 'tallys'. Sometimes, through illness or injury, a miner would only be employed as a 'Pithead Man' in his later years - but such work was paid at far lower rates ... Later on, in the 20th C this distinction between surface work, mining and 'road driving' (tunneling) was perpetuated in wage rates and other payments / benefits. G Russell Carluke, S. Lanarkshire

Thank you very much for the detailed description of the job of coal Pithead Man, and the context! Best regards, Carolyn On 15-Aug-10, at 2:55 AM, G Russell wrote: > A 'pithead man' is a surface worker - (...) > > G Russell > Carluke, S. Lanarkshire >

I was a bit confused by the description given for pitheadman as the Scottish mining site suggests it was a specific role, not a catch all term for surface worker. They give the following defnition from a 1886 glossary of Scottish mining terms, and also defines the person who kept track of hutches on behalf of the miners as a check weigher: PITHEADMAN, The man in charge of the unloading of the cages and weighing of the mineral at a pithead. CHECK WEIGHER, One who takes account of the mineral raised on behalf of the miners ; a justiceman. There is also a detailed description of the job on this page. It also describes other jobs which I have found really useful in my own research: http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/13.html Regards dawn > From: cperkes@videotron.ca > To: lanark@rootsweb.com > Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:44:02 -0400 > Subject: Re: [Lanark] McMunn - Steel - Wharrie - Simpson > > Thank you very much for the detailed description of the job of coal > Pithead Man, and the context! > > Best regards, > > Carolyn > > On 15-Aug-10, at 2:55 AM, G Russell wrote: > > > A 'pithead man' is a surface worker - (...) > > > > G Russell > > Carluke, S. Lanarkshire > >