While Liz was looking at "rough" the verb, I was looking in Oxford English Dictionary at the noun. One definition is "a particular make of linen" with this citation: Flax and Linen ... Roughs and drills are going off steadily. The citation is from 1890, however, and the only one given -- rather far removed from 1639. If evidence of earlier use could be found this would fit well with the description of the Bedfords. The process of nap-raising fits well, too, but I wonder if this was a specialty on its own or just part of the cloth finishing process. I've seen the occupation of blanket-raiser in the census (around Dewsbury, the heavy woollen area) which sounds like it might be that. I've checked other sources on hand here but none contain rough. cheers, Judith Werner Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Administrator, OLD-ENGLISH http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction on how to look up an elusive archaic occupation -- I've had no luck with any of the online dictionaries accessible through family history & genealogy websites, including genuki, and don't know where else to look. My reference comes from a will extract transcribed by 2 apparently scrupulous editors over 2 editions of a Yorkshire pedigree, so I'm wary of automatically assuming both have just misspelled the word: 1639 Jan. 3. John Bedford of Doncaster "Rough man". ... Proved April 1640. The quotation marks are the editors', not mine. John Bedford leaves sums of £10 [abt £1,130.30 in 2005] & £20 [abt £2,260.59] to various grandchildren, as well as remembering the poor of Doncaster in his will, so he seems to be fairly well off himself. The main occupation for Bedfords/Bedforths is centred around the cloth industry, starting off as merchants in my earliest references, & ending up as weavers by the early 19th c. I'd be very grateful for any tips on how to find out what "rough man" could mean.