Hello All I have a will for a John Meykin laborer (sic) 1636. He seems to leave quite a lot of money and assets for the time and I wondered if the term laborer was the same as we consider labourer today. Thanks Chris Bartlett

In message <CLEOIFGLEIJMHKEDEPDJEEBPDJAA.woodcom@ihug.co.nz>, Chris Bartlett <woodcom@ihug.co.nz> writes > > >Hello All > >I have a will for a John Meykin laborer (sic) 1636. He seems to >leave quite a lot of money and assets quite likely. If he was neither a farmer nor a master craftsman, he may have had enough garden land (and the statutory four acres with every cottage|) to live on, but was generally a labourer for others, in the weeks when he did work outside, and had a few interesting sidelines, like mole catching, hedgelaying, egg selling, fishing, poaching... combined with a saving habit, then he could build up a little capital. He may also have recently received a legacy from his father or family, too. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society