As several members of the SWEET mailing list have extensive knowledge, I'm daring to ask a couple of questions that don't have anything to do with my Sweet ancestors but another branch entirely (but, hey, one of them eventually married a Sweet). And I'm sure if y'all don't have the direct answer, you'll know where to tell me to go look, in a nice way. 1 - Blacksmiths. During 1860-1870, how long did it take to become a blacksmith? Could the trade have been learned during the Civil War? My ancestor went from a farmhand at 21 years old (1860) to being a blacksmith at 31 (1870). 2 - Does Blacksmithing provide a good income during the late 1800s? (ie, could sons have become a physician & a lawyer ?) 3 - Is blacksmithing all that common or is it fairly rare? ie, about how many blacksmiths could work in a county, in say, Kentucky? My thanks for your answers and indulgence. Deborah Sweet

Deborah wrote: > 1 - Blacksmiths. During 1860-1870, how long did it take to become a > blacksmith? Could the trade have been learned during the Civil War? My > ancestor went from a farmhand at 21 years old (1860) to being a blacksmith > at 31 (1870). The traditional way to become a blacksmith was to start as an apprentice. My ggf, who was born in 1861, served an apprenticeship with his father. The traditional term was 7 years, but a grown man could certainly learn the trade faster than that. > 2 - Does Blacksmithing provide a good income during the late 1800s? (ie, > could sons have become a physician & a lawyer ?) Could have. I'd say it depends on the ambitions of the sons. > 3 - Is blacksmithing all that common or is it fairly rare? ie, about how > many blacksmiths could work in a county, in say, Kentucky? In those days, the bread-and-butter of smithing was the shoeing of horses. Any large town would need a blacksmith. John Chandler