I do not know the name Hawkins in colonial Virginia, but in colonial Granville Co., NC, there are good many family members by that name. Tanner - a smelly profession!!! I grew up near the Texas-Mexican border, and hides were imported from northern Mexico to my hometown. This was before air-conditioning was known to anyone except the owner of the movie theater and the family of a water and power executive in town. Whew!!! Then some years ago, my California-born husband and I were visiting a California mission which had a big tannery vat in front, where the Indians [slaves? or converts?] were put to work. My husband, an amateur historian, said that urine was used to tan the hides. Another tale--during the Korean War, my husband was fortunate enough to be sent to Germany, at a well-known air base. The PX had Morocco leather items for sale. I bought a coin purse. It was a lovely item, but it smelled so bad, we had to put it in the hall--or away from the bedrooms!!! I love shoes, horse lovers love saddles, and women love leather purses, but, oh my!!! The process which the leather has to undergo!!! I remember when ladies, before we bought shoes made in Brazil and in China and such places, loved shoes from Italy, always a generation ahead in fashion, it seems. One salesman told me, We send our American hides to Italy, and they, not we, make the shoes. I cannot tell you about saddlers and cordwainers of the early eras of America, but I think tanneries may not be much different today. This a brief item from Wikipedia - the dictionary part. It says there is an article about cordwainers. Maybe there is one about tanneries. cordwainer 1. a shoemaker 2. a worker in _cordwain_ (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cordwain) a _leather_ (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leather) from _Córdoba_ (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Córdoba) . 3. a member of the _Cordwainers_ (http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Cordwainers&action=edit) _livery company_ (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/livery_company) E.W.Wallace ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com