Workday Wednesday ~ Plaisterer

John Stanners was my 4th great-grandfather. He was a Plaisterer by trade, but he also dabbled in lime burning. According to uncle Ezra he was also a builder.  The following excerpt is from his book, Robert Price, which can now be found online at FamilySearch Books:

"...Mary Louisa Stanners, the youngest child of a highly respected Scotch lowland family. Her father, William Stanners, also resided in Great Missenden, where he operated his own business as a builder and plasterer. He owned the kiln in which he made the brick he used, and was known as an upright tradesman, who served his country by good work with the best material. William Stanners and his wife, Susannah Taylor, had three daughters and two sons, the latter following him in his business. His success and good standing is evident by the fact that he built a pretty villa on the slope of the Chiltern Hills, famous for their beautiful beech woods. He lived in his home until his death at the age of seventy-five."

I haven't figured out why Ezra refers to John as "William", but it is documented that Mary Loiusa Stanners' father was John Stanners. I haven't found any documents labeling him as a builder either.

I was able to find him in the Pigot's 1830 Directory as a lime burner.

He is listed as a plaisterer in the following documents:

• 1800 baptismal record for son John
• 1841 census record
• 1842 death certificate

...and just the other day I found out that he was an insolvent debtor in 1821.

London Gazette, April 10, 1821

 I sure would like to know the rest of the story.

In case you didn't know, a plaisterer (plasterer) is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. Said plaster was made of lime, aggregate, fiber, and water until the end of the 19th century.

I sure would like to be able to access the London Apprenticeship Abstracts 1442-1850 at Origins.net to see if and when he apprenticed, but alas, no.

Leslie Ann