On the German-Life Mailing List at Rootsweb, there was a recent discussion concerning guilds, trades, masters, occupations, etc. We had had some little discussion here, especially as pertains to John Jacob Rector, who was admitted to the Guild of Steelsmiths and Toolmakers at about the age of 38, which seemed older than necessary. Fred Rump, who has some knowledge of life in Germany, makes some points which might amplify on this.
Until one reached the level of Master within a guild, one could not claim the occupation. And it was not up to him to determine whether he became a member of the guild. Admission was strictly controlled by the existing members of the guild, who were all Masters, and who sometimes did not want any more competition. They might have a quota, saying there would be no more than five Masters in their district. Until one of these died, there could be no more people admitted as members. Even though you might be as well trained as an existing member of a guild, you could not claim the occupation, nor hang out your shingle, or set up a shop for the purpose of conducting business.
Generally, everyone in a village was a farmer. Some individuals might have been skilled at one of several trades, and have reached the Journeyman level. Even at this level they were not guaranteed work. They had to travel around and find a Master who wanted to take on a Journeyman. Sometimes this was dependent upon the Master having a large job to do, which required additional help. Otherwise, it was a matter of working on the farm.
Even after completing all of the work of a Journeyman, including executing his masterpiece and passing his examination, advancement to the Master level was not automatic. The guild had to take him in as a member. Until they did this, one was out in the cold.
We do know that a significant percentage of the people around Siegen emigrated, in the year 1709, to America (New York). Perhaps the percentage was higher in the Siegen area than in any other area of Germany. This may be taken as an indication that the economic life of the region was depressed, and this may have made the existing members of the Guild of Steelsmiths and Toolmakers reluctant to admit more members. In turn, Johannes Jacob Richter may have turned these things over in his mind and listened more closely to Johann Justus Albrecht, who appeared in 1710, and was recruiting people to go to Virginia. Albrecht, besides recruiting "miners", was also charged with purchasing tools. To have a man who could make the tools would be an advantage.
Fred adds that when his ancestor came to America, he obtained work as a carpenter for which he had been in training. In America, the only question was a matter of skill, not of any formalities such as membership in guilds.
(12 Feb 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.