1. Nathaniel Bradford of Accomack County, Virginia - Lower ...

The occupation of currier no longer exists, its function having largely been incorporated into the tanning
process and the actual work of treating and finishing hides taken over by machines, but at one time curriers
were an integral part of the production and manufacture of leather. Before the 19 th century, the currier
occupied the middle step in the leather trade between the tanning of the animal hide and its transformation
into a manufactured good. After an animal was killed and skinned, the
hide was first delivered to the tanner, who removed any remnants of
blood or tissue from the hide and then “limed” it – a process which
involved washing the hide repeatedly in quicklime to prepare it to absorb
the tanning solution. Next the tanner cut the hide to a useable size and
dipped it in a series of solutions until the hide was thoroughly tanned.
Then the hide was delivered to the currier, whose task was to finish the
leather so it could be turned into a useable product, such as a saddle or a
shoe.
First the currier stretched the leather on a frame or rack until taut. Then he worked
the hide with a “sleeker”, a short-bladed knife, to force out lingering tanning fluid.
The main tool of the currier’s trade was a different implement known as the
currying knife. First the currier used this implement to shave the inner surface of the
skin until smooth, then to split the leather into different widths depending on its
intended use. For shoe manufacture, the more pliant leather was used for the upper
parts, and the stiffer leather for the soles. Having trimmed the hide, the currier
began the actual currying process, which consisted of rubbing beef tallow and cod
liver oil into the leather to finish it. At that point, the leather could be used for a
multitude of purposes and stained or dyed. 68
The whole leather trade was intimately inter-connected and each craftsman involved, from the tanner to the
cobbler, relied heavily on the others. In medieval England often many members of the same family
engaged in different aspects of the trade, so that the tanner, the currier and the cobbler or saddler were all
related. In fact, it was quite common in England to find curriers also engaged in tanning and the
manufacture of shoes. This ended up being the case with Nathaniel.
Before entering into the profession of a currier one typically had to serve an apprenticeship to learn the
trade. Since so little is known of Nathaniel’s early life, it is unclear where Nathaniel learned the craft of
currying, whether he served an apprenticeship on the eastern shore or elsewhere in the colonies or England;
whether he learned it in the service of a stranger or an acquaintance or whether it was a family profession,
knowledge of which might have been passed on to him by his relatives.
Page 15 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford