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What's a Cutter? #usa #general
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An ancestor was killed in a work-related accident in 1894, in New York City. I can't find anything specific about the accident, but city directories & his children's birth records give his occupation as "Cutter."
Anyone know what that is? What type of business would employ such a person? How might it be dangerous? thanks, Phil K. |
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Mark Halpern
Many Jewish immigrants during that period took jobs as a cutter. My father's first job was as a cutter in 1921. A cutter is a person who cuts fabric. I would refer to this business as the "Shmatah" or clothing business. On 2020-07-25 9:55 am, Phil Karlin wrote:
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Barbara Nowak
A cutter is someone who cuts patterns in the garment industry.
ALTMAN, TEPERSON, MARCUS, SHAPIRO. (Kovno, Lithuania, South Africa, NY) NOWAK (Posen and Pryzansz,Plock, Berlin, NY & Chicago) HODES/HOODES, DANGLOWITZ, MINGELGRIN (Bresko, NY) FLASTERSTEIN, HIRSHENHORN, MELNIK, KATZ (Miedzyrzec Podlaska, NY, Philadelphia) |
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Susan&David
A cutter was employed in the garment industry . Bolts of cloth had
to be cut in accordance with a pattern and a cutter did that work.
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You can look up fabric cutting on the internet. The job was not mechanized at that time to the degree that it is today David Rosen Boston, MA On 7/25/2020 9:55 AM, Phil Karlin
wrote:
An ancestor was killed in a work-related accident in 1894, in New York City. I can't find anything specific about the accident, but city directories & his children's birth records give his occupation as "Cutter." |
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Thanks everyone.
Does it make sense that someone could be killed in a work-related accident? I could see injured, but killed? Maybe it was not work related. |
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Sally Bruckheimer <sallybruc@...>
The person cuts things. In NYC, usually he cuts fabric for sewing. In Polish records, he often cuts grain (like kasha).
Sally Bruckheimer
Princeton, NJ
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Sam Wolff
In the movie "Breaking Away" (a great sports movie, if you don't know it- check it out), a cutter was a pejorative term for the local Indiana students on campus at Indiana University, named after those who worked in the neighboring quarries. But more likely, it signifies somebody who worked in the garment industry, as others have responded.
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Diane Jacobs
A cutter is usually in the garment business. Also if your Karlin family was from Belarus And possibly originally Karlinsky, we should talk further. Diane Jacobs geniediane@... Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Phil Karlin <philk@...> Date: 7/25/20 9:55 AM (GMT-05:00) To: main@... Subject: [JewishGen.org] What's a Cutter? #usa #general Anyone know what that is? What type of business would employ such a person? How might it be dangerous? thanks, Phil K. -- Diane Jacobs, Somerset, New Jersey |
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Hilary Henkin
A cutter is more than someone who just cuts fabric. When I did theatre
(props) in my prior career, the Cutter translated what the designer sketched, into actual pattern pieces, and designed how to assemble those pieces to create what the designer wanted. Regular workers would cut out the fabric, sew/please, gather, etc. -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com |
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Diane Jacobs
For many years if was known by New Yorkers S the rag business. Diane Jacobs Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Mark Halpern <mark@...> Date: 7/25/20 10:17 AM (GMT-05:00) To: main@... Cc: Phil Karlin <philk@...> Subject: Re: [JewishGen.org] What's a Cutter? #usa #general Many Jewish immigrants during that period took jobs as a cutter. My father's first job was as a cutter in 1921. A cutter is a person who cuts fabric. I would refer to this business as the "Shmatah" or clothing business.
-- Diane Jacobs, Somerset, New Jersey |
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Alan Greenberg
It makes sense. When I was involved in the garment industry 60 years ago, the electric cutting machines (capable of cutting a pile of fabric 8 or more inches high) offered little protection to the cutter. Many were missing fingers or part of them. Google "stright knife cutting machine" images. Earlier in the century they were probably even more hazardous.
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Alan Greenberg Montreal, Canada On July 25, 2020 12:34:49 PM EDT, "Phil Karlin via groups.jewishgen.org" <philk=nebasket.com@...> wrote: Thanks everyone. --
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. |
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Rich friedman
My father was a dress cutter starting after WWII. A dress cutter was a person who worked for a company that made dresses. His job was to pull rolls of material back and forth along a long table. When the pile reached a certain height he would put the pattern parts that made up the dress on top of the pile and would use a machine to cut them out.
Rich Friedman
SEEKING
POK /POCK - Glubokie, Belarus
KURLANDCHIK- Seta and Jonava, Lithuanaia
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YaleZuss@...
Phil,
It may help to determine how "cutting" was done. If it was a single piece of cloth, cut with a pair of scissors, it's hard to identify fatal scenarios. If we're talking multiple layers cut with a large knife, I can conceive of that knife inflicting a fatal wound. Another possibility is a fire in the factory.
Particularly if there was a fire, the incident may have been covered in local papers. If you have your ancestor's date of death, check the next couple of days.
--Yale
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Sherri Bobish
Phil, What year did this happen? Have you obtained the death certificate to see the medical cause? My grandfather was a cutter. I can imagine lots of things that could have happened. Before antibiotics if an infection set in from a wound it could be very hard to treat. Perhaps an accident might have warranted a newspaper mention? Try searching his name at: www.fultonhistory.com It is a free site of old digitized NY newspapers (although expanding to other states also.) Regards, Sherri Bobish Princeton, NJ |
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Barbara Singer
A cutter is a person in the garment factory that uses a large cutting
machine of a large, stacked fabric.
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Eleanor Richmond <anvn019@...>
In Toronto a Cutter was a person who worked in a clothing manufacturing factory and cut the fabric using a pattern for the manufacture of the clothing.
Eleanor Richmond |
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Mike Schwartz
A cutter worked in the garment industry, and was the one who cut the fabric from patterns. It was a highly skilled position because the cutter had to be faithful to the pattern while minimizing the amount of fabric wasted. I had several ancestors who were cutters, and they were noticeably better off financially than other relatives of the same era in the garment industry.
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davdix46@...
My Father had a Clothing Manufacturing Company in South Australia for many years. A good 'cutter' was worth his weight in gold! because a good cutter might get two pairs of pants out of a piece of material and an average 'cutter' only one! They were very well paid. My Dad's business specialized in uniforms of many kinds, eg: Fire Brigade, Police Officers, and School Uniforms. When using the electric cutting machines, material would be stacked up on the cutters bench, and he might cut 20 size 8 Blazers at one time - not good if you make a mistake!! Cutters jealously guarded their patterns, and most would not let another use their patterns. When cutting only one garment, they would use large scissors, which were kept razor sharp (I still have a pair from Dad's factory, which closed many years ago). The only 'fatal' accident I could envisage would be if a cutter using a large electrical cutter, accidentally ran over the electric cord! In Australia that is 240Volts! Good Luck with your research.
David Dixon |
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Thanks for fultonhistory.com, I did not know this website. I could find no mention of the accident there. I am planning on tracking down the actual death certificate. Covid-19 is getting in the way for the moment.
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Thank you to all. In aggregate you've painted the picture I was looking for. I'm looking forward to hunting down the death certificate.
Phil |
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