No matter the era, work has always been a part of the human experience. Many people spend most of their day at their jobs. This was just as true in the past as it is today. Learning about our ancestors’ occupations can give us deeper insights into their lives. Today, let’s learn about coopers.
History of Coopers
Coopers are craftsmen who build wooden casks, barrels, buckets, and other containers out of wood. The cooper trade has been around for thousands of years, and working coopers still make wooden barrels by hand today.
The work of the cooper was essential in expanding trade and exploration around the world. Barrels stored food and liquid safely, and they were sturdy enough to withstand rough treatment on ships and caravans. The round shape of the barrels was convenient for stacking and maneuvering. Barrels were used much like cardboard boxes are used today.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the craft of coopering has been around since the time of the ancient Egyptians, who made open-ended vessels using wood and reeds. The Celts, with their iron-making skills, are credited with adding metal hoops in their barrel-making around 200 B.C.
The ancient Romans later improved the art and standardized sizes and were the first to use barrels for wine making. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote about casks in his book The Natural History, Book XIV: “In the vicinity of the Alps, they put their wines in wooden vessels hooped around; during their cold winters, they even keep lighted fires to protect the wines from the effects of the cold.”
The craft of coopering spread throughout medieval Europe. Coopers were also among the first people who came to the American continent, bringing their needed skills with them to produce barrels for storing food and other essential items.
Coopers often worked on both land and sea. On ships, they took care of repairing and recycling casks and barrels, an important part of the ships’ supplies. On land, they often worked in breweries producing vats, kegs, and barrels. Village coopers usually did what is called “white coopering.” White coopering is the creation of staved vessels with straight or tapered sides. This style is used to make household items such as churns, buckets, and tankards.
Because coopers produced much-needed tools for storing and transporting goods, they were well-paid and highly regarded in their communities. Coopers were involved in trade regulation, standardized measures, and local politics. In the 14th century, they created a guild in Great Britain called The Worshipful Company of Coopers, which is still active today.
During the 20th century, the demand for barrels decreased, due to the inventions of metal drums, shipping containers, and cardboard boxes. Today, barrels are used mostly for aging vinegar and alcohol. Since some alcohols age best in wooden containers, the craft of coopering continues on.
What Do Coopers Do?
Barrel making, or coopering, is a highly skilled trade that is both physically and mentally demanding. Coopers work with specialized tools, select high-quality oak, work with the wood, use math to calculate the size and shape of the staves, and bend the staves into shape. In the 19th century, coopers learned the trade through an apprentice system that required up to 7 years to become a master cooper.
Historically, hoopers were assistants to the cooper who specialized in fitting metal hoops around the barrels or buckets. Eventually, coopers took over the role, becoming skilled in both making the barrels and fitting the hoops.
Types of Coopers
There are three main types of coopering: white, dry, and wet.
White coopering creates pails, butter churns, tubs, and household equipment. These products are usually built by journeymen coopers.
Slack or dry coopering is the making of casks for holding dry goods, such as flour, tobacco, and vegetables. These casks are designed to keep moisture out. A master slack cooper could make up to 10 barrels a day.
Wet coopering is the most skilled. Wet coopering makes casks for holding liquids, including water, wine, whiskey, oil, and paint.
How Barrels Are Made
The process of crafting a barrel includes choosing high-quality oak, splitting the wood into staves, drying the wood, and planing the staves into the needed size and shape. Each stave must be accurately measured and cut to make the barrel waterproof.
After the wood is planed, the staves are formed in a circle inside the metal hoops. The wood is heated to make it pliable for the final hoops to be placed on the barrel. Barrels are often “toasted,” or fired, to filter out impurities and release the flavor of the wood into the liquid (usually alcohol). The process takes several hours to complete.
Surnames from the Cooper Occupation
Surnames are a part of our identity and often reflect our heritage, but it wasn’t always so. As communities expanded, surnames became a way to distinguish individuals and became hereditary.
Some last names originated from a person’s occupation, such as Cooper. If your last name is Cooper, knowing the background of your name may give you insights into your ancestors’ lives.
The word cooper comes from the Latin word cuparii, meaning “maker of casks,” or cooper. The name is also derived from Middle Dutch küper, from kupe, meaning “cask.”
In England, the occupational surname originated during medieval times as couper. Today, it is a common name, ranking 29th in Great Britain. It is also sometimes used as a first name.
Because of the widespread nature of barrel making, the name Cooper is found in many languages. A related occupational surname is Hooper, who worked with coopers to fit the hoops around the barrels. Here are some variations of the surnames “Cooper” and “Hooper” in different languages. See if you can find your last name.
Language | Surname |
| Dutch | Cuijpers, Cuyper, Cuypers, Kuijpers, Kuiper, Kuiper |
| French | Baríl, Tonnellier |
| Gaelic | Cúipéir |
| German | Bander, Bender, Boettcher, Kiefer |
| Hungarian | Kadar, Kover |
| Italian | Barillaro, Barilla |
| Polish | Bednarz |
| Portuguese | Tanoeira, Tanoeiro |
| Russian | Bocharov |
| Spanish | Barrilero, Carralero, Tonelera |
Do you have an occupational Surname? Discover the origins of your surname with a surname search.
Finding Your Ancestors’ Trades
Learning about your ancestors’ occupations is not only interesting but helpful in understanding their lives. It may lead you to add names to your family tree.
You can learn about your family’s occupations using census records. Sometimes birth and death records, passenger lists, draft records, directories, and obituaries also have information about how people earned their living.
You can find census and other records for free at FamilySearch.org. Check out this article for more help on how to find your ancestor’s occupation.
As you find more information about your ancestors and their lives, be sure to add what you find to your family tree. If you don’t have a family tree yet, the best time to start is now!
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