What was a laroker

[ayrforce1]

I have been researching on my local area. One of the directories comes up with trades and professions and one person is listed as laroker. Never heard of this and found nothing on google so far. This goes back to 1845-46.

[Calibax]

Could it be a larker (a catcher of larks)? They were commonly eaten in the 19th century.

[dotty.]

it may even be 'overlooker', i they lived in a mill town, what are the occupations of other people in the same district?

[dotty.]

oh sorry you say this is a driectory entry, do you mean a slaters or pigot 's type printed directory? where they lived will be a clue,

[ayrforce1]

It is taken from the Scottish Post office Directories from mid 1800s. There are many trades listed for that area. Among them are a pawnbroker, feuar, sewing agent, boot manufacturer and spirit dealer. The street was central to the town and no longer exists although the name was reused during redevelopment.

[Graham-W]

I can't find it on Google either but I think I have seen it used to describe a land agent or estate agent. Does this make any sense in the context. I may have seen it in my US travels.

[HowardKennitby]

Does this word have a particular Scottish connection?

[ayrforce1]

Mr P Connor , laroker, may be Irish in some way.

[ayrforce1]

I think I`ll put this one down as a printing error as other entries are definable such as ostler and feuar. Larker would seem to be the best suggestion. Thank you.

[Quizmonster]

The Scots word for lark is larick/lairick, shorter versions of laverock. It's quite possible that local (mis)spellings might have included larock/larok, so lark-catcher for laroker is most probably right.
Another vague possibility may be connected with fishing. Is the town concerned on the coast? Seine fishing often employed three boats in a team, the seiner, the vollier and the larker. I suppose it might be that the man in the last of these was also called a larker, which might have been (mis)spelt laroker, too.

[HowardKennitby]

larick also means the larch tree but I can't see that leads anywhere. It may just be a misprint as that spelling is very un-Scottish.

[Quizmonster]

Quite, HK, but larker is listed in the OED as a lark-catcher as long ago as the 1600s. The insertion of an 'o' was most probably either a localism or a simple spelling mistake on the recorder's part.
I cannot imagine what a larcher's - or laricker's - job might have been, if it had anything to do with the Scottish form of larch, though I can just about imagine a fishing connection as outlined earlier.
Catchin' wee burdies wis 'e man's wark, A doot!

[ayrforce1]

The town is on the coast and did have a sizable fishing fleet , until a few years back.