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From:
Subject: What is "Lighter"?
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 23:03:41 EDT

On 7/6/06 (4:58:04 PM MDT), in a posting to , Edward
or Joann () asked,

"I also have a GG-Grandfather, born Norway, immigrated to Brooklyn and worked
as a captain of a "Lighter", per census records. Anyone know what is a
"lighter"?"


From Google, we get this link to wikipedia:

A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods to and from
moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and
steered using long oars called "sweeps", with their motive power provided by water
currents. They were operated by highly skilled workers called lightermen and
were a characteristic sight in London's docks until about the 1960s, when
technological changes made lighters largely redundant. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighter_(barge)

I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting.

Regards,

Walter Greenspan
Great Falls, MT & Jericho, NY

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