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X-Envelope-From: elizabeth.engle@comcast.net Sat Aug  5 12:10:45 2006
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Reply-To: <elizabeth.engle@comcast.net>
From: "Liz Engle" <elizabeth.engle@comcast.net>
To: <Roots-L@rootsweb.com>
Cc: <JBletch@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2006 11:10:27 -0700
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Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com
Subject: [ROOTS-L] Re: What was a "Shiller"

I thought maybe the word "shiller" was related to "shill."
 So I checked my Webster Unabridged dictionary and found the following:

 

1.  Shill, shiller:   A shillaber.

2.  Shill:   Variation of Sheal, shell, husk.

 

Looking at "shillaber" I found:

 

a.	An employee of the circus who hastens to buy tickets when the barker
concludes his announcements.
b.	A hanger-on at a circus, fair, or racetrack operating some
catchpenny scheme.
c.	Slang U.S.:  A decoy who pretends to patronize a grifter in order to
start others.

So maybe your person of interest worked as a "sheller" or "husker" of
agricultural products, 
or maybe he worked at a circus in a more colorful occupation.

 

Best wishes from Elizabeth