Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 and 1828

This information is from the MyFamily.com Saum family site. What a great tip!

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 and 1828 http://machaut.uchicago.edu/ So you just learned your ancestor was a hostler from the census.   What’s a "hostler?" Looking it up in a dictionary from around the time your ancestor was engaged in that occupation can sometimes give you a more accurate definition.   In the 1828 edition of Webster’s Dictionary a hostler is defined as “The person who has the care of horses at an inn.” The 1913 definition also includes “an innkeeper” and this later edition also includes a railroad reference as “The person who takes charge of a locomotive when it is left by the engineer after a trip.” Other uses for the dictionary would include medical and legal terms, and even terms you might find in family correspondence. For example, the 1913 definition of the word “shine” includes this one: 4. Caper; antic; row. [Slang] To cut up shines, to play pranks. [Slang, U.S.] So if you find yourself confused by the cryptic lingo in Aunt Marge’s correspondence, pay this site a visit for a clarification. Taken from: http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=16010&o_ iid=23560&o_lid=23560