As a peterman he was a loud ha-ha; as a damper-getter he was just an amateur; as a heel or a houseman, well, them things were just outside him.
"Black Jack"
Max Brand
The houseman is twisting twigs of heather into ropes to hold down thatch, a neighbour crofter is twining quicken root into cords to tie cows, while another is plaiting bent grass into baskets to hold meal.
"The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries"
W. Y. Evans Wentz
You feel your houseman there mightn't be entirely reliable?
"Gone Fishing"
James H. Schmitz