Wednesday, May 27, 2015

WORKDAY WEDNESDAY–What kind of work did your ancestors do?

blacksmith linenweaver Railway Workers in the 1900's

I thought it would be fun to create a list of occupations from my Legacy database.

What kinds of various occupations did my ancestors engage in? 
In order for this to work you have to have entered “Occupation” under the Events for that individual.  Of course you could title it anyway you want to by customizing that field, but I use occupation.
 
It looks like I have 154 people in my database for which I have listed occupations.  That’s not very many in a database with 4621 individuals.
 
I suspect there are many more males than females with occupations listed on various documents.  Let’s check and see how many of these individuals are male, female, unknown?

Males = 2413        Females = 2181      Unknown = 27
The unknowns appear to be infants or children for whom I have no information.

TIP:  To locate your occupations list in Legacy click on the “Search” tab and then click on “Find.”  Select the following in the drop down lists: Individual, Event name, Equal to or Contains, Occupation.

Here is a link to a previous post detailing how to use the Legacy Search Function. http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2014/04/legacy-8the-search-functionwhat-can-you.html

My list contains 89 different occupations.  I lumped some of them together such as, Railroad Conductor, Railroad Brakeman and listed them as Railroad Employee.  I will create a more detailed list at a later time.

Here is a list of the occupations:
Agriculture laborer
Attorney
Auto dealer
Auto mechanic
Baggage handler
Bank clerk
Bartender
Beautician
Blacksmith
Bookkeeper
Box sawyer
Brass finisher
Broker
Carpenter
Census enumerator
Cigar manufacturer
City Clerk
Clergyman
Constable
Contractor
Court clerk
Dairyman
Deputy treasurer
Detective
Directory clerk
Driver
Electrician helper
Engineer
Farmer
Fireman
Foreman
Fuel dealer
Furniture dealer
General dealer
Glassblower
Hammersman
Hotel keeper
Housekeeper
Insurance Solicitor
Interior decorator
Joiner
Linen weaver
Linotypist
Machine Operator
Machinist
Marine engineer yard
Mason
Mechanical Engineer
Merchant at wood
Metal technician
Miller
Milliner
Millwright
Music teacher
Musician
Newspaper circulation manager
Organ builder
Painter
Peddler
Photographer
Physician
Police officer
Postmaster
Pressman
Printer
Printer's Devil
Private industry employee
Produce salesman
Production change analyst
Railroad employee
Realtor
Revenue Clerk
Saddler
Salesman
Saw Milling
Seaman
Secretary
Sign writer
Stationary Engineer
Stenographer
Superintendent
Tanner
Teacher
Tool crib operator
Truck driver
Wagon maker
Watchman
Wheel maker

What an interesting array of jobs.  I have created a spreadsheet for this list which will allow me to keep track and add, modify or delete items.

Most of my ancestors were blue collar.  Lots of farmers, machinists, laborers and of course housekeepers.  I’ve only found a handful of physicians, attorneys etc.
   
Have you ever created such a list?  If so, what did your list reveal?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
 Occupation Files on Ancestry - 1600-1995 - What are they?  Have You Seen These?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

4 comments:

  1. What a neat idea! I haven't been faithful to list occupations, but it's definitely something I SHOULD do. I know it helps clarify whether you have the right individual or not! Anyway, what a list you have!

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    Replies
    1. I know Dana. I didn't do it "faithfully" in the beginning either, but have been much better the past few years. It does help to verify people and is also an interesting study on their lives. Some of the men changed occupations quite often, some not.

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  2. Diane,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/05/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-may-29-2015.html

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Jana. Always an honor to make the list.

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.