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"Along Those Lines"
7/9/1999 - Archive
Ancestral Occupational Resumes
Family history is much more than just filling in the blanks on a pedigree chart. It is important to really get to know your ancestors. Learn all you can about them so that you have a better understanding of who they were and what motivated them to make decisions about their lives and the lives of their families.
Then, as now, people worked to support themselves and to provide for their families. Often there was no choice as to what profession an individual undertook; sometimes, however, opportunities presented themselves and an individual was able to make choices that influenced the destiny of his or her life and that of the family. In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, I want to discuss our ancestors' occupations, some factors that influenced their selections, and materials in which you can discover your ancestors' occupations and what they entailed.
What Did Your Ancestors Do?
Have you taken the time to consider what each of your ancestors did for a living? Did your ancestor have more than one job or career? At what point in time did your ancestor work in each of his/her jobs? What was the reason for him or her making a change? Was he/she looking for a better life? Was there some financial, political, religious, agricultural, meteorological, or other physical reason for him or her making a change? Did your ancestor serve in a military branch? Was your ancestor drafted or did he/she enlist? Did your ancestor receive training as an apprentice or in military service which altered the course of a working career?
A Methodology for Developing an Ancestor's Resume
A study of your ancestor's resume can be a valuable exercise. By tracing working history, you can learn a great deal about your ancestors and their families. Start with a simple pedigree chart, just as you would with a new family line. Start with what you already know, and work your way backward. Fill in names and vital dates: birth, marriage and death. Add other facts that you know, such as locations at each of the censuses, dates and branches of military service, and any employment information you have. There are a number of excellent places to learn about the occupations of your ancestors. These include:
U.S. Census Records—Beginning with the census of 1850, the occupation of every member of every household enumerated is listed. It is important to trace every ancestor's occupation listing in every census possible. This is a wonderful place to determine what comprised your ancestors' livelihoods, and their success can be measured in the figures reflected in the census columns labeled "Value of real estate" and "Value of real property."
In earlier times, the occupations of a majority of males revolved around agriculture, raising livestock, and engaging in trade using the produce of the farming economy. Prior to 1900, most women were engaged in the command of the household, managing the processing and preservation of food, the care and raising of the children, sewing and maintaining the family clothing and bedding, and the general maintenance of the household duties. In later years, as there were population shifts to urban areas, people began being employed in different occupations. The industrial revolution created a wide variety of new occupational opportunities. As time passed, new inventions such as electricity, the telephone, automobiles, and many others added new occupations to the list.
City Directories—Underutilized by many researchers, city directories provide detailed information about the residents of towns and cities. The older directories listed only the heads of households, but these entries included the address of the individual and the occupation. A check of every city directory for your ancestor may reveal changes of occupation, and may even reveal a change in his working status. My great-grandfather Weatherly, for example, was listed in the Rome, Georgia city directories over a period of years and showed his long railroad service.
The entry for 1888 shows an address but no occupation. The entry for 1895-1896 shows:
Weatherley, AM, railroader, res. 113 Maple Street
The entry for 1898-99 shows:
Weatherly, Alvis M., engineer, Southern Railway, res. 113 Maple E.R.
The entry for 1917-18 shows a change in his employment status: Weatherly, Alvis M., retired engineer, Southern Railway, res. 113 Maple E.R.
Another of my ancestor's city directories' entries between 1890 and 1922 show his occupations as "clerk, Rome Mercantile Co.," "telegrapher, Southern Railway," "package agent, Southern Railway," "insurance agent," and "embalmer, Jennings Funeral Home."
Military Service Records and Pension Records—Military service is responsible for teaching soldiers and sailors a wide variety of new trades, including carpentry, metal work, blacksmithing, ship building, gunnery and arms maintenance, telegraphy, accounting, and the list goes on and on. Some of these skills were used only during military service, but some individuals used their acquired skills to make a living for themselves and to support their families afterwards. For example, my gggg-grandfather, James Houston of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, enlisted in the Revolutionary War, there he became a currier—a person responsible for brushing and caring for the coats of officers' horses. This training began a lifelong interest in the livery business. One of his later ventures was operating a livery stable in what is now the Charlotte, North Carolina area.
Other military service and pension application records paint detailed portraits of our ancestors as individuals who advanced in rank and made lengthy careers in the service of our country. Their service record and pension files are, in fact, their detailed resumes.
Newspaper Records—Newspapers are, of course, the chronicle of the life of a community. If city directories and other references provide clues to an employer of your ancestor, it is possible to begin searching for records of the employer and perhaps locate references to your ancestor in the newspaper.
Employer Records—Once you know the name of an employer, it may be possible to contact the company if it is still in business and request copies of your ancestor's employment records. (Please be prepared to prove conclusively that you are a direct descendant of the person whose records you are requesting. Some companies may still have older records, perhaps stored off-site, and will only perform a search and release any data upon satisfactory proof of your relationship. Be prepared to provide a death certificate or other proof of the death of your ancestor, as well as detailed proof of your relationship.) Some employers will be cooperative and provide you with much information; others will be suspicious of your motives and perhaps less than helpful or even obstructive. If you encounter a cooperative source, however, you may open new doors for yourself.
Social Security Administration's SS-5 Records—Another source of employment information can be the SSA's SS-5 form. This is the application form completed by your ancestor in order to obtain a Social Security Number. It generally contains name, date and place of birth, place of residence, names of parents regardless of whether they are living or deceased, and current employer's name and address. Bingo! Another match! If your ancestor ever applied for and received a Social Security Number, there will be an SS-5 form on file at the SSA. To obtain a copy of the SS-5 application form, please see a full description of the process in the "Along Those Lines . . ." column dated 3 July 1998.
In addition, if your ancestor ever collected Social Security benefits and is deceased, he or she should be included in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). The SSDI database is available at the Ancestry.com Web site for free search. Once you locate your ancestor's entry in the SSDI at the Ancestry.com site, click the "Write Letter" link in the last column, titled "Request." You can generate a preformatted letter to mail, along with your check, to the SSA. In a few months, you will receive a copy of the SSA with all the information described above, and your ancestor's signature.
Letters, Journals, Diaries, Deeds, and Other Records—Letters, journals, diaries, and other personal papers may reveal information about occupations, what activities or duties were involved, and other details. Deeds, indentures of servitude or apprenticeship, guardianship papers and other public records can often be used to determine the locations of your ancestors at various times in their lives and, by extension, provide you with geographical areas to investigate for occupational records.
Wills and Probate Records—The records left behind by an individual when he or she dies often speak volumes. My great-grandfather Holder died intestate in 1914. One of his daughters, who had worked as a "computer" (or accountant) in his wholesale mercantile business became the executrix of his estate. Her detailed inventory of his estate is an integral part of his probate packet. In it, she details that he had been president of the Rome Mercantile Company until six months prior to his death, at which time he became an agent of the State Mutual Life Insurance Co., handling its realty. She also indicated that Mr. Holder has been heavily involved in real estate investments in the area in and surrounding Rome, Georgia.
Obituaries—Obituaries are some of the most important sources for biographical details of our ancestors. Information about origins, parents, siblings, spouses, descendants, military service, employment, memberships in church and fraternal and/or social organizations are powerful clues. Don't neglect these valuable clues to your ancestral resumes.
What Do These Occupation Names Mean?
Once you have the records of your ancestor's occupation, you may be puzzled by their names. Baxter and chandler, for instance, are not surnames when discussing occupations; they are other names, respectively, for a baker and a candlemaker. A pettifogger and a ripper are, in turn, a shyster lawyer and a fish seller. Are you confused? Well, don't be, because there are all sorts of sources for translation of these occupations into terms with which we are familiar.
There are a number of excellent Web sites for determining the occupations of your ancestors. Sites include http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/occs.htm and links listed at Cyndi's List. Other sites can be found by searching the Internet. Of course, a trip to an excellent dictionary at home or at your local public library can further explain the terms.
What Does All This Tell You?
The occupational history you have compiled can provide detailed insights for you. Comparing the occupation and the location in which it was practiced with local, state, and national histories, you can develop a good idea of what the conditions were in which it was practiced. From these details, you can construct a more detailed biographical profile of your ancestor and determine how the family lived.
As an example, I determined that my grandfather, Samuel Goodloe Organ, who was born 6 April 1879, graduated from Trinity College (later Duke University) in 1898. He became an employee of a bank in Davidson, NC. He later was offered and accepted a position as an officer in the Farmer's and Commercial Bank in Mebane, NC. He made a comfortable life for himself and his wife, and sent his daughter and son to colleges.
During the Great Depression, when President Roosevelt declared the Bank Holiday, my grandfather's bank never reopened. This was a financial catastrophe in his life. The family lost their home and most of their possessions. The daughter had completed college but the son was forced to leave school in his junior year. Here, at the height of the Depression, my grandfather began working as a hotel bookkeeper for a cousin's hotel in the mountains of North Carolina during the summers, his daughter worked as a housekeeper there, and his son worked as a waiter in the hotel's dining room. In the off-season, my grandfather worked as an accountant in other places whenever he could find work. He was offered and accepted a job as an accomptant (accountant or bookkeeper) with a wholesale grocery company in a small town in North Carolina in 1936, and he and the whole family settled there. For my grandfather and grandmother, they settled into a much-reduced existence for the rest of his life. The daughter took care of the family's domestic chores; the son never finished college, but married and raised a family.
The sources for the above account came from family letters, census records, city directories, SS-5 records, employer records, newspaper articles, deeds executed when the family lost its home and when they finally purchased another, more modest home, my grandfather's will and probate packet, and his obituaries.
These are some of the major sources of information for tracing your ancestors' occupational resumes. Certainly, there are other records that may help. It requires some imagination and a dedication to look beyond mere indexed records, but at the records themselves.
What occupations appear on your ancestors' resumes? Vulcan? Chiffonnier? Shrieve? Hayward? Webster? Whitewing? Puddler? All respectable occupations, but worthy of some investigation. And with the investigation, you are fleshing out your knowledge of your ancestors. Why not try to create occupational resumes for your ancestors?
Happy hunting!
George
Copyright 1999 George G. Morgan. All Rights reserved.
"Along Those Lines . . ." is a weekly feature of the Genealogy Forum on America Online (Keyword: ROOTS).
The article originally appeared in the Genealogy Forum on America Online. You may send e-mail to alonglines@aol.com. George Morgan would like to hear from you but, because of the volume of e-mail, is unable to personally respond to each letter individually. He also regrets that he cannot assist you with your personal genealogical research. Visit George Morgan's new Web page, http://members.aol.com/alonglines.
George is also the author of The Genealogy Forum on America Online, which is available in the Ancestry Online Store.
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