Honoring Labor Day by Tracing Our Ancestors’ Occupations
Often considered the end of summer, Labor Day is a time to enjoy the long weekend by relaxing, being outside, or having a cookout. It also is a time to acknowledge and be thankful for the many laws that were passed to ensure safe working conditions and workers’ rights. Family historians can use this time to learn more about their ancestor’s occupations, which oftentimes shaped their decisions in life such as where they lived, who they associated with, and who they married.
Why Occupations Matter in Family History
Learning what our ancestors did for a living is important to understanding about their day-to-day lives, adding color to our ancestors’ story. Occupations often varied by region, with farmers in the Midwest, coalminers in Pennsylvania, or textile workers in New England.
Occupations can show generational connections, such as a family business that was passed down from generation to generation. One of the oldest family-owned businesses in the United States is the Tuttle Farm (now known as Tender Crop) out of Dover, New Hampshire. [1] The family farm has been passed down through eleven generations, passing from father to son, starting with John Tuttle who was the original owner in 1632. Another old-standing business is the Seaside Inn located in Kennebunk, Maine, which has been owned by the Gooch family since 1667. [2]
Every genealogist knows the struggle of researching an ancestor who seems to not have a unique name. Occupations are often one of the biggest clues used to separate two people of the same name. John Smith the candlestick maker is probably not the same John Smith the baker.
Records that Reveal Occupations
Census Records: Census records are often the first resource genealogists consult to learn about their ancestors. The 1850 through 1950 US census records list occupations for everyone old enough to work (which varied throughout the years). Not everyone was a farmer or laborer. For example, in 1860 there were 411 people enumerated in the United States with the occupation of photographer, 4,881 worked as artists, and even 996 women who claimed “prostitute” as their occupation – compared to almost 2.3 million people who worked as farmers. [3]
City Directories: City directories not only include an address or rural route for your ancestor, but they often include occupations. Check the forward of the city directory which often lists the abbreviations used. For example, lab (laborer), clk (clerk), agt (agent), mach (machinist), etc. If they worked for a larger business such as a factory, it will often name the place of employment.
Draft Registrations: Military draft registration cards, like those created during WWI and WWII, list occupation. WWII draft cards list not only the person’s occupation, but the name and address of their employer and place of employment.
Apprenticeship Records: Many young children learned a trade through the process of apprenticeship. This contract binds a child to a master craftsman who would train the child and often provided care such as food, clothing, housing, and schooling. Each contract is different, but most apprenticeships ended by the age of 21. In exchange, the child learned a trade and the craftsman received labor. Many children were apprenticed if their families could not take care of them or if they were orphans. FamilySearch houses many apprenticeship records.
Deeds & Land Records: Deeds and land records often list a person’s occupation, as it helps to uniquely identify them. This can be a great way to separate people of the same name and determine which land record belongs to which person. Occupations can change over time, but if there are two men with two different occupations around the same time, that is an indication that they are two different people.
Occupational Records: The more recent in time you are researching, the more likely you are to find records created for a specific occupation. Some occupations, such as liquor dealers, required licenses. This will vary on the time and location. Many licensures are recorded in county records, either in their own volume or as part of the bound county court minutes.
For occupations like railroad workers, educators, doctors, and government employees, there are likely additional records. These records may be housed at archives (like the records of the Illinois Central Railroad which are held at the Newberry Library), museums, or in private manuscript collections. Determining where these records are located and searching them may help you find a treasure trove of information.
Researching Women’s Occupations
Many census records listed women’s occupations as “keeping house” or did not list an occupation at all, but women made an important contribution to the American workforce. Although their labor was not always paid (like with keeping house or tending to the farm), it was a vital part of the family and community.
Many of the records researchers use to identify men’s occupations can be used to discover women’s occupations. In 1880, over 4,000 women worked in a boarding house. [4] In 1860, almost 7,000 women claimed nurse work, and over 3,000 worked as clerks. [3]
During Wars
The American Civil War changed dynamics in the American workforce, as many women were now fulfilling previously male-dominated jobs like nurses, factory workers, and farmers while the men were fighting in the war. The Union saw more than 20,000 women who worked for the Union war effort. [5] Dorothea Dix was the superintendent of Army nurses and made a request for nurses. She wanted nurses to be “past 30 years of age, healthy, plain almost to repulsion in dress and devoid of personal attractions.”
World War II also saw an abundance of women not only in the workforce but in uniform. Approximately 350,000 American women served in the United States military during World War II. [6] Others took on the responsibility of the American workforce – many in production and manufacturing. Women did all kinds of work, from welding, driving trucks, machinists, nursing, and taking care of the family farm. American production and economy would have been completely destroyed had it not been for women fulfilling the roles left behind by those at war.
Occupations & The Immigrant
One of the main reasons people left their home countries and came to America was to find work (or better work). During different periods in American history, waves of immigrants from different countries came to fulfill jobs in the United States.
More than 1.5 million Irish immigrants came seeking jobs in the 1840s – mainly driven by the Great Potato Famine. These workers took jobs as unskilled laborers in factories and worked in construction for canals and railroads.
The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad brought as many as 20,000 Chinese immigrants, many coming to California. [7] About 90% of the California railroad workers were Chinese. Unfortunately, the Chinese workers were paid 30-50% less than whites for the same job and were forced to do the most dangerous jobs like tunneling and using explosives.
Workers Organize
Inequality plagued the workforce throughout time, fought back by strikes, protests, and change of law. Men, women, and children, regardless of race, often faced dangerous working conditions, low pay, and little to no rights. Children, women, and minorities were often paid less than white men and often had to work long, excruciating hours. Different movements throughout American history helped to give all workers fair, safe, and equal working conditions and rights.
Eight-hour Day Movement
Labor movements pushed for an 8-hour day as early as 1836. In 1842, Boston ship carpenters were able to organize for an 8-hour day. In 1868, Congress passed the law but it only applied for federal employees. Slowly throughout time, different industries moved towards an 8-hour workday. In 1914, Ford paid $5 a day and cut hours down to 8 per day. This proved to be effective for production, as productivity increased and Ford’s profit rose from $30 million to $60 million in two years. [8]
Anti-Discrimination Laws
Many laws were passed that afford us the protections in the workplace that we enjoy today. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits the discrimination of individuals with disabilities and requires employers provide reasonable accommodations. Age is also protected under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) which protects workers age 40 and older. [9]
Conclusion
Learning about your ancestor’s occupation is an important aspect to family history and allows a window into the day-to-day activities of your ancestor. Not only does it shape how and where they lived, but it also helps researchers individualize people with the same name. There are many records that provide your ancestor’s occupation, from census records to apprenticeship records to military records.
Many of our predecessors fought for the rights we enjoy today as American workers. Honor your ancestors this Labor Day weekend by researching their occupations. If you need help discovering more about what your ancestors did for a living, Price Genealogy can help!
By Tyler
Sources
[1] https://agclassroom.org/matrix/companion-resources/918/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaside_Inn
[3] “1860 United States Federal Census,” imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com).
[4] “1880 United States Federal Census,” imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com).
[5] https://www.history.com/articles/women-in-the-civil-war
[6] https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/women-in-world-war-ii.htm
[7] https://www.history.com/articles/transcontinental-railroad-chinese-immigrants
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day_movement
Image Credits
- Oswego starch factory, Oswego, N.Y. , . [No Date Recorded on Shelflist Card] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003670154/.
2- Johnston, Frances Benjamin, photographer. Wooden Box Industry: women in work room of box factory. , ca. 1910. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2005696173/.
3- Flickr: The Commons / New York Public Library
Resources:
US City Directories, 1822-1995 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/
Illinois Central Railroad Company Archives – https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/601
Women at Work in the United States Since 1860: An Analysis of Unreported Family Workers – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014498321000243