Discover your ancestor's job

Posted by Martin Rigby on July 28, 2008 1:47 PM

ONE of the most exhilarating aspects of family history is discovering what your ancestors did for a living.

You will be surprised at the variety of occupations you will come across in the BMD certificates and Census returns.

Birth certificates give the occupation of the father, while death certificates will give the occupation of the deceased. Marriage certificates will give the occupation of both the bride and groom's father as well as the couple being married.

Apart from establishing family links, marriages etc. the most interesting pieces of information in the Census returns are usually found in the occupations column.

The information given here is usually very specific and gives a fascinating insight into the lives and occupations of our ancestors.

An interesting site which includes information on Liverpool occupations in the 19th century can be found at http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/index.jsp
In the data you will find a breakdown by age groups of the jobs undertaken by our ancestors in mid-Victorian Liverpool. The site gives a good overview of life in the city. In 1841 we find professions as diverse as bakers, blacksmiths, boot and shoe makers, actors, gun and pistol makers, bellows makers, boiler makers and bone dealers. The site contains a thorough breakdown of all the Census returns with associated statistics on our ancestors' occupations.

In Victorian times even the most lowly families can be found with servants in the household with many teenagers serving in homes many miles from their place of birth. One reason for this was the booming industrial revolution which was attracting millions of people into the towns and cities through the growth industries of coal and cotton. This is worth bearing in mind when you cannot identify an ancestor in his or her place of birth. With the exception of the 1841 Census which only gives the county of birth, all Census returns give the town or place of birth.

Many occupations in Liverpool were of course connected with the sea and the river. There are master mariners in Toxteth Park, Warehousemen, river pilots, dock workers and dredgermen. Elsewhere in the crowded alleys and squares in Toxteth and Scotland Road can be found dress makers, washerwomen, hawkers and seamstresses. A close study of the Liverpool Census returns will help you build up a vivid pictures of the occupations of your ancestors and the conditions in which they lived and worked.

Another useful tool for researching the occupations in a particular area is to access a local directory for the period. Many of these are now accessible on-line and are also published by the various family history societies.

A useful site for discovering names and descriptions of old occupations is
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/thursday.handleigh/demography/occupations-wages-money/old-occupations/index.htm

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