Discovering the jobs held by my ancestors.
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 7 – What the Census Suggests
Prompt: Census records are part of the foundation of genealogy research. This week, what is something surprising that you’ve found in the census? Is there something that helped break down a brick wall or give insight into the family?
There is not a specific time in my research when discovering a particular census answered a burning question or proved groundbreaking. Perhaps I have not perused each census closely enough! I can say, however, that learning some of my ancestors’ occupations—information included in some censuses—has sometimes brought a few surprises.
Because so many of my ancestors who lived in Kansas were farmers, it was very unusual to find—thanks to a U.S. census—members of one particular family living in the same area who worked a variety of jobs, none related to agriculture.
My great grandfather, Reginald W. Harding (1886-1956), had various vocations. My mother remembers, and I have found documentation that supports, that her paternal grandfather was in the oil business and owned a gas station. The 1910 U.S. Census indicates, however, that at that time, he was a cigar salesman.
photographer, 1916. “Mr. Harding” was my great-granduncle Ed Harding.
This same page of the 1910 U.S. Census shows several of Reginald’s sons and their families. Reginald’s son George William Harding (1878-1971) is employed as a “house painter.” Another son, Edwin “Ed” Nelson Harding (1883-1956) is a “teamster,” operating an oil wagon.
On another page of this same census, an entry for Reginald’s oldest brother, Walter Joseph Harding (1876-1946) can be found. His stated vocation is “butcher.”
Sometimes, confusion surrounding census details can be answered when considered in historical context. For example, some state censuses before 1870 listed the number of slaves in a home and the number of “free white” residents. It is chilling to encounter this information alongside other more benign information, but such were the norms in that particular time in history in the South.
Questions raised by finding the national censuses for Scotland for the years 1851 and 1861 prompted me to conduct further research into national laws and contemporary terminology.
In the 1851 Scotland census below, the occupation of my 3rd great-grandfather, John Williamson (born in 1806), is “lead miner.” He is listed as head of the household with other family members listed below.
His son, my 2nd great-grandfather—David Wilson Williamson (1846-1908), age 4 at the time, is listed as a scholar. Directly above his name and information is that of his older sister Helen Williamson (1834-1885). Despite the fact that she is 16 years old, she is already holding down a job, working as a “muslin weaver.”
The advent of the Industrial Revolution saw many women and children being added to the work force. In 1803, United Kingdom lawmakers passed legislation putting some restrictions upon employing minors, followed thirty years later by the more stringent Factory Act of 1833. Under the law, children under the age of nine were prohibited from working in textile mills. Limits were placed upon the number of hours that older children were allowed to work as well. It also required children under 13 to attend school for at least two hours a day. And, for the first time, factory inspectors were hired to make sure the rules were followed. However, with only four inspectors for thousands of mills, enforcement was difficult.
It’s possible that the Williamsons had a loom in their home. But if Helen was a weaver outside of the home at a textile mill, her hours there should have been limited, and she should have had some schooling as well.
Censuses may reveal colloquialisms or antiquated vocabulary. I had to consult a dictionary in order to learn David Williamson’s line of work, adding a new word to my vocabulary: “colliery.”
In the 1861 Scotland census, the head of the Williamson household is now listed as my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth Grierson Williamson (1809-1873). The occupation of the oldest son in residence, William Williamson (1838-1893), age 23, is listed as “coal miner.”
The occupation of William’s younger brothers—John Grierson Williamson (1842-1923), age 18, and my grandfather David, age 11, is listed as “colliery labourer.” Having determined what a colliery was, I now suspect that the younger boys were employed at the same mine but in one of “the buildings and equipment associated with [the coal mine.”] Because the U.K.’s 1842 Mines and Collieries Act banned children under 10 from working underground, it’s likely that is the reason for the distinction in terminology. Obviously, the boys were older than nine, but they were still minors. Perhaps they performed above-ground tasks related to processing, e.g., washing the ore.
Women and children hauled coal underground using chains and baskets. Meals were small and infrequent. Their suffering shocked the public when reports exposed the conditions, leading to child labor reforms.
Censuses can be a fantastic resource for genealogists. Determining a person’s occupation is only one bit of information one can glean from them. They typically provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of birth, gender, marital status, and current location, as well as a list of others residing in the home. But historical context, what specific questions are asked, and even the wording of the census questions themselves or of the answers provided may all provide further clues to the researcher.
Antiquated words and attitudes can reflect the tension between tradition and progress, highlighting how language and beliefs evolve over time.
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