Labor Day weekend is over. But many genealogists were talking about their ancestors' occupations. It has been fun and enlightening to read comments on Twitter and Facebook over the weekend.So I thought I'd do a rather quick overview of some of the occupations held by my ancestors. It's an interesting exercise to look them up as I realized that I have much more to learn about some! For example one of my ancestors was engaged in the Rattle Watch in New Netherland (New York) in 1659. When I first learned of this I had to research to find out what a Rattle Watch was. Basically the rattle watchmen patrolled what is now New York City, using wooden rattles to warn people of threats or fires. They were responsible for stopping theft and other crimes, so we can think of them as a type of police force. The patrols carried green lanterns and walked the streets of the city from sunset until dawn.
Many of you will find that certain occupations were carried on from father to son to son - down many generations. Let's take a look at some of mine, going back 5 generations:
My maternal grandfather was a bookkeeper and manager of the Guelph Lumber Company. His father was a gardener.
My maternal grandmother was a dressmaker, and her father was a coal carrier while her mother ran a boarding house.
My paternal grandfather was one of the first firefighters in Guelph but after an injury went to work in a steel factory. His father was a general labourer, while his grandfather ran a tavern called Speed the Plow near Guelph.
I have a Niagara Falls tightrope walker, an early (if not the first!) base jumper, the first female pilot in Canada, circus performers, innkeepers, shopkeepers, shipwrights, commercial fishermen, farm labourers, dressmakers, washerwomen, and a hatmaker.
What's in your ancestral heritage?
My maternal grandfather, two of his brothers, and two of his sons were florists. It hasn't passed down further than that, though.
ReplyDeleteTightrope walker? Base jumper? You sure have some intriguing ancestors! Hubby's fam tree included a truant officer and a railroad agent. My fam had a Rosie the Riveter during WWII. A brother-in-law's ancestor led wagon trains westward, about the most adventuresome of the lot.
ReplyDeleteI have a rich coal-mining heritage on my dad's side. His grandfathers, greats, uncles, and cousins were coal miners, both here in the U.S. and in England, before emigrating. One of the greats was killed in a mining accident. I am proud to come from such hard-working stock.
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