Occupations
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LWThompson
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 11:06 am
Occupations
Can anyone tell me the occupations or where to look , of my Ancestors I have obtained Birth and marriage info from Scotlandspeople but the records do not show occupations except James Shaw Edinburgh as a Town Officer , The rest are all Falkirk births . Alexander 1650--George 1685--James 1714--George 1741--James 1770 A mariner *--And James 1795 a cabinetmaker* . * These last two occupations from James 1795 death certificate in Melbourne Australia . They were protestant so I assume Presbyterian .
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Russell
- Posts: 2559
- Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2005 5:59 pm
- Location: Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire
Hi and welcome to TalkingScot
You have asked what is probably the most vexing question that most people ask at some point.
Statutory Records only started in 1855. Prior to that date there was requirement in law to register births and marriages although the Established church wished that all births and marriages were recorded.
The first census to record occupations was 1841(the earliest useful one!)
The quality and detail of records made in the different parishes varied enormously; some giving only names of groom and bride for marriages and , if you are lucky, names of father and mother for a birth (more usually a christening)
If the father of a child was of note i.e. a tradesperson, landowner, gentleman farmer etc. more detail might be entered.
If a bride's father was equally noteworthy his name and status might be included in the record, but for ordinary folk a simple entry had to suffice.
Some of the Old Parochial Records are more detailed and give names, occupations, places, but it is a matter of luck if your relatives lioved in a parish where the church officer or minister kept detailed records.
If your relative was a master craftsman, journeyman or apprentice in a trade or craft his name might appear in the records of the Craft Guild.
Knowing something of the town or area of the country they lived in can often lead to inspired guesses as to the type of occupation they followed but there is no readily available way of tracking down the person's occupation other than by meticulous recording of every little item of information you can gather about him/her.
In the Highlands and Islands a crofter could be described variously as a farmer, a fisherman or a weaver - and all three could be equally valid descriptions since many crofters had to follow more than one occupation just to survive.
One possible option might be reading the Kirk Session minutes for that parish. Your relative might be a Saint (meaning a Kirk Elder) or a sinner being hauled up before the Session to explain their bad behaviour. Either way that would give information about them.
It's the search that's fun 
Russell
You have asked what is probably the most vexing question that most people ask at some point.
Statutory Records only started in 1855. Prior to that date there was requirement in law to register births and marriages although the Established church wished that all births and marriages were recorded.
The first census to record occupations was 1841(the earliest useful one!)
The quality and detail of records made in the different parishes varied enormously; some giving only names of groom and bride for marriages and , if you are lucky, names of father and mother for a birth (more usually a christening)
If the father of a child was of note i.e. a tradesperson, landowner, gentleman farmer etc. more detail might be entered.
If a bride's father was equally noteworthy his name and status might be included in the record, but for ordinary folk a simple entry had to suffice.
Some of the Old Parochial Records are more detailed and give names, occupations, places, but it is a matter of luck if your relatives lioved in a parish where the church officer or minister kept detailed records.
If your relative was a master craftsman, journeyman or apprentice in a trade or craft his name might appear in the records of the Craft Guild.
Knowing something of the town or area of the country they lived in can often lead to inspired guesses as to the type of occupation they followed but there is no readily available way of tracking down the person's occupation other than by meticulous recording of every little item of information you can gather about him/her.
In the Highlands and Islands a crofter could be described variously as a farmer, a fisherman or a weaver - and all three could be equally valid descriptions since many crofters had to follow more than one occupation just to survive.
One possible option might be reading the Kirk Session minutes for that parish. Your relative might be a Saint (meaning a Kirk Elder) or a sinner being hauled up before the Session to explain their bad behaviour. Either way that would give information about them.
It's the search that's fun Russell
Working on: Oman, Brock, Miller/Millar, in Caithness.
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny