Occupations » General Resources

Index of Old Occupations

Definitions of old occupations.

Kentuckiana Genealogy - Occupation Chart

Les M

An excellent FRENCH Old Occupation site. Gives old name and modern translation in French.

Morayshire Family History Sharing - Scottish Occupations

Glossary of old occupations in Scotland from 17th-19th century records and censuses.

Occupational Diseases: A Syllabus of Signs and Symptoms

A book by E.R. Plunkett.

Occupations From Yesteryear

Occupations of Yesteryear

Occupations of Yesteryear

List of occupations found in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Census of 1860.

Old Occupations - Birmingham (Alabama) Genealogical Society

Old Occupations Index

Old Time Job Descriptions

Prices and Wages by Decade - Libraries, University of Missouri

The site provides links to sources relating to prices and wages from the 1700s-the present in various countries, U.S. States and occupations and industries.

Ranks, Professions, Occupations, and Trades

From the Cambridgeshire, EnglandGenWeb Project.

The ‘Family and Business in North-west England, 1760-1820’ Project Website

Searchable database of individuals and families involved in small family businesses in the north-west of England between 1760-1820. Includes several thousand images of original documents.

The National Archives | The Catalogue | Research Guides: A to Z

United Kingdom.

The Olive Tree Genealogy: Obsolete Occupations

Some medieval and obsolete English trade and professional terms used from 1086-1400.

The Parchment Rustler - Bringing Home the Bacon (Part 1)

How to research your ancestor when you don't even recognise their occupation or the industry it comes from? This how-to guide is part 1 of a three-part series, outlining strategies and resources to unearth even the most mystifying of ancestral job titles in your genealogy research.

The Parchment Rustler - Bringing Home the Bacon (Part 2)

What's THAT job? Part 2 of a three-part series looking at how to decipher the baffling or unfamiliar occupations we meet in our genealogy research. From pure-finders to maltsters, fellmongers to philosophical instrument makers, this instalment looks at strategies and resources you can apply to 19th and 20th century occupations.

The Parchment Rustler - Bringing Home the Bacon (Part 3)

Have you ever found yourself stumped by an unfamiliar occupation found in an historical document? In the third and final installment of her Bringing Home the Bacon series, professional genealogist Dr. Sophie Kay introduces some useful resources and strategies for demystifying rural and pre-Industrial Revolution occupational terms for UK-based family history research.

Women Working, 1800-1930 - CURIOSity Collections, Harvard Library

The collection is an exploration of women's impact on the economic life of the United States between 1800 and the Great Depression. Working conditions, workplace regulations, home life, costs of living, commerce, recreation, health and hygiene, and social issues are among the issues documented.