Hi Ho Hi Ho, It s Off to Work I Go Sharon B. Hodges

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1 Hi Ho Hi Ho, It s Off to Work I Go Sharon B. Hodges shodges782@verizon.net When we take a new position today, we fill out a lot of papers, all of which go into our personnel file. Years ago, our ancestors were not required to fill out the same types of forms we need to, but there may still be records that can help tell you more about what your ancestor did for a living. Our ancestors may have worked at a trade, operated a farm, owned a small business in any event he either worked for himself or for someone else. Whatever he did for a living, he may not have worked for the same employer or for himself his entire lifetime, so look for information for all occupations. Even if he worked for himself, he probably left some sort of record. Remember, townspeople relied on local businesses for everyday necessities. Where to find out what ancestor did? Look Around Your Own Home do you have letters, vital records, paystubs, photos, etc. that may help in determining an ancestor s occupation 1. City directories may give name of company; follow changes in work places; may show other family members may have worked for the same place; try mapping residence to workplace 2. Census records (understand instructions to enumerators) 3. In-house magazine and newsletters a Reported individuals engaged in commerce, agriculture or manufacturing b Added mining, navigation, learned professions, and engineering c Specific profession, occupation, or trade for males 15 and over; specific categories such as farmer, carpenter, etc., or named article produced d Differentiated between farmers and farm laborers; masters and apprentices e Included females and occupations for anyone regardless of age; no longer just factory hand, but gave type of worker such as shoemaker if made entire shoe in his shop; stated if retired; not just a mason, but a stonemason or a brick mason; manufacturer reserved for the proprietor; hatter if made the article; dealer of a product if sold that product f asked for occupation of persons over 10 leading to child labor data g became more specific in the occupation h asks industry worked; says whether own income if had no occupation but still had an independent income; whether person the employer (emp), employee (w) or worked for himself (OA=own account) i understood people worked in the home unpaid family worker or NP j various census records - Census of Business: Schedules of Advertising Agencies M1797 (1 roll); Census of Business: Schedules of Miscellaneous Nonprofit Enterprises (43 rolls) M2067; Census of Business: Schedules of Motor Trucking for Hire (103 rolls) M2068; Census of Business: Schedules of

2 Public Warehousing (6 rolls) M2069; and 1935 Census of Business: Schedules of Radio Broadcasting Stations (1 roll) M2070 k. The 1940 census will give you an idea of the amount of money earned the previous year; was the person receiving money from another source, such as a pension and more l. The earlier manufacturing, industrial, agricultural non-population censuses will give additional information. m. Census schedules did not always give full information on a woman; she may have done more than keep house so explore more about your female ancestors 4. Passenger Records 5. Voter Registration Records 6. Books regarding certain industries 7. Draft card registration records WWI and WWII 8. Vital Records 9. Social Security Administration, Earnings Record Information 10. Obituaries 11. Who s Who books 12. Mug Books Why do you want to look for these types of records? 1. Provide background information about the business or activities in which our ancestors were involved 2. Records help us understand our ancestors daily life 3. This type of information will help make your ancestor come to life and place him in his economic and social background when you write your family history. 4. Help prove a person was in a specific location at a specific time 5. May give clues as to what happened to a person died, left area, etc. 6. May provide family member names 7. Often hard to trace impoverished ancestors; but probably left records if they purchased on credit 8. You may find documents or photos which will provide information about working conditions, salary range, and the overall operation of the business Worked for others: Is the company still in business? Have records been transferred to historical society or archive, or company s own museum? If you cannot locate records about the specific company your ancestor worked for, there is probably information that will help you understand just what it was your ancestor did and under what conditions he may have worked. Reading about the history of a certain type of industry will give good background. Learn about the laws for the occupation at the time you are interested in. Check museums for online exhibits about a certain industry for information. Historical newspapers contain articles on industry or organizations. Ask yourself questions. 2

3 Federal Government Employee published from 1816 to 1959, either annually or biennial, list of its employees, civilian and military, usually called Official Register; located at Archives II and other large libraries; some digitized. Postmaster appointments pre-1832 appointments (M1131) (M841) at National Archives. Order civilian government personnel files from National Archives, St. Louis, MO - Examples of types of records to look for (this is not an exhaustive list) 1. Employment applications, articles of incorporation, by-laws, minute books, annual reports, pension information 2. Check records with Secretary of State; many online 3. Employment agreements between individuals 4. Mutual Assurance Societies a. Early covered fire on buildings b. Have applications which give name of insured, place of residence, location of the property insured, name of occupant, description and estimated value of structures on property; may have sketch of the property showing dimensions c. Declarations early name for policy; includes name of insured, or the occupant, location of the property, description and estimated value of each structure insured, date and signature of insured; construction material of building. i. Policies had to be renewed after a certain period of time ii. May show additions to original building, new outbuildings, iii. Wooden buildings, mills, buildings fueled by steam, places where combustible materials kept, etc. cost more to insure 5. Early Life Insurance Policies (have transcribed from Baltimore Life Ins. Co.) a. Term policies often as short as six months b. 19 th Century had small market usually middle class, salaries employees, not workmen and farmers c. Mutual Life Insurance companies had no stockholders so could reduce price (about 1842) d. Prudential introduced industrial life insurance for working man i. Small policies $500 for a few pennies each week collected by agent at home (1875) (Does Grandpa Porter s city directory for Morristown call him a collector?) e. Information on policies concerned reliable; intentional misstatement of material fact voided policy f. Many contain name, date, place of birth, address, occupation, name and relationship of beneficiary (age and address), questions on health and medical history of insured family; health and age of siblings, parents and grandparents for heredity i. May have age of siblings and ancestors, if living, age of person at death and date of death 6. Licenses - Many professions require a license to practice everything from doctors to midwives, shopkeepers, saloon keepers, peddlers, hotel keepers. Information may 3

4 include name, age, birthplace, marital status, and residence. Professional organizations keep records of licenses professions; National Education Association for Teachers, American Bar Association; pharmacists, architects; owners and masters of ships and other marine vessels licensed by Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (see regional National Archives); may include birth dates and places as well as citizenship information. a. For doctors also check AMA US Deceased Physicians File for information including name of person; where and when born; school attended; where resided; when deceased; who submitted the information Even if your ancestor worked for himself, he probably left some sort of record. There are records we may not think of as being business records of a company, but they are. These business records may have information on your ancestor, as townspeople relief on local businesses for everyday necessities. 1. Jail records 2. Undertakers and Funeral Homes 3. Organizations 4. Account books provide information about individuals; give a unique picture of an ancestor s lifestyle; can give information on social standing and economic condition. If your ancestor was the store keeper or the manager of a store for someone else these records will tell you who the merchant did business with, ship and captain names, how much he paid for the goods (economic situation); also a good place to find out about weather storms, river frozen, drought, etc. a. Amount and type of purchases b. Type of payment; time of payment c. Account in previous ledger (go back and look); or continued to a new ledger d. Amount of credit extended e. Personal information i. May show place of residence, occupation, relationship, women/children in household, tax payments that show ownership of property possibly in other locations f. Not all business records were for business; some had personal notes jotted down g. May have clues leading to tenants h. Shows the debts of a person who died even if there is no estate record because bought on credit; can show if he paid his bill or not; if he paid in cash. i. Even if an estate file, may have ordered needed equipment, closing, etc. from closest city or town where record would be kept j. In more rural areas, a merchant may have ordered materials for persons living in surround counties k. List names of debtors, which prior to census records, help locate families l. More recent accounts may include canceled checks, receipts, copies of income tax forms 4

5 How to find records Just because you know where your ancestor lived and what his occupation was, it may not be easy to find the records you seek. Many no longer exist. 1. PERSI (PERiodical Source Index) 2. VGS website for VA business account records 3. Guides to records held in state archives or historical societies 4. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) 5. Guides to records in manuscripts and special collections of public libraries and universities and colleges a. Wayne State University, Detroit, site of Archives of Labor History and holds manuscripts from unions all over the country. 6. Google search - Online histories of companies; blogs a. History of Barbour Flax Spinning Company, Paterson, NJ 7. Blog on Paterson, NJ and Meyer Brothers 8. Microfilm from Family History Library 9. ArchiveGrid, etc. 10. Cyndi s List 11. Doing Company Research Library of Congress - Bibliography American Medical Association records, available from National Genealogical Society or on microfilm film at Family History Library; also check local historical archives. Benedict, Karen M. A Select Bibliography on Business Archives and Records Management. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, Cooper, Jean L. A Genealogical Index to the Guides of the Microfilm Edition of Records of the Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution Through the Civil War. Charlottesville, VA: the author, Cutten, George Berton. The Silversmiths of Virginia from 1694 to1850. Richmond: Diete Press, Directories in Print. Detroit: Gale Research Co., annual. Directory of Business Archives in the United States and Canada. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, Dun & Bradstreet, America s Corporate Families good if corporation out of business; traces businesses which may have been absorbed by another company or changed its identity. 5

6 Frantel, Nancy C. Chesterfield County, Virginia Uncovered, The Records of Death and Slave Insurance Records for the Coal Mining Industry Westminster, Md: Heritage Books, Hynson, Jerry M. Baltimore Life Insurance Company Genealogical Abstracts [Maryland]. Westminster, Md: Willow Bend Books, Kluskens, Claire Prechtel, 1935 Census of business: Schedules of Motor Trucking for Hire. National Genealogical Society NewsMagazine 30 (January 2004). Martinale-Hubbell Law Directory. Summitt, NJ: Martindale-Hubble, annual. Nadel, Stanley, Little Germany - Ethnicity, Religion, and Class In New York City, University of Illinois Press, Chicago Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, [ ] [microform]. Series F, part 3, Selections from the Manuscript Dept., Duke University general editor, Kenneth M. Stampp. 45 reels (Misc. Reels ) Library of Virginia, Richmond. Records of Southern Plantations from Emancipation to the Great Migration, 2001 [microform] Series A, Part 2, Selections from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University, North Carolina and Virginia plantations, general ed., Ira Berlin. 26 reels, (Misc. Reels ) Library of Virginia, Richmond. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, Record Group 267, National Archives, Washington, DC. Indexes to names of attorneys admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, Attorney rolls, Microfilm M217. Ward s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies (Petaluma, CA: Baldwin H. Ward) 6