Employment & Business Records

How did your ancestor make a living to support themselves, and possibly their families? What was their quality of life like, and did their occupation contribute to their cause of death? Was their place of work the reason the family moved? Did their children follow in the family business? Many questions about our ancestors lives can be resolved through researching employment records, that tell us where our ancestors worked and what job positions or occupations they held. These records can be direct from the employer, but more than likely they are from other sources like City Directories or War Draft Cards that tell us places of employment.

Write down what you know, including any stories passed down to you from relatives. Check your home sources for things like uniforms, name badges, and photographs. Next look over all of your sources for information and clues, writing down facts (with citations for you to refer back to) and when you are ready start looking for more records of employment. Like us, they may have held a variety of jobs over time - so it’s important to create a timeline and map during your research, plotting out when they held certain jobs and where they lived at the time.

A good place to start is the census records - usually more broad description of type of job, such as “farmer” or “truck driver”. If your ancestor was a farmer, check the non-population schedules such as the agricultural census to see what kind of crops they produced or animals they raised. Since this gives you broad records every decade, you can narrow it down to every year (or every other year in some locations) with city directories. Once you have a general job description, look for the name and location of the company, and then specific employer records.

As you continue to map out where they live, you may discover new information. Perhaps their home was corporate housing built for local workers and their families. Maybe they lived along railroad routes so they could easily catch a train to work. Also looking at the history of the town can tell you who the major employers were in the region, and events that happened that may have lead your ancestors to change jobs or relocate.

Don’t forget to research the occupation itself to gain a more general understanding of what day-to-day life was like for your ancestor. Look at pictures and read stories from the time of people working the same occupation. Contact the local historical society, visit related museums, and read local history books.

Types of Employment Records

More sources that may tell you an ancestor’s occupation:

  • Biographies of prominent citizens

  • Church records

  • Local genealogical or historical society records

  • Newspaper articles or advertisements

  • Non-population census records, such as an agricultural census

  • Town History Books

  • Vital records, including marriage records, death certificates, birth records of the parents

  • Will and Probate Records

  • Yearbooks (teacher and staff photos, graduation plans)

Indentured Servant or Apprentice?

Indenture: to work for someone for a specific amount of time as payment for a service. A common form of indenture was working for someone for a few years to pay off the debt of their voyage to America. The term “indentured servant” may be used, which is different then slavery in that the indentured usually had a choice to become so, and was only so for a specific amount of time.

Apprenticeship: to study under a mentor or master for a certain amount of time in order to learn a specific art or trade. Most early apprenticeships were a form of indenture, and were done by young children until they reached a certain age (usually twenty-one). The agreement, signed by the mentor and the guardian, was usually called an indenture. Some sons also took up an apprenticeship with their fathers working for the family business. Other children took on an apprenticeship as means to help support their family.

Interpreting Historical Names of Occupations

More Research Tips and Things to Consider