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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: els81 on Tuesday 27 September 11 21:45 BST (UK)
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Hi, I have a William Palmer in my tree and his occupation was Traveller in 1895. What exactly could that mean?? Does that mean he was a traveller as in gypsy or someone who just travelled. He did not state anything else. Also his son Stephen was a Carman does that mean he was a traveller as well??
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No; I would imagine that he was a Commercial traveller, one who travelled the country as a representative of a company. Now known as a "sales rep". The occupation of his son carman would now be van driver.
Interestingly the surname Palmer attracted the nickname "Pedlar" from the middle ages onwards, looks as though he was following a family tradition.
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Thank you Redroger. That's probably why I cant find him in any census record, he must have always been travelling :)
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He should still be listed on the census, wherever he was staying the night it was taken
Whether you can find him...... ? :)
Linda
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Linda is correct, which does suggest to me that he may have travelled wider, say into Europe or the British Empire.
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Hi Linda, I don't have much info to go on when it comes to William. He had a son called Stephen which I thought would be easy to find but it is causing a bit of a problem. I don't think they liked census forms that much!!
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Is emigration a possibility; Did either or both of them serve in WW1. Have you checked the medal index for William and/or Stephen Palmer at the National Archives?
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If you give us the details that you do have, especially where he was in 1895, we might be able help.
It's often easier to find someone else's rellies. Strange but true ::) :)
Linda
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There is a related thread here http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,557771.0.html - quite a few look-ups have already been done.
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I did not think of that. His son Stephen only turns up in the 1901 census but does not state where he was born and I can not find a birth record for him so he could have been born somewhere abroad, maybe??
I did post on here earlier but was wondering about the occupation of William
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yes I have been told that Stephen was related to the "Pedlar Palmer" but I think every Palmer wanted to be related to him
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In view of this information it looks as though he might have been a memberf of the travelling community and not a commercial traveller. Personally I would now concentrate on census records for the surname Palmer, but in London and the Home counties to keep the search (fgairly) manageable.
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Having made a lengthy study of Parish Records of my area, I would doubt that Traveller meant Commercial Traveller. More likely it was a convenient way of descibing someone who was on the move a lot, going from town to town and job to job but almost certainly not a Romany. If he had a specific trade such as carpenter, he would be described as a 'Journeyman Carpenter.'
A Carman is, as Redroger says, is a Driver but usually emplyed by the Railway for delivering goods.
AJ
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Hi AJ, thank you for the info. Still dont know where to go from here? William was a Traveller but dont know what he done? Stephen was a carman and a coal dealer. Obviously if William travelled alot he would not be mentioned in any cencus. I find the census records really confusing as people seem to change where they were born and the yr they were born.
My search continues...
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Hello Els
Census records can be confusing and the ages are conflicting, largely because people didn't really know exactly how old they were. Ages could vary by several years so take dates of birth with a pinch of salt and either take the average or use one that appears most often, if you have nothing concrete to go on.
Where they were born sometimes conflicts with with where they were baptised. A person could be born in one town and there would be no record and be baptised in another where there would be a record. So it apears he was born in the town of baptism when he wasn't. (I've come across this in my research). It's all very confusing.
Regards
AJ
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It would help if I knew where Stephen was born. In 1901 he didn't put where any of his family were born (wife and children) so my search ends there on that one. But he was living in shoreditch and was a carman so will have to look around that
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Hi AJ, thank you for the info. Still dont know where to go from here? William was a Traveller but dont know what he done? Stephen was a carman and a coal dealer. Obviously if William travelled alot he would not be mentioned in any cencus. I find the census records really confusing as people seem to change where they were born and the yr they were born.
My search continues...
People usually at the time we have the census available for were less consumed about their date of birth than we are. In fact, they often didn't know. Also ages were often altered to narrow an age gap between husband and wife, so you will find too that this often applies on marriage certificates.