Difference between a Carter and Van Driver - early 1900s

[mike175]

I would suggest the main difference was that a cart was generally open and a van was closed, i.e. had sides and a roof to protect the contents.

Any occupation written on a marriage certificate should be taken with a pinch of salt in my experience

Mike

[mazi]

Welcome to rootschat, Stephen

As hallmark has said in 1901 a Carter would use a horse and cart to move goods around, by the 1930s he could do the same thing with a motor vehicle.

Mike

He died in 1909 so he couldn't move anything around in 1937 unless you count "pushing up daisies".
Were there likely to have been motorised vans in his town by 1909? Perhaps he'd swapped the horse for an engine.

There was an enquiry about a "car driver" on  1901 or 1911 Irish census. He was one of many. We concluded he drove a jaunting-car which is horse-drawn.

I missed that one

Mike

[SusieK]

My great grandfather in Scotland was described as a van man/ grocer's van man from 1882 until he died in 1910. I don't know what his 'van' was like but he drove a horse and van to deliver for the local grocer. We know about the horse because he died from wounds sustained when a loud noise caused his horse to bolt and his van overturned. The accident is described in great detail in the inquest and in newspaper articles. I think that someone else was close to the truth when they suggested that a van would be enclosed to protect the goods and a cart is more open

[stanmapstone]

This is a delivery van from the Lewes History Group web site
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01mqf/

Stan

[Stephen Rose]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied, every response has been so helpful with my current research.

My grandfather was only 2 years old when his father died so would have had no reliable memory of what type of vehicle was involved unless there were photographs which I would have thought unlikely given their circumstances.

I also agree that the description given on my grandfather's marriage certificate should be taken with a pinch of salt, especially as at that time he was knowingly or unknowingly claiming to be four years younger than he actually was (same day and month but an earlier year).

So I guess where this leaves me is that whilst my great-grandfather drove a horse and cart for a living, whether his cart was enclosed or open, whether he had progressed from horse to engine in the years between the 1901 census and his death in 1909, or whether his occupation was simply being described a little differently in 1937 remain unknown. 

Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to respond

Best wishes
Stephen

[Maiden Stone]

My great grandfather in Scotland was described as a van man/ grocer's van man from 1882 until he died in 1910. I don't know what his 'van' was like but he drove a horse and van to deliver for the local grocer.

An internet search for pictures of horse-drawn vans has photos which are like the vehicle your GGF drove.
Btw traffic violations I noticed while browsing 19thC Irish Petty Sessions Court Registers included:
A farmer taking his cart to town without his name painted on it; another farmer leaving an ass & cart unattended in street; being drunk in charge of a horse & cart.

[Maiden Stone]

Stephen , if you look at photos of the main street of your ancestor's town taken around the time it may give you an idea of the type of vehicle in common use locally.

[Stephen Rose]

Stephen , if you look at photos of the main street of your ancestor's town taken around the time it may give you an idea of the type of vehicle in common use locally.

Thanks Maiden Stone. Obvious thing to do now you mention it but being still fairly new to this, that hadn't occurred to me at all. Appreciate the pointer and can't wait to get searching at the weekend. 

[SusieK]

Thank you for the suggestion Maiden Stone - never really thought to do a search before. Found lots of pics like the one Stan linked earlier, which was much like I had always thought my great grandfather's van would be. I know who the grocer was that he worked for, so maybe I'll eventually find one with his name on!