pre civil registration

[243rose]

hi.

i was wondering whether there was any hope of discovering ancestors occupations pre civil registration and if so where best to look.
i have lots of names in my family tree that have nothing more assigned to them other than dates of baptism , marriage and death and i would like to add an occupation where and if possible.

Ta
Iain

[nanny jan]

Hi Iain,

I've found occupations in some parish registers; I've been looking at baptisms and found in early 1800s the occupation of the father was included.

Wills should mention occupations; that's if you can find one!

Nanny Jan

[behindthefrogs]

The preprinted baptism registers which were brought into use 1 Jan 1813 contain a column for the father's occupation.  Prior to that you will occasionally find the father's occupation mentioned.

Otherwise you are looking for any document concerning your ancestor which may mention his occupation.

David

[243rose]

thankyou to all

[willow154]

Hi Iain,
You could try looking in the trade directories - some start in the 1700s:
www.historicaldirectories.org
Good luck,
Paulene

[willow154]

Hi again Iain,
Just had another thought - in some record offices they have indexes for apprenticeships, burgess records, licensed victuallers' licences and publicans' licences, etc.
Great sources, and all under surnames.
Paulene

[behindthefrogs]

Thr parish chest is also a very useful source.  Accounts for supplies or work done can often identify an ancestor and thus his job.

Similarly "criminal" cases from being fined by the parish for not clearing a ditch to being a witness of a major crime often refer to the employment of the person involved.

David

[243rose]

thanks david and pauline.

i think i need to diversify and delve into the parish chest etc.
just and do family history for the rest of my life..........