Opinion on Profession in Hinckley C1841

[*sparkle*]

I am struggling to read the profession of Prudence Sperry b. 1779, Tamworth, Staffs in the 1841 census where she is living with her Daughters family; Eliza Hall/Halt in Hinckley.

In the 1851 Census she is listed as a former Innkeepers wife and is still living with the Hall/Halt family.

I've attached the image but it is very poor.

Any ideas are welcomed as I'm trying to find out more about her husband Jacob.

Tracey

[CaroleW]

Seamstress is a possibility 

[JAP]

Looks like Sempstress (Seamstress) to me - with a long 's' as the penultimate letter.

JAP
PS: Sorry CaroleW - your reply came through as I was typing mine; however I thought it might be worth posting mine anyway as it points out the long 's'.  Also, Sempstress was an alternative for Seamstress.

[*sparkle*]

It does look a bit like sempstrefs perhaps and it is likely that she was a seamstress if she was a widow and living with a family whose head is an Ag. Labourer.

Suppose I was looking for something more exciting

Thanks both!

Tx

[JAP]

Hi *sparkle*,

Sorry to disappoint you!  But, to me, there's no doubt at all (not 'a bit like' or 'perhaps'  ) that it says Sempstress (with the first 's' of the double 'ss' being written as the old-fashioned long 's').

JAP
PS:Incidentally, the long 's' is definitely an 's' and not an 'f' - an 'f' really shouldn't be used to represent it.  In printing of the time, the printed long 's' was certainly like a printed 'f' but it differed in one significant respect; a printed 'f' had the bar going all the way through whereas, in the printed long 's', the bar was only to the left of the downstroke.