Tracing Your British Ancestors Through

                                                  Their Trades and Occupations

                                                                By    Elaine Saunders

As a general rule of thumb, the better educated your British ancestors were, the greater the chance of finding them through their trade or professional links.   This does not mean that it is impossible to find unskilled workers - all you have to know is where to look!

All the reference books referred to below can be found at the Guildhall Library or the library at the Society of Genealogists.   If records are to be found elsewhere it will be indicated and, as some of these organisations issue leaflets or research guidelines, it is always worth checking with them.  

It must also be pointed out that most of the information available will only relate to male ancestors, certainly until more recent times.   Only two hundred years ago, even the daughters of noblemen were poorly educated, so there were few skilled women workers.

Clergymen and Scholars

If your ancestor was a clergyman it should be quite easy to find him through a number of routes.   First, check the denomination he worshipped under.   As the Church of England was the dominant church for hundreds of years it is so much easier to trace its members.   Other denominations were possibly suppressed or kept their own records.   If your ancestor belonged to them, it is wise to contact the head office of the church in the first instance.

Until the mid-1800s most of Britain's clergy were university educated, perhaps second sons of wealthy families who preferred the pastoral life to an army career.   Searching is simplified because, at the time, there were only two English universities - Oxford and Cambridge.   Alumni Oxoniensis, edited by Joseph Foster, gives details of all students entering Oxford University from 1500 to 1886.   Alumni Cantabridgiensis edited by John and J.A. Venn lists all Cambridge entrants up until 1900.   Many biographical details are included on the registers such as father's name, residence and age.   As sons followed fathers into university, you might even trace more than one generation.

If you do not find a scholar in Oxford or Cambridge, it is worth trying the records of Scotland's universities.   St Andrew's, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities were all founded in the 1400s.   Trinity College, Dublin was founded in 1591 and might also yield information.   It was often less expensive for scholars living in the north of England to attend a university in Scotland rather than travel down to Oxford or Cambridge.

Crockford's Clerical Directory details any Church of England clergyman living since 1858.   At the appropriate Diocesan Record Office (now most probably merged with the County Records Office) you might even be lucky enough to find certificates of ordination and baptism and some biographical details.

Physicians

Surprisingly, the careers of doctors are not so well documented.   Before 1800 the medical profession was split into three groups: physicians, surgeons and apothecaries, in order of importance.  

Like clergymen, physicians had to be university educated, and the leading universities for medicine were in Scotland and Leyden, Holland.   In 1518 the Royal College of Physicians was founded to regulate and promote the profession and they held a limited number of records.

Surgeons were required to train with someone already qualified, so the Index of Apprentices Indentures might help.   Unfortunately, it only covers the period 1710 to 1774.   Private or family arrangements would not be included.   For a time surgeons were allied with the Guild of Barbers, hence the red and white pole outside barbers' shops today signifying blood and bandages.   The Guild of Barbers is still in existence and its records will be at the Guildhall Library.

Most common people could only afford the services of an apothecary who dispensed remedies.   They formed their own guild too, and records are at the Guildhall Library.

The three professions merged in the early 1800s but the official Medical Directory, which lists practising doctors, did not begin until 1858.   

Barristers and Solicitors

The English legal profession is still split into two: barristers and solicitors.   To generalise, barristers represent clients in the higher courts whilst solicitors are mainly general advisors.   Instead of attending university, barristers enrolled in one of the four Inns of Court who keep registers of admissions.   All four Inns are in London.   Registers of Grays Inn, Lincolns Inn and Middle Temple are in the reference libraries but Inner Temple keep their own records and you would need to apply to them for information.

Solicitors did, and still do, train under Articles, a form of apprenticeship.   The Law Society keeps a record of current Articles but the lists have also been held at the Public Record Office (PRO) since 1729.   They may also show on the Apprenticeship Index.   Neither these lists nor Browne's Law List which began in 1777 gives much more information than names and dates, although the Apprenticeship Index may give the home town of the apprentice.   It was common practice, however to take up Articles with a member of the family who had his own firm so the name of the master could give a further family connection to check.

The Military

For the army and navy there is almost too much information available and the most difficult problem is deciding where to start.   The PRO is undoubtedly the best choice.   They issue a long list of informative leaflets describing what is available and where it can be found.   These are available in response to a specific enquiry but the office will not mail them after a general request for information.  

The higher the rank, the easier it is to find a member of the armed forces, no matter which service he was in.   Records for the army and navy commence in the mid-1700s but the air force was not formed until 1918.   The indexed and printed army lists detail officers from the late 1700s but some handwritten lists date back almost another hundred years.   These are available at the PRO, the Army Museum and the Society of Genealogists.   After 1829 the Army List information was increased to include a career record and details of family so the records could be used to find a wife and children.

To have any chance of finding an ordinary soldier you must know his regiment.   If you know he was involved in a certain campaign or battle, operational records will narrow the choice.   If you do not know it is down to guesswork.   Men usually joined their local regiment so check the barracks around the area.   Or you may have a nickname for the regiment in an old letter.   There are authoritive works on the subject which give locations and names of different sections of the army.   You could refer to the regimental history for a distinguished ancestor or head for the regimental muster rolls at the PRO.   The muster rolls are lists of servicemen arranged according to rank and dates of enlistment.   They give place of birth, former trade an sometimes details of dependents.   Discharge papers could even give a physical description and conduct records.   Regiments also keep applications for officer rank which would give career details and maybe letters in support.

If a soldier had been on active service he would have made a will first.   These should be at the PRO and give names of beneficiaries and dependants.   If your ancestor was killed in action it opens up another lead.   Pension records show monies paid to those wounded or the family of those killed.

The Navy Lists dating from the mid-18^th Century will help you locate a serving navy officer.   You should also be able to find the passing certificates issued to young lieutenants which show their service careers.   The applicants would need to supply birth certificates to prove they were over twenty but forgers lurked outside the navy office and underage officers would often buy fake papers.   Even Nelson was a culprit apparently!

Records of ordinary seamen are scant before the mid-1800s and the name of their ship is essential.   Again the PRO issue leaflets to help you search.   Ships' muster rolls usually give age, place of birth and whether the seaman was pressed into the navy.   Again, casualty lists, conduct and pension records are all with the PRO.   Remember, both the army and navy operational records give details of active regiments but not those involved purely in supply or administrative functions.

Merchant shipping is also documented at the PRO in a similar way and the navy may have records on its dockyard employees.   If your ancestor lived in a major ship-building centre, check with the navy.

If your ancestor held officer rank but you cannot trace him in military service records, try the registers of the East India Company which kept its own army and navy until 1858.   Register of Ships of the East India Company by Charles Hardy and The East India Register and Directory 1803 to 1895 are two helpful reference books.   They also kept their own records of doctors serving with them and The Roll of the Indian Medical Service by D J Crawford could mention a medically qualified forebear.   The India Office Library might assist further but admission is by ticket only so write first.

Other Professions

Most other professions and occupations have their own trade associations, although the more lowly the calling the less likely records will have been kept - enthusiasts might be researching a trade and have formed a society, however.   Training for most trades was by way of apprenticeship which may have been registered with the Guildhall in London.   Some guilds stretch back to the 12^th Century but its members were the elite and are no help in tracing an ordinary working man.

In more recent times tradesmen advertised in local directories such as Kelly's Directories which started publication in 1845 and will research their archives for a fee.   The directories were the forerunners of the modern Yellow Pages, describing the city, area, amenities and industry as well as listing private citizens.   The Guildhall Library hold a large collection of the directories and business cards and local county libraries may help.   The latter will also hold local newspapers that could provide a lead but searching can be time consuming unless you know what you’re looking for.   If the factory your ancestor works in is still trading them may hold employee records but be specific on dates if you can.  

As with any area of research, one avenue leads to another and sometimes into a dead end.   As later birth, marriage and death certificates often give occupations, tracing an ancestor through his trade might prove easier than at first thought.   Far from being a last resort, it could open up a whole new line of enquiry.

 How many times have you heard it said that the bride was swept off her feet?   It's a romantic image - a woman carried along on a tide of love and unable to resist.   In medieval times, however, it was more than an image.   It was a reality.

Grab and Run

If a young woman took a man's fancy, he gathered a group of trusted friends, stormed her house, threw a blanket over her head and kidnapped her.   He galloped back to his house, carried her inside and held her captive for a month - or until her family agreed to the match.   While this violent marriage-by-capture has long since died, it survives in the form of rituals we take for granted today.

When you realise that all of this evolved from forced abduction, it no longer seems such a romantic gesture!

Pregnant Pause

Today's brides are not help captive in their homes - instead they are whisked off to exotic honeymoons.   The word honeymoon derives from the Old Norse for wedding-night month, which corresponds to the medieval woman's period of captivity.   After this enforced confinement, the bride would either be pregnant or her reputation so ruined that her family would agree to the marriage without demanding too high a price for her.  

Gown folklore

Seamstresses once sewed on of their own hairs into the dress to bring good luck but the charm was broken if the hair snapped.   Ideally the bridal dress remained unfinished until the wedding morning and any pins were retained because they are allegedly infallible in picking winning racehorses.   A penny sewn into the hem of the bridal gown brings prosperity to French brides and a sachet of sugar brings sweetness to the marriage.  

It is extremely unlucky to try on the complete wedding ensemble before the wedding day as it anticipates the wedding which may not then take place.   When trying on the ensemble, leave off the veil.   A veil will have magical properties, guaranteeing a good marriage if you borrow one from a happily married woman.   For the same reason, never borrow a veil from a divorcee!

Never, under any circumstances, let another woman try on your dress.   If she wears the dress, there’s every chance she’ll run away with the groom.

If you sell your dress, all your good luck will leave the house with it.

Unromantic Genesis

The concept of marriage has never been a particularly romantic one.

Wedd is Anglo-Saxon for the money paid to a bride's father by the prospective groom.   The period of engagement was simply a time to conduct negotiations.   A bargain had been struck when the Anglo-Saxon father gave his daughter's shoe to the prospective groom who then tapped her on the head with it to demonstrate his authority.   Later it became good luck to throw old shoes at the departing happy couple, but now the shoes are mercifully tied behind the wedding car.

Good and Bad Omens

If you buy into wedding superstitions, save money on car hire and walk to the church because you may encounter some favourable omens.   Or you may not! 

• Black cats are lucky
• Bumping into a chimney sweep is lucky
• Lizards, pigs, hares and open graves are terribly bad luck.
• A passing monk or nun could signify a childless marriage.
• Avoid bakeries on the way or there is a danger of becoming gluttonous in later life.

 Gown colour

The wedding gown is held together with threads of superstition

White is the traditional colour in Canada and symbolizes purity

Yellow attracts lovers

A touch of blue is a sign of fidelity, which is why the bride will wear a blue garter or have a blue ribbon somewhere on the dress.

The ring is traditionally placed on the third finger of the left hand.   Romans believed a vein ran from there to the heart and, therefore, the ring stops any affection escaping from the fingertip.   This finger was also thought to possess magic powers and apothecaries stirred potions with it.

Service superstitions

Wedding rings are diviners of luck

If a wedding ring is dropped during the service one of the couples will die

If a wedding ring is dropped and lands on a gravestone, the death is imminent!

If the vicar sneezes during the service, someone will die within the year.

    (maybe it's advisable to check for allergies when arranging the bridal bouquet)

Lucky day

Despite all this superstition, weddings are generally thought of as lucky occasions. 

• The wedding cake symbolizes good fortune, which is why it is traditional to share it, even with people who could not attend the wedding
• The unmarried bridesmaid keeps a piece of it in her pocket so she will soon marry.
• Brides visit farms in various parts of the world to secure good crop yields.
• Moroccan brides comb their hair over a bowl of grain to guarantee a good harvest.
• With so much to organize before the wedding day, it would be pointless to waste time worrying about old superstitions.  

All that’s needed to bring good luck is a happy woman's veil, a vicar who doesn't sneeze, a groom with a good grasp on the ring and no lizards.  

                        Oh...and a large pinch of salt!