Occupation as a Theme in Family History

Home built by James E. Wood on
Lancelot Ave., Cleveland Hts, Ohio

In my husband's family tree, multiple generations of people had the same occupation. Another recurring pattern was younger generations choosing vastly different occupations than the generations who came before. The theme of occupation can be a really good hook for sharing bite-sized family history stories, no matter what your ancestors did for a living.

Slatter: Military men

My husband's three great uncles in the Slatter family were military bandmasters, and their sons also joined the military. I've written a few bite-sized family history bios of these men, and found lots of rich research, in particular, about Captain John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954) and Bandmaster Henry Arthur Slatter (1866-1942). But even without the extra details about how Capt. Slatter popularized the kiltie band, I can organize stories around the multiple generations of Slatters who served their country in wartime and in peacetime. 

Younger relatives in our family were quite interested in the dramatic backstory of how the three Slatter brothers got their military training, starting in their preteen years. They were also fascinated by artifacts such as this WWI handkerchief, passed down in the family for more than a century. The theme of military career has been a hook for me to tell quick stories on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, not just in bite-sized bios, photo books, and on websites.

Wood: Carpenters for generations, then none

My husband's grandfather, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) plus James's brothers and father and earlier generations going back many generations were--as the name Wood implies--carpenters. Earlier Wood ancestors were shipbuilders and general carpenters, later Wood ancestors applied carpentry to build railroad carriages, homes, and other things. 

The family still has several photos of homes built by grandfather Wood in Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, Ohio, during the first three decades of the 1900s. At top, the photo shows a home Wood built on Lancelot Ave, Cleveland Heights, as it looks today--more than a century after it was constructed. The grandchildren were impressed that their ancestor built a home so sturdy that it looks very good even after so many decades.

Then I tell the youngsters that our Wood line no longer has any carpenters. After James, the next generation went into professional careers such as stockbroker, insurance, and company management. That abrupt shift got their attention, sparking conversation about the older careers and the newer careers. 

Lower: Attendance officer and breadwinner

There were women teachers in several branches of my husband's family tree during the first decades of the 1900s, but usually they stopped teaching soon after marriage. Hubby's grand aunt, Lola McClure Lower (1877-1948), wasn't a teacher, though she worked in schools when she became the breadwinner of her family after her husband, a civil engineer, was confined to bed.

Lola built a career as a truant officer in Wabash, Indiana, and became well-respected in the field, giving presentations to regional conferences. How she found time to volunteer for the Red Cross for 25 years, I'll never know. Telling her story is an opportunity to hear what younger relatives think about her choice of occupation! Plus an opportunity to discuss societal and economic changes during the 20th century as more women entered the workforce.

IMHO, any occupation, in any time period, can be an engaging theme for sharing family history stories. Just don't bury the lede. 

Ancestral Traditions: Occupation and Middle Name

Many of my husband's English ancestors went into the same line of work as their fathers, generation after generation. That's definitely true of the WOOD family woodworkers (going back to the 1400s and lasting through the mid-1900s). In addition, naming traditions were often handed down from father to son, even continuing into the 21st century.

Recently, I researched ancestral traditions of occupations and names in the WHITE family, united by marriage in England with my husband's SLATTER family. I examined two specific aspects of the White line: the distinctive middle name of Hoxland carried by one male in nearly every generation, and the similar/related occupations of these male ancestors over the years.

Three Generations of Thomas White, Stone Workers

Thomas Hoxland White, born in Devon, England, in 1800, was a stone sawyer, according to UK Census records. He and wife Mary named their son Thomas Hoxland White, and he grew up to be a stone sawyer like his dad (see marriage document at top). This Thomas married Caroline Corbett, the daughter of a waiter.

Thomas and Caroline's son Thomas John White, born in Westminster, Middlesex, England, was not given that distinctive middle name of Hoxland. Perhaps a different son (one who died young?) received that middle name, but so far I haven't found him in the records. 

Thomas John White was yet another stone sawyer in this family, according to his marriage document. He changed careers later--more about that in a moment. Thomas married Fanny Gardner, the daughter of Fanny Slatter who was hubby's 2d great aunt. That's the connection point between the White and Slatter families.

Stone Sawyer vs Stone Mason

In the 1901 UK Census, Thomas John White's occupation was shown as stone mason, not stone sawyer, as was his father's occupation. What's the difference between stone mason and stone sawyer?

My gen friend Dr. Sophie Kay helped me out by consulting an early 20th century UK dictionary of occupations. She says stone sawyers did less skilled stone cutting. In contrast, stone masons did more skilled work, dressing and and shaping stone. This tells me that in less than three generations, the White family's men progressed in their skills from sawyer to mason. 

Hoxland Middle Name Lives On, Tradition of Stone Work Does Not

Back to Thomas John White, who did not have the Hoxland middle name but did begin his work life as a stone mason. He left the United Kingdom in 1905, marrying and settling in the bustling manufacturing city of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1910, he told the US Census that his occupation was draftsman in a cemetery. Finally, an ancestor who worked in a cemetery!

Thomas married Florence Elliott and their son, John Hoxland White, carried that distinctive middle name but had nothing to do with stone work. According to US Census records, he was a bookkeeper in a Cincinnati, Ohio machine shop, and rose to become assistant treasurer, he said in a later Census. 

Although there is no longer a tradition of working with stone, the White family has carried on the tradition of Hoxland as a middle name for 200 years and counting.