Question of the Week: Is there an occupation that was in your family for generations?

Question

Was there a certain profession, occupation, trade, or business that was in your family for multiple generations?

Tell us with an answer below. You can also answer on Facebook or share the question image with friends and family on social media to get them talking.

Comments

Speaking on behalf of my mother and father, this is the most simple question in the world for me to answer:  Farmer.   

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4 generations, from father to son, were coal miners in the US and UK.

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My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all coal miners

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5 generations of mariners on Cape Cod, MA, and NY.

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Farmers since 1820's Daisy Ricetti born Craigie.

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I have heard that I have five generations of Fire Chief in Newburyport Ma. Not sure if it is consecutive though.

Answer 1

My grandfather, Walter White - born in London, plied the seas in Tall Ships, then he came to America and became a Lighthouse Keeper in several lighthouses on the coast of California, USA, for 47 years.  His son  LeRoy White, my uncle, first he was a substitute keeper, than an assistant keeper for a number of years. O' by the way -  my mother was born in a lighthouse - Piedras Blancas, California, USA.

Answer 2

On my father's side, it was barber.  Both my great-grandparents and my grandfather were barbers.  Teacher was another one.  My father, mother, sister, paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather were teachers.

Answer 3

A number of generations involved with leather tanning --an expertise that they brought to the US from Colmar, France.

Answer 4

My German ancestors were primarily fishermen or stone masons.  In more recent times, five people over four generations have worked in a library.

Answer 5

My male predecessors rode the rails! We have multiple US railroad workers in my family from Conductors to Engineers and everything in between!

Answer 6

On my Maternal Grandfather's Side, they were Coal Miners from back in Scotland including my 3rd Great Grandfather Andrew Anderson (1810-1885) who came to Cape Breton in 1832 and was one of the first Managers of the Mines in Sydney Mines, and Later Cow Head.  This continued in the line for many Generations my Great Grandfather Arthur MacKeen Anderson (1885-1940)]] My Grandfather Andrew Anderson (1923-1991) did not continue in the occupation partially because of his involvement in WWII and he was "smart" and his mother Elizabeth (Baxter) Anderson (1892-1979) wanted something more for him.  All his other brothers worked as miners at some point in their lives.  His Mother who had immigrated to Canada in 1905 when she was 13 with her parents  was  a daughter of a miner Robert Baxter (abt.1850-aft.1918) and her older brothers who were in Canada one  Robert Baxter (1876-1959), having been here already, and the other John Baxter (abt.1877-abt.1963) who came with her and her parents were both Miners as well.  Robert was a leading figure in the Union Movement of the early 20th Century.

On my Father's Side my 3rd Great Grandfather John Nash (abt.1805-)from Ireland, was a Soda and Cordial Manufacturer in Halifax along with his brother Thomas.  His son followed in the businees but later took the skills learned in soda manufacturing and became a Marine Pipe Fitter, in this occupation both my Great Grandfather Frederick T Nash and Grandfather |Edmund Gregory Nash were employed..

Answer 7

My grandfather started an electric business in 1927. It has now been in the family for 96 years, and my brother and two of his children continue to run it.

Answer 8

In a sideline of the tree of my grandma, I have bell founders. They started their company in 1590 and it is still running strong with customers worldwide.

Answer 9

For many generations and in several countries…farmer!

Answer 10

My Great Grandfather, Grandfather, Father on dad's side and Grandfather, Uncles, and several first cousins on my Mother's side were/are Coal Miners in West Virginia.  Those that weren't miners were Farmers.

Answer 11

I have with company documentation and Ancestry documents can come up with 5 generations of father’s to son working in one of  Massachusetts Bay Colony’s oldest Paper Mills, On the Neponsit River in the Lower Falls area of Dorchester.

The Homer family has been a frequent worker to this Mill as well of several other Paper Mills in New England region such as in Maine, New Hampshire, Ct. and NY.

My 3rd Great Grandfather Joseph William Homer who had to relocate too KY. for mill work was killed in a Mill Fire as reported in 1853 by the Worcester Spy as well as th NY Times,

After serving with the union army, Massachusetts heavy artillery unit my second great grandfather Joseph Gilbert Homer returned home from a Civil War conflict and went back to work at the mill in Dorchester, residing in Milton, where he is buried there.

Many of my family and their spouses are buried across the street from the river downstream from Lower Falls in clear view of the Paper Mill

Answer 12

For Question of the Week fans, here is Mags Gaulden's fascinating graph of your answers to the question "Is there an occupation that was in your family for generations?":

Comments

This does look interesting, Betsy, but on G2G it is chopped off at the right and low resolution. Would you like to give us the link to the image page which may show it better?

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Hi Jim,

Yes, the font is quite small!  Is this easier to read?

https://www.wikitree.com/photo/png/Images_for_G2G_Betsy_Ko-2

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Thanks Betsy. Yes, it's better thanks...or here. Those are not truncated to the right. The resolution is still quite low, but it's readable.

Answer 13

I have 11 generations of farmers

Answer 14

My grandfather and his stepfather were both broommakers.

Answer 15

My father was a welder. My three brothers were welders/pipefitters. My nephews are welders/pipefitters. All started out of the same Local union. Three generations.

Answer 16

Farmers, for at least 8 generations until 1933, at first as tenants and from 1740s as yeoman landowners and then Gentlemen, always in South Devon UK

Answer 17

Home Managers - pretty well every generation since Eve and Adam.

Answer 18

First, Farmers and Ministers of a variety of Faiths

Second, Teachers/Instructors

Third, Military