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

Blacksmith - three generations.

Answer 2

My paternal great grandparents were both from long-standing  farming stock in East Anglia

Answer 3

For generations my family on both sides have been farmers, carpenters and watermen.

Answer 4

In my family, there are teachers across many generations. My mother taught in a one-room schoolhouse when she was young and was a college instructor later on, and my father was a college professor. My father’s brother was a schoolteacher throughout his career.  My maternal grandmother taught school for more than 50 years. My great-grandfather taught school on and off throughout his life, along with farming, and many of my great-aunts taught school as well. One of the great-aunts taught school for decades on an Indian reservation in the Southwest. My great-great grandfather taught school also: according to the History of Noble County, Ohio, he was "one of the best teachers in this part of the country." This is not a complete list, but you get the idea.

Answer 5

Federal government service. This was my father's occupation. I have been surprised to see everyone in prior generations of his family who also chose this path.

Answer 6

Farmers and coal miners

Answer 7

A lot of farmers.

Answer 8

5 gen. of west coast loggers.

Answer 9

Hi,

For atleast 3 generations my family has been ironworker welders.

Answer 10

Farmers. Lots and lots of farmers. Which is what I would expect, with deep roots in Tennessee.

Answer 11

Nursery owners and growners.

Answer 12

Miller of grain. Many generations of Dangel in Alsace.

Many in Slovenia last as Tement but before a number of generations thru the wife!

Answer 13

As the Carter name suggests, there were generations of teamsters, drivers, chauffeurs and wheel makers.

Answer 14

Farmer! My favorite is Royal Surveyor: 5X Great Grandfather Etienne Parant

Answer 15

Ship Ahoy Mates and All Aboard!

For many generations, too numerous to list here, my family has been in various maritime professions, many of them either in a Navy, US or English, as sea captains, or in civil service to a Navy. For example, my father was in the U.S. Navy as were his brothers, Fred and Wilbur. Other examples of family Navy service include the following.

1. General at Sea Richard Deane (Deane-793) (died at sea during a naval battle)

2. Sir Anthony Deane, MP (Deane-808) Naval Architect for the British Royal Navy

3. Lt. Robert Deane, RN (Deane-1139) Engineer and son of Charles Anthony Deane. Survived a 6-month voyage in a small sloop from India to New York, USA.

4. SN2C Hildreth B. Smith, Esq., USN (Smith-178806) Enlisted in the Navy WW I, and became a lawyer for the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C.

Sea Captains and Master Mariners in my family are:

1. Capt. Samuel Robert Hildreth (Hildreth-1554) died age 36 at sea during a hurricane.

2. Capt. Ernest Laurel Higgs (Higgs-1717) Bahamas, Ship name: SS Cuba

3. Capt. William Deane, Sr. (Deane-1229) England. Married sister of brother Charles Anthony Deane's wife.

4 Capt. William Deane, Jr. (Deane-1536) England. Died age 31 in Jamaica during a voyage from England.

5. Capt. Frederick Lin Ceruti, Sr. (Ceruti-37) Bahamas

6. Capt. James Stillwell (Stillwell-1177) Ferry boat captain

7. Capt. Richard Silva Stillwell (Stillwell-1220) Ferry boat captain, son of Capt. James

8. Capt. James David Wark (Wark-80) Jamaica, Bahamas

9. Clement Hudson (Hudson-15948) Bahamas

Sailors:

1. Simeon Zeb Higgs (Higgs-1718) Bahamas, served on brother, Capt. Higg's vessel, SS Cuba.

2. James E. Hildreth (Hildreth-1556) Brother of Capt. Hildreth

3. Charles E. Hildreth (Hildreth-1555) Brother of Capt. Hildreth and James

4. Judge George W. Hildreth, Jr. Esq. DA, Nephew of Capt. Hildreth, Yacht skipper and Commodore of a Riverhead  Yacht Club, Hampton Bays, New York, USA.

Pirate:

Matthew Lowe, (Lowe-2422) Bahamas

Other ancestors may have been pirates, but this remains a covered-up family secret.

Divers and Diving Inventors:

1. Charles Anthony Deane (Deane-1148) Co-inventor of the diving helmet

2. John Deane III (Deane-1149) Co-inventor of the diving helmet

3. I am a retired U.S Navy Civilian Diver and an inventor, but not an inventor of diving equipment. I also never found the time to become a pirate during the time when I lived on my yacht in Hawai'i.

Comments

That's an impressive line-up!

Answer 16

I  a mixture of farmer miner hand linen weaver,ships charpenter inn owner Working in ship building and nursing

Answer 17

Printers, four generations

Answer 18

There are several teachers and pastors in our line. My great grandparents, Otta and Emma Randol, made sure that each of their daughters received a teaching certificate from what is now Wayne College in Wayne, Nebraska. Their only child out of eight who did not go to college was by his own choice as he wanted to farm.

Answer 19

I have 5 generations of wallpaper hangers in may family. Before I realized that my daughter became the president of a wallpaper company!

Answer 20

Glass and crystal makers surnames. Walter, Stenger, Burgun, Andres, Schwoerer/schwerer, Greiner, Betz//Boetz, Moser, Philippe, Feisthauer. Are direct ancestry. Many others are cousin line like Krummenacker and Sigwart, Gerard, and Perron.

Also Naval occupations  Penny and railroad occupations Hempen.