Occupations and City Directories

Occupations

Occupations (work) are what people have done for years and tell us a lot about their ethics, morals and behaviors. One way to describe your ancestor is to look at photos especially when they are dressed in a uniform or work outfit or other outfits.

In researching my own roots I see connections within certain areas of life. On my dad’s side his grandfather Emmanuel Cote became Captain of the Lewiston Fire Department, while his father, Joseph Cote was a Teamster in the Lewiston Mills.

Emmanuel Cote (Captain, Lewiston fire Department, sister Lumina, brother Levi (Property Owner), sister Philomene, brother Jacques (Military) and Alexandre (Businessman) is kneeling.

Religion and other associations tell us about their beliefs and their associations.  My dad’s grandfather Joseph Bougie was a member of The Holy Name Society and he had sister’s who became Catholic nuns.

For women Emmanuel’s mother, Emma D’Amboise was a housewife and his wife Malvina Girardin (pictured below), worked in the local Mills. Joseph’s wife and mother were both housewives.

There are a number of resources to gather information on civic groups and occupations.  Using the local newspapers in the area they lived will offer newsworthy events that could be marriage announcements, job/occupation highlights, political events deaths and other information. Search engines on the internet are great for finding information about including photos and other documents.

Depending on the business they worked it may be possible for the release of information (military files, employee files, medical records) which will open up new avenues for fitting people together.)

Do It Yourself:  Start collecting photos of relatives that you would like to work on. Start looking at the photos of weddings, uniforms, etc.  Select a few that you would like to work on and find everything you can about the outfit, unform and that line of work.  A website that tells more about early occupations is: http://www.genealogyinc.com/encyclopedia/jobs/#F

For example: Emmanuel Cote worked for the Lewiston Fire Department. My first action it to contact them (either via phone or email). When writing explain exactly what you want. My email will go something like, "

I am not sure who would be the most approriate person to contact. I am doing family history on my family and my great grandfather Emmanuel Cote and his son Emmanuel Cote worked for the Lewiston Fire Department around 1920-1950 ish; he was the Captain from 1928 to 1953. Were would I go for their files and if there are any known photo's of them in any records and any of their cases that would be available for a project I am working on.

Sincerely,

Paul Cote, Jr.

Sincerely,

Paul Cote, Jr.

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Another spot for information is City Directories. These were the phone books from early 1800's up to the invention of the telephone book. Many local libraries, genealogy centers, and family history chapters have copies of these directories. If you know the period they lived in an area you can gather information such as their mailing address, telephone number, occupation and relatives that may have lived close to them.



To look online for copies, some may be purchased or transcribed all across the Unites States you can click here and do a state search: http://www.uscitydirectories.com/

The photo above is what they may look like in hardcopy format. Ancesty.com also has many directories copid for your viewing with a cost. The photo to the left shows a typical page. Can you tell me what Emmanuel had for an occupation. Are there other people with the same name or address and what was there occupations? They do list females and wives and can provide more information about their housing situation.  We have covered occupations, and the use of city directories in obtaining information. The next post will discuss release forms, the Freedom of information Act, and how to obtain rmedical records, military records and employee records.