Family historians often locate records that list ancestors with unusual and intriguing occupations. Many of these occupations may have originated as far back as the Middle Ages and by the 14th century it was common for people to take their occupation as a surname. i.e. Skinner - Flayer of animal hides for leather or Fletcher – maker of arrows.
One website that help offer explanations of what our ancestors occupations were is Hall Genealogy's Old Occupation Names. While the site has not been updated recently, it still offers explanations of hundreds of old occupations, listed alphabetically.
Each old occupation listed has a short explanation of what it involved, sometimes with multiple explanations or a timeline of when the occupation existed.
Imagine looking up a marriage certificate and finding your female ancestor had listed 'Hooker' as her occupation - and the relief of finding she was actually working in a textile mill!
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