52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 2 - Internal Migration

Shauna has chosen Internal Migration as her topic for Week 2 and tells us "technically internal migration is not a category of records but it is such an important part of our family history research as our ancestors moved around a lot more than we think. Many did not just come to Australia and stay in the one place."
My maternal great-grandfather's surname was Clark (always a challenge to research) and for several years the family's immigration and early years in Australia eluded me.  My Great-grandfather James Nicholas Clark (pictured left at his wedding to Pricilla Mulholland) was born in Bristol and emigrated to Australia with his parents and older brother as a young child.  My mistake was assuming (never assume - how many times are we told that??  NEVER assume) that as the family settled in Victoria, that was where they started their lives in Australia. 
Wrong.  Assume makes an ASS of U and ME.
It was mostly by chance that I discovered one of James Nicholas's siblings was born in Port Sorrell, Tasmania.  A little further research and I found the family lived in Port Sorrell for several years and six children were born there before the entire family crossed to Victoria.  By not looking in the right place I had missed all that information.
My fathers parents married in England before coming to Australia in 1909, starting their Australian lives in Collingwood before moving all over Victoria, including stops in Narre Warren, Bambill, Mildura and Clyde.  While they did stay in Victoria their travels covered a large protion of the state and tracking them through the electoral rolls and other records has been quite an exercise.
Like Shauna, I have found making a map and  timeline to follow my ancestors has helped enormously, as they were a much more mobile lot than I had previously realised.
Shauna tells us "this blog challenge is to stimulate my own genealogy blogging efforts in 2014 by focusing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected my own archival background as well as my own genealogy interests and there are probably lots of other records that I could have included. The challenge has an Australian focus but most of these records will be found just about anywhere in the genealogy world."  Visit her blog here.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 1 - Military Medals

I'm finally going back and trying to complete the first few weeks of Shauna's challenge, and her topic for Week 1 was Military Medals.  I have several ancestors who fought in World War 1 and 2, but I have little idea of the medals they were awarded.  I do know my family was extremely fortunate to have so few losses during the wars - I have a total of 5 uncles and 11 great-uncles who fought, plus my father, and the only casualty we have was my Uncle James who was in the Merchant Navy and drowned in an accident in Argentina.  3 Rats of Tobruk, a bomber pilot based in New Guinea, others stationed all over the world and most made it home very little the worse for wear.  We were indeed very fortunate.
My father tried to enlist in WW2 underage and was sent home, back to the farm to work with his father and third brother Les.  His two older brothers Frank and Ernest (Squib) had both enlisted and were overseas - Dad saw it as his chance to travel and do his bit and went back when he turned 18, despite working on the land and therefore being essential services.  He worked in Stores in the Air Force and spent time in Townsville and Darwin before the war ended - he never made it out of Australia.  I have my father's military record but he never claimed his medal, saying that as he never actually fought he felt he had not earned it. 
Shauna tells us "this blog challenge is to stimulate my own genealogy blogging efforts in 2014 by focusing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected my own archival background as well as my own genealogy interests and there are probably lots of other records that I could have included. The challenge has an Australian focus but most of these records will be found just about anywhere in the genealogy world."  Visit her blog here.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 21 - Obituaries

Shauna has chosen Obituaries as the topic for Week 21.  She tells us that "obituaries may have information that is not found in official documents so it is definitely worth spending some time to see if something appeared in the local newspaper after a person’s death."  Certainly the ongoing work done by Trove makes finding obituaries of our Australian ancestors much easier, and the various overseas newspaper digitisation projects make searching overseas ancestors possible.

I have had the good luck to obtain several obituaries for various ancestors, including my great grandmother Isabella Mary Green (nee Argent) shown here on the right.  Not only does the article include family details for Isabella but also lists the chief mourners at her funeral and all those who sent floral tributes.  It also provides me with her cause of death, which was something I had not known until I found this article.  Even the name of the rector is included.  As a long-time resident and the wife of a major landholder in a small Essex community Isabella was a well known member of the village and several articles appeared in the local paper regarding her death.  While the quality of the digitisation is not the best (as all too often they are not) the obituary is still quite readable and is wonderful to have.

I also have the obituary for Miss Emma Noble Argent, who was Isabella's sister. 
There were 5 Argent children in this particular family - John Thompson Argent was born in January 1848 and died in November 1907 (59 years old), Emma was born in September 1849 and died in March 1935 age 85, Ada was born in 1851 and died December 1929 at 78, Constance was born July 1857 and died December 1929 age 72 and Isabella was born June 1858 and died March 1936, age 77.  Neither Emma nor her sister Ada married, but spent their lives living 'on indepentant means' and doing local church work.  Her obituary is also very interesting to read, again providing family details, the chief mourners and a list of those who sent flowers.

Re-reading through these obituaries this week has reminded me of the lives these women lived and the roles they played in village life.  If you are fortunate enough to find obituaries for your ancestors they can be another source of information for detail about their lives.

As more and more newspapers are being digitised, searching for obituaries for your ancestors becomes ever easier, so don't forget this valuable resource.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 20 - Mining Records

Shauna has chosen Mining Records for her topic in Week 20 of her 52 Weeks of Genealogical Records.  This is a topic about which I know little as none of my ancestors seem to have caught the mining bug and followed the gold - they were mostly farmers with a scatter of trades such as carpenters, plasterers and millers.  My father's family didn't arrive in Australia until a few years before the First World War, so they missed the major gold rushes in Australia completely.
Reflecting upon her own mining ancestors, Shauna tells us that "although miners can be difficult to trace because they moved around, with persistence you can trace them through certificates, children’s school records, newspapers, hospital records and so on. If you cannot find anything on a miner direct, try other family members including their wife, children and don’t forget siblings. Follow up all clues and hopefully you will learn more about your mining ancestors."
Thanks Shauna, I look forward to next weeks topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 19 - Family Bibles

Shauna has chosen family bibles for this week's topic.  She tells us that "family bibles can be useful resources for family history and they can connect us through the generations. If you are lucky enough to have one in the family records, why not think about why and how it has come to be in the family and are there plans in place to ensure that it continues to be handed down the generations still to come."
For all my family I have only ever seen information copied from one bible, which was given to me by a relative on my father's side of my family.  She photocopied the pages for me several years ago, and they were a great resource to have.  Her grandmother had spent some time carefully noting on its blank pages not just family births, marriages and deaths but also significant family events such as major travels, accidents and illnesses, and children leaving home to find work elsewhere.  Sadly she has since passed away and I have no idea what became of the old bible - I hope someone is cherishing it.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 18 - Almanacs

Shauna has chosen Almanacs as her topic for Week 18.  Shauna loves almanacs "as they are similar to directories and newspapers with lots of different information, lists of names and interesting advertisements. Once upon a time we might have used print copies if they were not too fragile or more likely it would have been microfiche or microfilm. This made them less easy to use (in my opinion) but now we have many almanacs digitised by Archive Digital Books Australasia for sale or in libraries, some are available through findmypast.com.au and some are even online for free."

Personally I have had mixed success searching almanacs for information on my family history, but have occasionally come across a reference to a family member or an advertisement for a business.  These are always exciting to find but almanacs can also be another way to find out about local and national events that influenced an ancestors life.  Almanacs are a resource not to be dismissed and, as Shauna pointed out, now that many are digitised and available through various sources they are even easier to use than ever.  Living in the country I find anything available online is a big boost to me as getting into the city to access the records offices and repositories is a challenge.

Thanks Shauna, it will be interesting to see what you have chosen for us next time.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 17 - Court Records

Shauna has chosen Court Records for her topic for week 17.  She tells us that there are all kinds of courts from higher courts such as the Supreme and District Courts to the local courts of petty sessions plus there are licensing courts, mining warden’s courts, traffic courts, police courts. The terminology and court names vary over time and within the various Australian colonies/states and territories.
Court records in general are not indexed although there may be individual indexes within each register. The easiest way to find out if an ancestor did make a court appearance is finding a reference in newspapers via Trove. This will give a date and place which can then be followed up at the State Archives which is where court records end up for research purposes.
Using Trove, I have come across several court reports in newspapers which have mentioned my ancestors, all of which provide a fascinating insight into their lives.  The article on the left relates to a workers compensation application made by an employee of my ancestor Henry Mulholland after the poor man lost a hand in a farming accident. The amount of compensation for the loss of his hand was disputed, so the case went to court where eventually a sum was agreed upon.


Not all court records necessarily relate to criminal matters.  My Great Grandmother Eliza Pummeroy found herself widowed with 4 children under 5 years old when her husband died of pneumonia.  A month after the death of her husband she made an application for relief to the St Kilda court.  She was receiving 3 shillings a week from the local Ladies Benevolent Society and the court gave her 10 shillings from the poor-box.  Her children were committed to the Department with the recommendation they be handed back to their mother, and she struggled on.  I had already known that both her younger children, boys Alfred and William, were placed in an orphanage for several years and retrieved when she remarried, while she managed to keep the two girls, Alice and Edith (who was deaf and mute) with her.  Finding this article helped show just how desperate she must have been.  The article is dated Saturday 9th March 1901, and youngest son William (my grandfather) was born on the 6th January, so he was only a month old when his father died.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 16 - Naturalization

Shauna's topic for Week 16 is Naturalization and Citizenship Records.  While most of my ancestors come from various parts of Great Britain, one branch of my mother's family are German, and I do have their Naturalization certificates.

Friedrich (Frederick) Carl Beseler was born in Germany in 1810.  He married Suatus Caroline Farkens on 17 July 1838 and emigrated to Australia in 1848, arriving in Adelaide on April 1st.  Shipping records list Frederick Beseler, shoemaker and Mrs Beseler and 5 children.  The family lived in South Australia for several years before travelling to Victoria.  Frederick was Naturalized in December 1848 - his certificate, obtained from the National Archives, is below.  His son Edward also became Naturalised in 1863.

Shauna tells us that "naturalisation and citizenship records can be found in the various State Archives and after 1901 in the National Archives of Australia and note that some States transferred their early naturalisation records to the Commonwealth while others retained them. So read the fact sheet or brief guides for the State that you are researching to find out where the records are. The information may also vary depending on the time period. For example, naturalisations pre 1860 usually have more information including the ship of arrival which can be very helpful. Post 1900 records are different again."  So if your family came from non-British backgrounds, try searching for naturalisation records for them and see what information they give you. 

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 5 - Family Stories

Family stories would have to be one of my favourite topics - I first became interested in family history as a 16 year old and would happily visit older family members to hear their stories, much to their astonishment (You really want to listen to this???).  Of course, the stories I got were not always 100% accurate, but they were fun anyway.  As a teenager I only had one surviving grandparent to ask questions, and I found my mothers side of the family much easier to research to start with as there were actually older people I could talk to.  For my father's side of the family it was harder - both grandparents had died, most of my aunts and uncles were scattered, and my father knew very little - he couldn't even tell me his mother's maiden name ("I don't know, it never came up").  His parents had married in England before coming to Australia, so there were no great-aunts or uncles to talk to either.
My father passed away over a year ago having developed Alzheimers, and as his memory faded I had printed him a folder of old photographs blown up to A4 size.  Many of these photos I had found in an old shoebox at the back of a wardrobe, and had a great time scanning and digitising them - which was very handy as Dad did some 'cleaning up' without my knowledge and I am still discovering what he threw away without my knowledge.  A sure way to get him calm and relaxed was to open the folder and get him talking about a photo - even when he couldn't tell my name any more he could identify every farm hand in an old photograph from the 1950's.  He could tell me the name of the horse he and two siblings drove to school in the early 1930's and the name of the girl he went square dancing with as a teenager - and all these stories have been noted on the back of each photo.
Make sure you take the time to talk to your older generations while you have the chance, as none of us last forever, and don't forget you own stories too - your children or grandchildren may not be interested right now (I actually don't have either of these, but I do have cousins and their children to consider), but you never know who may become interested in the future.

52 Weeks of Genealogy – Week 6 - Land Records

Yes, I'm out of order but now I have caught up with Shauna it is time to go back and cover the first few topics I missed, so having just studied Week 15's certificates I am now back to Week 6 and land records.
The major national and state archives in Australia and New Zealand are:

• Archives New Zealand
• National Archives of Australia
• Queensland State Archives
• State Record Office New South Wales
• Public Record Office Victoria
• Tasmania Archive and Heritage Office
• State Records Office South Australia
• State Records Office Western Australia
• Northern Territory Archives Service
• Territory Records Office 

 My Great Great Grandfather David Mulholland was one of the early settlers around Eurobin, near Bright, and the land records have a lot to tell me about his life in the area.  He came to Australia from Ireland as a young man and worked hard to build a life for himself and his family.  He purchased several parcels of land which were eventually inherited by two of his sons and the land records give me details of the price of the land, the terrain it covered, how it was used and the improvements made over time. 
Land records are a frequently overlooked resource so check to see if they have anything to offer you.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 15 - Civil Registration and Certificates

We are now up to Week 15 of Shauna Hicks's 52 Weeks of Genealogical Records, and I am finally catching up.  Of course, this means I need to go back and fill in the first few topics I missed because I started late! 
Introducing the topic, Shauna tells us that the introduction of civil registration of births, deaths and marriages was a real plus for family history as certificates can give us those vital clues for moving back through the generations. Of course dates when registration was introduced and standard information on certificates varies from country to country but we really cannot confirm our research without these documents.
Birth certificates give us information on the parents and where they were from, marriage certificates also give us information on the parents and death certificates are particularly useful for telling us how long someone was in the colony or state if they an immigrant. 
Unfortunately certificates vary in detail and authority, especially death certificates.  Birth and marriage certificates are usually more reliable as the information they contain was supplied by the people concerned (although if they had something to hide they may have stretched the truth), but who supplied the information you find on a death certificate??  Having recently lost my father, I was the family member who filled in many of the details about his life (I'm fairly certain I got it all correct).  This got me thinking about who may have supplied the information on the older death certificates I have - the only thing you can be certain of is that it was not the person most concerned!  Was the informant their spouse, their sibling, their child?  Or an officiating doctor who had never met the deceased before assisted by nosy Mabel from across the road?  I have a few very disappointing death certificates with little or no information about the person's background, and one I know for certain contains totally incorrect information, which sent me off on quite a wild goose chase.
The cost of certificates can be expensive but digital images are often cheaper so make sure you look at what options are available.  Don't let the cost deter you from a valuable potential source of information.
If you have a brick wall then certificates may be very useful. Try looking at certificates for siblings if you cannot track a direct ancestor.  Find names of children on a death certificate.  Check the witnesses on a marriage certificate as they may be family members - if not parents then aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings.  Check if timelines and places fit with known family movements, see if occupations follow through families and generations. 
Thanks Shauna - this week's topic has sent me back to look at some of my certificates again to see if there is any details I have missed.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 14 - Cemetery Records

Cemetery records are our topic for Week 14 and Shauna says they have to be one of her favourite genealogical records, and they are ones where I have had some fun researching too. There are two kinds of records to look for – burial records and headstones - don't forget to check for both.
Headstones can give additional information that may not be found elsewhere. Sometimes there might be a year or exact date of birth, or the place where they were born, or there may other family members on the tombstone, nicknames or perhaps even a masonic symbol.
Shauna also reminds us that in our global world we should not dismiss overseas websites "as anyone can contribute to free data sites such as Find A Grave. If you add some of your own family information, you may make contact with someone else researching the same family. Also the major subscription databases also have burial and transcription information. I am sure everyone has their own success stories with burial records and headstone transcriptions but is it time to relook at your research and see what is new?"
I have links to quite a few cemetery sites on my genealogy pages and have also visited the cemeteries where the graves of several relatives are located, and have found some fascinating information on headstones.
Visit Shaun's blog on Cemetery Records to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 13 - Personal Names and Surnames

Shauna has chosen Personal Names and Surnames as her topic for Week 13.  Her blog advises us to have a look at the given or personal names in your family tree. Are there any unusual ones or names handed down through the generations? What about unusual surnames? Why not investigate the origins and history of the names and learn more about the times in which they lived?  If you have a really unusual surname then it may be useful to have a look at the Guild of One Name Studies. There are over 2,600 people researching over 8,400 surnames and their variations.
Looking back through my family tree, I quickly notice a number of given names that occur again and again through the generations, and even within one family.  In my Green family a few generations back I have three Isaacs in one generation - the first two died young and the name was reused for the next son each time.  Eventually persistance paid off and the third Isaac Green in that family lived well into his 90's.  His father was named Isaac as well, and the name crops up in several other generations.  In my mother's Pummeroy family William and Alfred are popular, and recur several time across the generations.  This can create an additional challenge in making sure any information I find is linked to the correct person - I have a newspaper article from Trove that mentions William Pummeroy - and I have four of them alive at the time that the article could be referring to!
The Pummeroy surname itself is quite unusual, especially our Australian spelling which occurs nowhere else.  I have spoken to other Pomeroy / Pomroy families that link to ours back in England (there is also a One Name Study group for the Pomeroy name) but our spelling is unique!  So any other Pummeroys out there - please contact me.  My mother's family surnames also includes Beseler - a nice unusual name which comes from Germany - and more common names like Clark and Mulholland.  On my father's side the surnames are more traditional - Green, Argent, Pike and Hart are my great-grandparent's surnames.
Visit Shaun's blog on Personal Names and Surnames to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 12 - Gazetteers

Shauna has chosen Gazeteers for week 12's topic.  So just what is a gazetteer? Shauna tells us that "a simple definition is that it is a publication which lists geographical places in alphabetical order plus giving some descriptive background information on the place. Not all that exciting as usually there is no detailed information on our ancestors but gazetteers can provide good background on where and how our ancestors lived and why they may have decided to move or emigrate to Australia."

Samuel Lewis published topographical dictionaries for Ireland in 1837, Scotland in 1846, England in 1848 and Wales in 1849, and these are simply gazetteers by another name.  Reading the relevant Gazeteers can help us to imagine what life was like for our ancestors living in those places at that time. Maps are useful to show where a place is but gazetteers give a much more descriptive look at places and can explain why our ancestors had certain occupations, how they lived and perhaps why they chose to leave and try their luck on the other side of the world.  Context is important in family history research and with so many gazetteers online there is no excuse for not checking them out and seeing what they can add to your research. Happy gazetteering!

Visit Shaun's blog on Gazeteers to read her full entry on this topic.

52 weeks of Genealogy - Week 7 - Local Histories

According to Shauna, "Local history often goes hand in hand with family history as our ancestors were very much a part of the communities in which they lived. I have always looked for local histories for areas they lived in and this also includes any church or school histories or anniversary celebrations. Quite often there has been direct references to my families and if I am lucky, a relevant photo or two.  However like all resources, anything we find in a published history should still be checked for accuracy. Many older histories do not cite their sources and it can be very hard to trace where a particular story has come from."
My father's family comes from a small village called Fordham in Essex, England.  I have been lucky to find a quite active local history group who have published a couple of booklets about the history of the village and have been even luckier to be able to obtain copies.  They mention the family several times and even have a few photos, and the detail of village life during the time of ancestors I have never known certainly fills in the picture for me.  As Shauna noted, hoever, it is necessary to check the accuracy of such information, especially if the local history is unsourced, as they are often quite anecdotal in nature and people's memories and prespectives are subject to alter over time. 
Visit Shaun's blog on Local Histories to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 8 - Diaries

There are all kinds of diaries, and some are more detailed than others. Shauna advises trying to "find personal accounts of areas where your families lived, and don't forget to look for military unit histories and diaries to supplement what you have found in army dossiers. If you have never thought of exploring these types of records before, why not try and find a shipboard diary for an ancestor’s voyage. You may be pleasantly surprised."  Finding a diary of and ancestor's voyage out to Australia or of their military unit's war experiences can give you a weath of information, even if the diary if not written by YOUR family member.  Reading the thoughts and reactions of another person experiencing the same thing can really make the history come alive.
Of course, finding the diaries of a family member is just a treasure!  I am lucky enough to have some of both my father's diaries and my maternal grandmother's diaries, and some of their handwriting is a challenge to decipher.  While I only have a few years worth for each of them, and neither exactly filled pages with the minutae of daily life, both are invaluable in filling in details of major family events and my own early life and I treasure them.
After my father's death my mother and I found some of his diaries hidden at the back of an old wardrobe, and I am so lucky to have them.  My father had Alzheimers and spent several months before he died 'cleaning up'.  Months later I was still realising things were just gone - including the entire contents of my family history filing cabinet!  His diaries date from my childhood and are patchy at best - some have weeks and even months with nothing recorded - but several give me exact dates for major family events and his (often surprising) reactions to them.
My grandmother's diaries are similar - they date from my childhood and are patchy in coverage - but these were given to me by my grandmother, who knew I was interested in family history and knew I would find them interesting, and those few little books contain her view on family events I remember dimly at best.
So whether the diary is actually written by your ancestor or by someone on their ship, in their military unit, or living up the road in the same village, diaries can offer you a wealth of detail that may not be available anywhere else.
Visit Shaun's blog on Diaries to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 11 - Newspapers

In Australia Trove is a fantastic source of free online newspapers as well as a range of other resources. It is simply a matter of doing a keyword search on a person’s name and narrowing the results by using any combination of the available filters.  It is important to remember that not all newspapers have been digitised yet and placed online - new papers or expanded year ranges of existing papers are becoming available all the time, so you need to remember to redo your searches from time to time.
It is due to Trove that I discovered one of my great-uncles, Norman Clark, was killed by a shark off Middle Brighton beach in 1930.  He was the first swimmer taken by a shark in Victorian waters for a number of years, and the attack occurred during a boating regatta in full view of hundreds of horrified spectators, including his fiancee and 12 year old brother.  His body was never recovered and several sharks found too close to swimming areas were subsequently killed, and the incident made the news around the country.  It was even reported in New Zealand - Papers Past is the New Zealand equivalent of Trove.  When I asked my mother if she knew about the attack she never knew what had happened, ony that Norman had died young.  Trove even produced an article with a grainy photo of Norman, the only image of him I have ever seen.
I regularly visit Trove and am always rewarded with some snippet of information about my family, and also find Trove a great way of finding out about community events they quite likely were involved in.
Visit Shaun's blog on Newspapers to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 9 - Inquest Records

An inquest is held when someone dies in an accident, or has not been seen by a doctor for some time or if they have died in an institution such as an asylum or prison. This is the topic Shauna Hicks has chosen for Week 9 of her 52 Weeks of Genealogy.
As Shauna discussed, most inquests are reported in the newspaper and this is where a search of Trove can be useful in finding information on accidental or sudden deaths in the family. Once the date and place of death is known it is easy to then go to the relevant State Archives and look for an inquest file or register.  Witnesses statements usually give an account of a person’s last moments as well as giving personal and biographical information that may not be found elsewhere.
 Most State Archives have online guides to inquest records and some may even have online indexes so these should be consulted in the first instance. Also Trove may be useful in determining a date and place of death or inquest but also follow up with the archival record as well.
This is not an area where I have done much research with my own family, and it is a timely reminder of the peril of bypassing any potential sources of information - you may well be missing a goldmine of family details.  Hopefully I will be able to use inquests to find out more about an ancestor's death and, through that, his life.  Thanks Shauna.
Visit Shaun's blog on Inquest Records to read her full entry on this topic.

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 10 - Occupations

I have decided to try to participate in Shauna Hicks's 52 Weeks of Genealogical Records in 2014, although I do lack a little confidence in my ability to do full justice to each topic, as I seem to be rather time-poor lately.  I have a bit of catching up to do also,  as I am coming in at Week 10.  Better late than never.

Shauna launched this blog challenge to "stimulate my own genealogy blogging efforts in 2014 by focussing on a different kind of genealogical record each week. I wanted a challenge that reflected my own archival background as well as my own genealogy interests and there are probably lots of other records that I could have included. The challenge has an Australian focus but most of these records will be found just about anywhere in the genealogy world."  What a great idea!

Week 10 focuses on Occupation Records.  Within my own famiy history many ancestors were tied to the land (Ag Labs abound), although some professions do seem to appear quite regularly in some lines.  6 generations of Millers appear in my father's mother's family, 4 generations of plasterers run in my mother's paternal line.  Census records give me the professions of a few generations, with Ancestry (I use the Library Edition) as my main source of records.  Several old directories have been very handy too, including the Historical Directories of England and Wales.  Sometimes marriage or death certificates have given me information, and Trove has been another useful source.

Once you find the occupation it can be another challenge to work out exactly what the occupation involved.  Sites such as Old Occupation Names or Old Occupations in Scotland can be a great source of information (and amusement), especially for my favourite example, the ancestor who listed Hooker as her occupation on her marriage certificate in 1874.  For those who think this may be just too much information at such a time - here is the listing from Old Occupation Names :
1) 16c. Reaper 2) 19c. Textile mill worker operating machinery which laid out fabric in uniform folds to required length.  Yes, she worked in a textile mill.