Thursday, August 29, 2013

Celebrate Your Ancestors' Labor

On this upcoming Labor Day weekend, we will celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. What did your ancestors do for a living? Researching your ancestors vital information is important but discovering your ancestors' occupations can help flesh out their lives and give you some interesting insight into how the family lived and their status within their communities.

Some common sources to discover your ancestors' occupations include:
  • Census records
  • City Directories
  • Obituaries
  • Newspapers
  • Tombstones (Check out this tombstone in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago!)
  • Social Security Administration SS-5 Application Form
  • Wills
  • Probate Records
  • Pension Records

This is probably one of the most interesting--and revealing--genealogy topics you can research!

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