Occupation Records and Resources

  • Old Occupation Names
    An A-Z list of old occupations with descriptions of their meanings.
  • Obscure Old English Occupations
    A list of some of the more obscure occupations that you may find on the English census during your genealogy research.
  • Old Occupations
    An A-Z list of old occupations, ranks, professions and trades by Gendocs.
  • Victorian Occupations
    Victorian Occupations is an alphabetical list of the occupations or job descriptions of the people living in London in the 1890’s.
  • British Apprentices 1710-1808
    The average apprenticeship was seven years. You can reveal through these records your ancestor’s parent’s name, his/her master and the profession they chose.
  • Royal and Imperial Calendars 1767-1973
    The calendars include information about those who worked in official departments of state, and branches of public service, the law, the church, national or commercial companies and institutions, and many additional official careers.
  • The Blacksmiths Index
    The Blacksmiths Index includes information about the following occupations: blacksmiths, cartwrights, wheelwrights, shipwrights, farriers, iron workers and other related occupations.
    The index mainly covers the UK, but New Zealand, the U.S., South Africa, Australia and Canada are also available.
  • Booksellers and Printers
    An alphabetical list, with details, of those who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland.
  • Coal Mining History Resource Centre (Archived)
    The Coal Mining History Resource Centre appears to have ceased operating as of May 2016.
    The Coal Mining History Resource Centre website includes an online database of over 164,000 people who were killed or injured while working in coal mines.
  • Police Roll of Honour
    The National Police Officers Roll of Honour and Remembrance is an ongoing historical record of all British police officers, including those in service with Colonial or UK administered Forces overseas, who lost their lives in the line of duty, since the earliest days of professional law enforcement over three centuries ago.The roll includes the police forces of:
    • England
    • Wales
    • Scotland
    • Northern Ireland
    • British Transport Police
    • Ministry of Defence Police
    • Port of Bristol Police
    • Port of Tilbury London Police
    • Mersey Tunnels Police
  • The Clergy Database
    If want to find a clergyman for your family tree, you’ll probably find him here. The database provides principal records of clerical careers from over 50 archives in England and Wales with the aim of providing coverage of as many clerical lives as possible from the Reformation to the mid-nineteenth century.
  • The Bankrupt Directory 1820-1843
    An alphabetical register of bankrupts with their addresses and trades.
  • Medical Register 1913
    Contains the names, addresses, qualifications and more of more than 41,000 British doctors.