A to Z Challenge 2020 - Reflections on my A to Z about Occupations

My reflections on the Blogging A to Z Challenge

As usual, I didn't decide to do the challenge until the last minute - I guess that's how I get my inspiration. When I have too much time, I over think it. This is my third time, I seem to be joining in every second year! 

The theme of Ancestor Occupations was fun and interesting to do. It made me really think about what my ancestors did for a living, day to day, and how to find out more about it. And to think that when I started down this genealogy road I though all my ancestors were "just farmers". 

I thank all who visited my blog for their support and kind comments. I enjoyed following other genealogy bloggers to see what interesting posts they come up with for all the letters, especially the hard ones. 

Congratulations to you all! 

A to Z Challenge 2020 - Z

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

ZOO WORKERS

Z. The last letter and the next generation.

I was wondering what occupation I was going to write for the letter Z when one of my daughters said "Ahem! Mom!! Does it have to be an ancestor?  You have four daughters that worked at a ZOO!!"
Oh!  Right! 

We lived in Hemmingford, a little village south of Montreal and not far from the border to New York. It was great when Parc Safari opened in 1974 as it gave students a place to work in the summer. My sister also worked there during the summer when she was in college.

I got quotes from all four girls about their time working there. I couldn't find a photo of Cindy in her uniform, dang! But her friend had drawn a cartoon of them in Cindy's yearbook. 


CINDY

I actually quite enjoyed working at the Parc. I had some fun times. I was there from 1989-92 (15 to 18 years old). 

My friend and I always had fun working together. One time it had been pouring rain and got cold and most of the people left the park, but we stayed open. We started having a “snowball fight” with the snow cone ice. We started getting a little crazy and started shrieking and laughing and since it had been raining, one side of our canvas cover was closed. So we couldn’t see who was coming. All of a sudden from around the corner comes one of the owners and he looked angry and said to us “Give me one good reason why this should be happening right now?!?” We both just stared at him all stunned and embarrassed. We didn’t answer him. He walked away. We giggled and laughed and then cleaned up. A little while later our boss came by to tell us to close up and said something about the big boss seeing is throwing ice. She just said “you shouldn’t do that” we said we knew. And that was that. 

Cindy was working there during The Great Escape of 1989

75 Monkeys on the lam

JULIE

I worked there for 4 summers from 1990 to 1994 (15 to 19 yrs old). 

First two summers were in the "Restaurant" section. I was mostly at the candy shack by the stadium where we sold ice cream, nachos, popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy. We had to sell snow cones at the shows (4 times a day, 2 at the stadium and 2 at the Theater in the Woods which was a magic show). I hated every minute of it! We had aluminum trays that hung around our neck and they would be loaded up with 12 to 18 snow cones. They were expensive and they melted fast. Sometimes the juice would saturate the paper cone and melt down my leg. There were always wasps flying around and I was stung 3 times over that time.

After 2 summers of that I asked if I could be transferred to Admissions. I liked working in the booth, taking admission payments and sometimes I had to stand between the cars that were lined up before they paid to sell them animal food and other souvenirs (colouring books, hats, etc). One time before we opened an Ostrich got to our side of the Texas gate. I had just put my cash in and looked up and there it was staring at me! I called it in (thank goodness we had phones in our booth!) They initially didn't believe me and said it was impossible or thought I was looking at it way off in the distance on the other side of the Texas gate. They finally sent someone to see and realized I was right! Took 6 grown men to get that Ostrich back where it belonged.

MELANIE

I worked there from 1993-97 (15-18 years old). They changed the uniforms from the yellow and red to navy and teal.

I started out at the “Stade” (stadium) the first summer, selling cotton candy and popcorn and ice cream, and trays of sno-cones during the shows.The next years I worked in “Zumba” near the pool. We sold cotton candy, popcorn and sno-cones.I did break relief also at the Theatre restaurant, in the deer park and on the elevated walkway (my favourite).One time I was getting a ride home with friends but was finished first so I had to wait for them. Near Care’s restaurant (the Stade) was the elephant ride where my friend worked. I was sitting on the exit stairs of the platform chatting with my friend and sharing my popcorn with Churchill (the elephant) and she sneezed on me.  Ever been sneezed on by an elephant? Not cool.

JAMEE

I worked at Parc Safari in 1994 at age 15. My uniform was way too big.

I stood at a little cooler and sold Haagen Dazs bars out of it. No chair or stool, no umbrella to block the sun. People constantly came up to me to complain about the price but never bought any (as if my 14 yr old self had anything to do with setting the price). $3 for an ice cream bar. You could walk 20 ft from there and buy a huge ice cream cone for $1.75! One day I’m pretty sure I was getting heat stroke from standing in the sun all day next to that cooler. After taking crap from multiple people about the price of ice cream bars my boss came up to me yelling at me for not smiling enough. Two seconds later, the owners who happened to be touting the park that day came up to us and said I should have an umbrella to shade me, and maybe a stool to sit on. My boss says “I was just saying that!” (She wasn’t). Another time it was pouring rain, people were fleeing the park like mad. Here comes the boss and I’m thinking she’s going to lock the cooler and let me go home. Nope, she gave me a garbage bag to wear as a raincoat. I quit.

And there you have it, the experiences of four teenage sisters working at the Zoo in the late 80s to early 90s. The kids were paid an average $6/hour, sometimes working pretty long days, especially in full swing of summer. I asked them to put at least half their paycheck in savings and they could spend the other half. 

A to Z Challenge 2020 - Y

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

YARDMASTER

John Thomson Tait was my paternal great grandfather, born 1863 in Liverpool and lived in Bath, Lancashire. 

When he immigrated from England to Montreal in 1865 he started working as a porter, then a foreman for Canadian Pacific Railway. 

Canada Car Co opened a railcar manufacturing plant in 1905 along the Lachine Canal in Turcot (St.Henri) Quebec, then a village within the city of Montreal, beside the Grand Trunk Railway Turcot Yard. John started working there as a Yardman, then quickly became Yardmaster.

BAnQ, Fire Plans of Montreal

Yardmaster is a railway term for a supervisor. He does the work, and also checks on and supervises the work of the yardmen.
John Tait was in charge of the making of cars for passenger trains for the Grand Trunk Railway, though Canada Car also made freight cars and streetcars. At this time the cars were made of wood.

Photo used with permission from Canada Science and Technology Museum

Wooden first class Grand Trunk Railway passenger car c.1907

Their customers included the Grand Trunk Railway, Canadian Northern Railway and Montreal Street Railway. In 1909 Canada Car merged with two other companies and became Canadian Car and Foundry. Soon after they made steel cars. They were the largest car builders in Canada.

On the 1911 census John stated that he earned $960 a year and had a life insurance policy of $2000 for which he paid $24. 

In 1925 at the age of 62 John semi-retired and worked as a store clerk for General Electric. John Tait died in 1931 at the age of 67.

A to Z Challenge 2020 - X

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

XYLOGRAPHER

Xy•log•ra•phy ...

           the art of engraving on wood, or of printing from such engravings.

I am being a little liberal here, as tho not for printing purposes my 2x great grandfather did do engraving on wood. 

John Seale of Barriefield, Pittsburgh, Ontario came to Canada from Ireland as a soldier. When he was pensioned he stayed in Canada and worked as a cabinetmaker with a shop on King Street in Kingston. 

John made some of the furniture for their home. It is said he engraved the backs of the dining room chairs with the Seale Coat of Arms, this drawing of which hung on the walls of the family home.

John's son Alexander was the last to live in the home and when he died unmarried most of the contents were given to family members or sold. I had found a reference to the furniture in an inventories file of Kingston Archives and when I contacted the archivist there, he told me the furniture was sold at auction to a Mr Hamilton of Toronto. 

The oldest daughter, Anne Seale married neighbour James Hamilton, so I wonder if it was a relation?

I dream of one day finding at least a photo of one of the chairs, if not a chair itself. 

A to Z Challenge 2020 - W

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

WIRELESS OPERATOR

During both wars, all wireless and amateur radio stations were ordered to shut down, except those taken over by the military. 


On 29 Jan 1916 a government Order in Council was passed establishing a rank to be known as "Wireless Operator" in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve.

Orders in Council 0162 - 29 Jan 1916 pg.3

My great uncle Wilfred Tait, born 1897 in Montreal, Quebec was a Wireless Operator in the RCNVR during the First World War.

Wilfred joined the RCNVR in September 1914 at the age of 17, and applied for a position in the government Telegraph Service 12 October 1917 when he could already operate using the Continental Code at 14 words a minute. 

Wilfred was assigned to the HMCS Niobe (training and depot ship in Halifax) for wireless training in his first appointment as Wireless Learner. 

From service file of Wilfred Tait, ordered from LAC

Wilfred was listed on the May 1918 Navy List as W/L (Wireless Learner) and was assigned to a CD-25 patrol boat.

The Navy List May 1918 pg.46

Wilfred was promoted to 4th class W/O (Wireless Operator) starting 10 June 1918 and soon assigned to the HMCS Seagull

Up to and including WWI, the crew of navy ships were awarded shares of prize money for destroying or capturing enemy vessels during times of war. The money was distributed in three installments at the end of the war. When the money was ready to be distributed it was announced in the newspaper and the person had to apply for it. 

Third Distribution - Montreal Gazette, Jan 14, 1924 pg 2, col.4

Being a Wireless Operator on submarine chasers Wilfred was entitled to shares of the prize money.  He received his first check 4 Nov 1920 of £5 for his share of the prize money, his second check 11 Apr 1923 of £7 10d, and the third check of £1 on 1 Feb 1924.

After the war Wilfred started Square-D Electric Company in Montreal. 

Wilfred Tait died suddenly in July 1940 at the age of 43. 

Being a wireless operator can also be a hobby. Then it is called Amateur Radio, or Ham Radio, and there are ham clubs all over the world. 

My husband is an avid sailor and thought it would be a good idea to get a wireless radio on his boat. Often where he sails there is no cell reception. He took the course, which at the time included morse code. He then chose his call sign (the VA7 part is for our area) and got his ham license.

My husband had a ham shack in our basement but he mostly used the one on the boat. The boating net is active all summer, giving weather information, which anchoring places are full so don't bother going there, such and such a place is having a free shrimp boil, or has any one seen or heard from so and so today as he hasn't checked in? The moderators are all volunteer and it is such a good safety thing, as well as social.  

A to Z Challenge 2020 - V

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

VICTUALLER

My great great grandfather, George Singleton, was a Victualler in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, having moved there from Preesall with Hackensall.  

In 1862 George had the Victualler's License for the Pub on Queen Ann Street, Liverpool  transferred from Thomas Bunson, deceased.

Transfer of Victualler Licenses, Liverpool Daily Post

28 Nov 1862, pg.7 @ FMP

In 1888 George was granted permission to transfer his Queen Ann Pub license to James Gregory.

George then bought a license for the Richmond Arms Pub for which he was victualler until 1894. Then George moved into a lodging house on Springfield.

I don't have the particulars of what happened, but I do know George was not a happy man, especially since the death of his wife in 1882. At one time he entered and bet on courses with his dogs, and apparently he drank a lot, which seemed to be a hazard of owning or working in a pub. So on a very windy and rainy 13th day of December in 1894 George took himself off to the workhouse. 

FMP - Liverpool Mercury 13 Dec 1894, pg.6 

George admitted himself to the medical ward of the Liverpool Board of Guardians Workhouse, given number 1589, and in remarks on the admittance register was written "no friends". 

Liverpool Parish Workhouse

He was discharged from the workhouse about four months later on 4 April 1895. George then went back to living in the lodging house at 22 Springfields. 

On 2 December 1896 at the age of 60 George committed suicide by poison.

A to Z Challenge 2020 - U

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

ULVERTON WOOLEN MILL BUILDER & WORKER

In 1849 William Reed Dunkerley bought Lot 10 with 200 acres of land in Ulverton, a village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. My 2x great grandfather John Porter built the mill there in 1850. The mill was later turned into a woolen mill.

After a couple of other owners, in 1895 the mill and all buildings were purchased by Albert Harry Hepworth, a woolen manufacturer from Vaudreuil. In 1900 the town paid John Porter $5 for a design, then had him build the covered bridge that went over the river to the mill. 

Original Mill bridge 1952

Farmers brought their wool to the mill for carding, spinning and colouring. Albert's brother George Hepworth worked at the mill as a spinner and was earning about $300 a year. In 1903 George Hepworth married Salome Margaret Porter, my great grand aunt and one of the daughters of my 2x great grandfather John Porter.

The mill employed 10-15 workers who laboured ten hours a day, six days a week. A carder was making about $175-200 /year 

In 1906 Albert sold the mill to neighbour Joseph Blanchette and moved his family to Red Deer, Alberta. George still worked for the new owner for a few years, then in 1918 George, Aunt Salome and their children moved to Red Deer. 


The mill shut down in 1944, was used as a mink farm for a brief period then abandoned.

In 1982 the mill was recognized as a heritage property and was restored. It is now open as a very unique interpretive center, with working antique machinery. Visitors can see all the steps in the process of cleaning, sorting, carding and spinning the wool, and the making of woolen socks, which they sell in their store.

You can see in the video the socks being made into the basket lower left.

This is how they come out of the machine. Just snip and sew.

A to Z Challenge 2020 - T

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

TAILOR

I have written some about my 2x great grandfather Andrew Smith Tait, who was a tailor in Bath, Somerset. In 1878 while still in Liverpool Andrew took out a patent (Patent No 1168) for his secret pocket in pants and a better fit.  The family moved to Bath about 1887. Andrew had his shop on Broad Street. His children all learned the tailoring business and some worked with him part time to help out. Here are some stories of his children.


In 1891 Andrew set up Tait Bros, a tailoring shop on Green Street, for two of his sons, William and Andrew Eli. 

FMP - This ad was in most papers around Bath

William is in court in 1897, as the plaintiff asking for payment.

William Tait, tailor of Green Street, sought to recover £1 10s for the making of a jacket, bodice, and skirt for the wife of the defendant, Charles Rich, 34 Belvedere, Bath, sanitary engineer. There was a counter-claim to the amount of £1 5s for the material of which the coat and skirt was made, which it was alleged had been damaged through plaintiff's unskilfulness. His Honour found for the plaintiff on the claim and dismissed the counter-claim with costs. 

In 1899 William got in trouble for "allowing" two of his seamstresses to work overtime.

"William Tait, of 4 Belvedere, was summoned for allowing two of his employees, Nellie Rice and Lily Jones, to work after four o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 13th of may. Mr J S Maitland, Inspector of Factories and Workshops, prosecuted. Harold Shorland, Inspector's assistant, said he visited Mr Tait's tailoring workshop at about 4:55 pm on the 13th of May and found two girls working there. He said he had warned Mr Tait some months ago. The defendant pleaded guilty and he was fined £1 or 14 day's in each case."

(Update: The Factory Act permitted women and children to work only these hours: 
Week days 6 am to 6 pm and Saturdays 6 am to 2 pm. From what I can tell with a bit of research these two were young girls)


William died in October 1900.

In 1901 there was a terrible boating accident in which Andrew Eli lost his fiancé and he almost drowned. A few days later their father died suddenly. 


Andrew Eli kept the shop on Green Street for a few years, then in the 1920s it was run by his daughter, Dora Constance Tait. She kept the old W. Tait sign. 

Green Street c1920s - from Bath in Time

Andrew Eli opened Tait & Son, Ladies' & Gentlemen's Tailors, with his son Bernard Tait, at No.1 Northumberland Buildings on Wood Street. 

Northumberland Buildings - from Bath in Time

According to the 1925 Bath Directory their sister Elizabeth Reid Tait was a tailoress with Reid & Collins, costumiers at No.5 Wood Street, Queen Square, across the street from the Northumberland Bldgs. 

Google street view, reimagined

In September of 1935 two strangers to the city of Bath were seen stealing a car by Andrew Eli Tait, who was looking out his shop window. 

FMP - Bath Chronicle 7 Sept 1935

After a bit of a search the men were found and taken to the police station where they were put in an identification parade, and identified by Mr Tait and a witness to the chase.
The prisoners were charged with taking from Queen Street, Bath, a Standard Twelve motor car, value £235, without the consent of the owner or other lawful authority. 
Both pleaded guilty and were sent to prison, one for three months and the other for one month. 

My father visited his great uncle Andrew Eli Tait when he was in England in 1943 

Elizabeth Reid Tait died unmarried September 1945 and left a small sum of money to her brother Andrew Eli. 

Andrew Eli Tait died January 1951 at the age of 72. 


These Tait's had an ancestor William Tait (son of my 5x great grandfather George Tait) that was a tailor in 1798 in Edinburgh. 

A to Z Challenge 2020 - S

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is to post everyday (except Sunday) in the month of April 2020 starting with the letter A and going all the way to Z. My theme is...
Ancestor Occupations 

SEAMSTRESS

My great Aunt Bessie (Elizabeth Susanna Gay, née King) was an accomplished seamstress. Her stitches were so small, so straight, so precisely placed that today you would think they were made by machine.  She made beautiful smocked dresses for me when I was little.

During the Second World War jobs were rationed. Bessie's husband was too ill to work and to be able to get a job Bessie had to prove to the government that she was the only adult working in the household. Bessie was able to get work as the resident seamstress at the Montreal Children's Hospital on Guy Street. 

Bessie's seamstress talents were used mostly for fashioning garments for burn victims. She would measure the child then design and sew by hand special garments for them. Many of the children she sewed for got burned by sticking a bobby pin into an electrical socket. That made her very vigilant at home when children were around. 

I would imagine it is not a job you can do for many years without it affecting you. When she left the hospital after the war Bessie went to work as buyer and decorator for the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Montreal.