The Occupations of my Ancestors

Work has always been a necessary part of our lives, and the lives of our ancestors. Over thousands of years, the principle has been for individuals and groups to work in order to survive - whether it is working for our self, working for others, or working for a government entity. From work, we receive remuneration in the form of cash, credit or products in order to nurture and support our families.

I knew about my work life, and that of my parents, and my grandparents, and in general about my ancestors back into the 18th century and beyond, thanks to family papers, my own research, or published materials. I wrote about my work life here. It is completely different from that of most of my ancestors. I sat at a desk for many years doing analysis and testing. Almost all of my 19th century ancestors did physical labor inside and outside as farmers, tradesmen or craftsmen.

Here's a list back six generations (males only) in ancestor list order, with residences listed by county:

1. Randall J. Seaver -- aerospace engineer/manager, genealogist (San Diego County CA)

2. Frederick W. Seaver (1911-1983) -- insurance agent (Worcester County MA, San diego County CA)

4. Frederick W. Seaver (1876-1940) -- superintendent of a comb shop (Worcester County MA)

6. Lyle L. Carringer (1891-1977) -- auditor, accountant (San Diego County CA)

8. Frank W. Seaver (1852-1922) -- teamster, comb shop worker/superintendent (Worcester County MA)

10. Thomas Richmond (1848-1917) -- carder, overseer of wool mill (Wiltshire, England, Windham County CT, Worcester County MA)

12. Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) -- carpenter, aviation mechanic (Louisa County IA, Boulder County CO, San Diego County CA)

14. Charles Auble (1849-1916) -- painter (Vigo County IN, Cook County IL, San Diego County CA)

16. Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) -- blacksmith (Worcester County MA)

18. Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) -- combmaker, machinist (Worcester County MA)

20. James Richman (1821-1912) -- coal laborer, farm laborer, woolen mill worker, farmer (Wiltshire, England, Providence County RI, Windham County CT)

22. Henry White (1824-1885) -- weaver, worker in cotton mill, carpenter (Providence County RI, Windham County CT)

24. David Jackson Carringer (1828-1902) -- carpenter, farmer (Mercer County PA, Louisa County IA, Boulder County CO)

26. Devier J. Smith (1839-1894) -- livery/feed stable worker/owner, farmer, speculator, inventor (Dodge County WI, Taylor County IA, Andrew County MO, Cloud County KS, Red Willow County NE)

28. David Auble (1817-1894) -- boot and shoe worker, boot and shoemaker (Sussex County NJ, Vigo County IN)

30. James Abram Kemp (1831-1902) -- carpenter, innkeeper (Norfolk County, Ontario)

32. Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) -- farmer (Worcester County MA)

34. Alpheus B. Smith (1791-1840) -- farmer (Norfolk County MA)

36. Zachariah Hildreth (1784-1857) -- farmer, cooper (Middlesex County MA)

38. Thomas J. Newton (????-????) -- ???? (Maine?)

40. John Richman (1788-1867) -- coal hauler, butcher (Wiltshire, England)

42. John Rich (1793-1868) -- weaver (Wiltshire, England)

44. Jonathan White (1806-1850) -- farmer (Providence County RI, Windham County CT)

46. Jonathan Oatley (1793-1872) -- preacher, stone cutter, mason (Washington County RI, Windham County CT)

48. Henry Carringer (1800-1881) -- farmer (Mercer County PA, Louisa County IA)

50. John Daniel Spangler (1781-1851) -- farmer (York County PA, Mercer County PA)

54. Samuel Vaux (1814-1880) -- farmer (Somerset, England, Erie County NY, Dodge County WI, Andrew County MO, Marshall County KS)

56. Johannes Able (1780-1831) -- farmer (Sussex County NJ)

58. William Knapp (1775-1856) -- shoemaker (Dutchess County NY, Middlesex County NJ, Sussex County NJ)

60. Abraham James Kemp (1795-1881) -- farmer (Prince Edward County, Ontario, Norfolk county, Ontario)

62. Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907) -- farmer (Norfolk County, Ontario)

Not a president, captain of industry, or man of higher learning among them. But they all worked for a living and did all right for themselves and their families. I appreciate each one of them.