Occupation Abstract

1841 Census Occupation Abstract – full occupation details now required

For the 1841 Census, a separate Occupation Report was published, known as the ‘Occupation Abstract’. The Preface to this abstract described how it would include ‘all the occupations carried on by the inhabitants of this kingdom, of whatever age or sex.’ The Preface went on to concede that, whilst the 1831 census had gone some way to accurately record the occupations of the British population, the use of pre-determined lists of occupations had resulted in a ‘want of uniformity in the … designation of occupations not included in those lists’.

Prior to the 1841 Census, there had been a growing desire to measure trends in occupation as well as pure population numbers. The table below lists the questions relating to occupation in each census from 1801 to 1841:

Census	Source	Details
1801	Enumeration abstract. Page 3. Question 3.	Number of Persons chiefly employed in - Agriculture; - Trade, Manufactures [manufacturing], or Handicraft; - None of the above.
1811	Obervations and Enumeration Abstract. Preliminary Observations Page ix Question 4.	Number of Families chiefly employed in - Agriculture; - Trade, Manufactures [manufacturing], or Handicraft; - None of the above.
1821	Observations, enumeration and parish register abstracts. Page iv Question 4.	ditto
1831	Enumeration abstract (Part 1) Page v Question 4.	ditto
	Enumeration abstract (Part 1) Page vi Questions 7. - 14.	An additional series of questions, mainly aimed at males aged over 20 years of age, to record various categories of employment from a pre-determined list.
1841	Occupation Abstract Preface p. 7	all the occupations carried on by the inhabitants of this kingdom, of whatever age or sex

Abbreviations and Guidance given to the enumerators

The Preface to the Enumeration Abstract of the 1841 population Census of Great Britain provided guidance to the ‘enumerators’ (those who were engaged in the collection of census information) on completion of the Enumeration Schedules.

The Enumeration Schedules for the 1841 Census now included a column entitled “Profession, Trade, Employment, or of Independent Means.”. The enumerators now had to provide a description of each person’s employment, rather than complete an agreed list of occupations.

To save the enumerator’s time, an acceptable list of abbreviations was also provided and these are set below:

Description	Abbreviation
No other abbreviations were allowed, including 'rank' or terms such as 'esq' or 'gentleman'.
Independent (i.e. any person living on their means rather than having a profession. )	"Ind."
All persons serving in the military.	- "H.P." = half-pay - "P." = pensioner These abbreviations were suffixed by 'army' or 'navy' as appropriate.
All domestic servants	"M.S." = male servant "F.S." = female servant 'without statement of their particular duties, as whether butler, groom, gardener, housekeeper, cook, &c. &c.'
All other professions, trades, or employments, suffixed by the following abbreviations if applicable:	"J." = Journeymen "Ap." = Apprentice (A 'journeyman' was a skilled tradesman but not yet a 'master' craftsman. Anyone not described as a journeyman or apprentice was considered a 'master'.) "Sh." = Shopman
Manufacturer	"M"
Maker	m. (prefixed by trade e.g. ‘shoemaker’ = “shoe m.”)
Clerk	"Cl."
Agricultural labourer - including 'all farming servants and labourers in husbandry'.	"Ag. lab."

Anyone living on their means, and having no profession, was recorded as ‘ind’ (i.e. ‘independent’). This included men, widows or single women.

Domestic servant was the most recorded occupation. The least recorded was ‘ice dealer’ (5).

The occupation/profession of the following were not to be recorded in the census:
– wives, sons or daughters living with and assisting with their husbands/parents but not apprenticed/salaried.