Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Humorous Census

Talking of family trees...... I often access the census records I have on C.D. rom.  Not for my family, I have all the information from census records already, but because I am interested in history and to be honest - just plain nosy!!!!!

Looking under occupations can often raise a laugh and leave you wondering.

For instance I came across two occupations that amazed me.

One man gave his occupation as "Tiger Killer".  Now, I may have missed something somewhere but even in Victorian London I cannot imagine that the city was awash with man-eating Tigers!!!!!  Was he employed by the zoo to put down any ailing Tigers they possessed.  If so, his occupation would only have been carried out on very rare occasions.  Or maybe he shipped off to India whenever they had a rogue Tiger problem but unless they paid his way he would have spent more than he earned.  Maybe he was just winding the census enumerator up and the poor soul wrote down exactly what he was told. On the other hand the Tiger killer could have been roaring drunk and came out with the first thing that came into his head!

The second man described himself as a "Peacock carrier".  The mind boggles.  Were they alive, dead or stuffed??????? and just where did he carry them to and why?

I got a wonderful mental image of a London street, packed with Hansom cabs and horses and strolling along, whistling to himself was a man with a struggling Peacock under each arm whilst coming in the opposite direction was another man wearing a pith helmet, crouching, his rifle raised to his shoulder ready and waiting for any stray Tiger that might leap out of a doorway!!

Makes being an I.T. technician, secretary or plumber seem very mundane doesn't it.

Maybe when the next census rolls around I should enter something exotic under my occupation. Let me think........... how about Octopus ink squeezer.  That would certainly give a few giggles to future generations but I doubt the government would let me get away with it.

Guess I shall just have to stick to housewife or better yet - Residential Household Maintenance Operative!!!!  Anyone got any better suggestions?

 

 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

They must have been joking! I have a friend who put the marital status of his (young, male) flatmate as Widow, because that is his nickname for some reason. What the censor thought of that I do not know. I have never been able to locate any rellies in old census records, even when I knew where they lived when. Good on you.

Anonymous said...

Very good Jeannette, it made me laugh out loud when I mentally pictured the image of the Tiger Killer waiting to kill any stray tiger that chanced to be in the East End at the time!  My suggestion for job-description for a housewife is

  SUPERFLOUS CLEANING INDIVIDUAL VITAL for VARIOUS non-INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT or S.C.I.V.V.I.E..... lol anyway keep up the good work!