Deciphering an occupation

[Kath Betts]

Can anyone help me to decipher this please?

In the 1841 census a family member is shown with the following occupation. I suspect the at the Ap probably stands for apprentice and the other letters look like Harr to me but what are the 2 squiggles just above? They look like “ss” but why?

He is shown as 15 so would be anywhere between 15 to 19, his father is a Baker but I can’t think of a connection there.

Kath

I think that I have attached the image I will post the message and see!

[Londonwhay]

Can anyone help me to decipher this please?

In the 1841 census a family member is shown with the following occupation. I suspect the at the Ap probably stands for apprentice and the other letters look like Harr to me but what are the 2 squiggles just above? They look like “ss” but why?

He is shown as 15 so would be anywhere between 15 to 19, his father is a Baker but I can’t think of a connection there.

Kath

I think that I have attached the image I will post the message and see!
Can't see your image Kath. If you want to send it to me via PM I'll have a look, can't promise anything though.

Glenda

[Kath Betts]

Thank you Glenda I will do that. I am not sure why the image is not displaying.

Kath

[Peter Goodey]

Attachments seem rather iffy. Best to put it on a website temporarily where everyone can see it. Advantage then is you can show the whole page and the rest of the guy's handwriting is visible for comparison.If you mail it to me, I'll show you what I mean.

[Peter Goodey]

On Kath's behalf, I've posted the image here -


http://www.inertia.demon.co.uk/gen/

[Londonwhay]

On Kath's behalf, I've posted the image here -


http://www.inertia.demon.co.uk/gen/
I've had a look and this is the message I sent to Kath off list,

"it looks to me as if the ss may have been added at a later date, perhaps some keen genealogist marking the original document? Otherwise I wonder if it's meant to read father's apprentice?"

Now those of you who have been doing this longer than me, (OK so it's most of you, :) ) can let Kath know if you think I am on the right lines.

Glenda

[Kath Betts]

I have looked closely again and I am not sure that it is F. I looked further up and saw Mary Hobbs and the initial letter looks similar. Further up the page there is another apprentice and the Ap is formed in the same way on both entries.

Thank you for your thoughts and it will be interesting to see what others make of it!

Kath

[Peter Goodey]

The first letter is identical to the 'H' in the name Hobbs. The next letter is surely 'a'. Then probably an 'r'. The 'ss' looks to me like the enumerator's method of showing an abbreviation. If so, that leaves us with Har*ss (where * is an indeterminate number of missing letters). I keep wanting to think Harness. Harness (maker's) apprentice? No surely not.

Nope. I'm stumped, Kath.

[ChristineR]

I agree with Peter's assessment. It is certainly Har*ss - an abbreviation of an occupation. The two 'SS' are written neatly and are of the same lightness as 'Ap' so that says to me that it hasn't just been added later. Also it has the little '-' below, which is often used when they abbreviate like that. I suppose it has a special name! :) Harness apprentice is a possibility, but you would expect the word Maker to be included. So, thinking caps - another occupation?

Christine
Australia

[ChristineR]

I just did a quick google search - and the occupation of Apprentice Harness Maker shows up a lot in census entries. It is really the only thing that makes sense, the bloke just not bothering to write it in full?

You might be lucky and find young James later on as a Harness Maker. Or just to confuse things, he goes for another occupation, or joins dad in the bakery.

Christine
Australia

[AnnB]

Possibly Hairdresser's Apprentice? I have found such an occupation on a census - and it was a long word which could have been abbrieviated..... :confused:
Best wishes
Ann

[Guy Etchells]

Not sure on this one but I think it is an abbreviation for hairdresser's apprentice
Hair r with a superscript ss to sho missing letters.

I would have liked to have seen more of the census to see how the enumerator coped with such things and to see how he formed his s outside of words.

It seems that this was one of the enumerators who wrote in ink rather than pencil, due to the variations in tone of the writing. The two SS also seem to have been written with a dip pen due to the surplus ink at the start and finish of each letter.
Cheers
Guy

[Peter Goodey]

Kath

If nothing totally convincing turns up, the best I can suggest is this -

If he was an apprentice to a Har*ss, it's reasonable to expect to find a Har*ss, to whom he was apprenticed, elsewhere in the village or in a nearby village.

I'd suggest looking through the village to see what you find and by-the-by look out for other examples of the enumerator's style of showing abbreviations.

[Kath Betts]

Thank you everyone for you thoughts.

I had noticed some of the slight variations and shades that were mentioned but had not considered whether it was written in ink or pencil.

I will take up the suggestions made and study the enumerators writing and also look at who he may have been apprenticed too.

Kath

[TerryK]

Could it possibly be farriers apprentice ?
Terry