Help with 1911 Cdn Census Occupation

[Mary Anne]

Hello, everyone

I need some help form the good folks who can read execrable handwriting and a French translation:

I have a William James Sharpe in St. Louis Ward, Québec City (p. 6, family 64). His occupation looks to me like "mech. poterie" and the place of work like "Thos & Co. Ltd."

Does anyone know French terminology used for occupations who could tell me what this one is??

In other censuses (censiii?) this gent was a clerk, an accountant and a travelling salesman. What did he do in 1911??

Thanks in advance


Mary Anne

[Waitabit]

Could he be a merchant in pottery? no? I have no French & mech. sounds like mechanic, oh heck, I just 'googled 'mech. sorry I did that.
Best wait for someone who knows what they're doing! Sorry.

[Jan1954]

Crikey, Mary Anne! That is one doozie of a census! Some of these enumerators deserved to have been shot!

It looks like "something poterie" to me as well. However, I am not 100% convinced about the first word. Poterie is pottery in English, but it would seem strange for your chap to change occupations so drastically from clerical/sales work into mechanics.

Any chance of laying your eyes on any directories of the day to suss out the company for whom he worked? That may provide a clue.

Edit: Just seen Waitabit's reply and "merchant" does seem more plausible.

[Mary Anne]

Thanks, folks

Since I posted this, I have actually been doing some more delving (sorry, even tho we seem to have lots of LOVELY new smileys, there doesn't seem to be one with shovel....)

and... I find the baptism of his youngest child, which was just January before the June of the census, and his occupation is listed as "merchant" so I think Waitabit wins the Gold Star . Some day I will check the directories and I bet there's a Thomson or Thomas (or something) company that sells china.

Darn, these enumerators who filled in the census in a mixture of French and English drive me mad (even if that is the way we all used to talk at uni)

Thanks all for your attempts

Mary Anne

[Sue Mackay]

Ancestry have him indexed as William Jane . Presumably the first word is meant to be an abbreviation for merchant? I'd certainly go with pottery merchant.