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Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Ancestor's Occupations

It's Saturday Night,
time for more Genealogy Fun!!

For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), answer the question:

1)  What were the occupations of your ancestors?

2)  Please go back several generations (say parents or grandparents or great-grandparents) and list the occupations that they had in the records you've found for them.  You could do this, say, by ancestor table number.

3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

I am also listing by ancestor number, skipping myself. Some of my ancestors were easy to document because California has both city directories and voter registrations to supplement time between census records. But my Texas ancestors have few records. I am also stopping with my great-grandparents.

2. William J. Hork (1930-2007), my father, had these occupations:
  • 1950: Fitzpatrick Chevy Dealer as parts chaser and grease monkey
  • 1953: Flying A Service station
  • 1955: Assistant Manager at Public Loan Corp[1]
  • 1957-1962: Clerk at Safeway[2]
  • 1963-1970s: Produce Clerk, Manager, and Buyer for LoRay Stores in Walnut Creek, which later was bought out by Ralphs.
  • 1979: Ran a produce stand in Hayward.
  • 1980-1993: Worked as a produce clerk for Safeway

 

3. Lela Nell Johnston (1934-1992), my mother, had these occupations:
  • 1952: clerk at J.C. Penney
  • 1953-1992: housewife and mother


4. William Cyril Hork (1899-1967), my paternal grandfather, had these known occupations:
  • 1918-1919: Seaman 2nd class, in Mare Island, and at Submarine Base in San Pedro, California[3]
  • 1919: Laborer for NB Keeney & Son, Hamilton, MT
  • 1920-1921: clerk for AJ Hork, merchant, Hamilton, MT
  • 1921: laborer, Equity Corp Association, Hamilton, MT
  • 1922: farming, CM Moore, Hamilton, MT
  • 1922: Warehouseman for the Northern Pacific Railway in Hamilton, Montana[4]
  • 1923: Clerk in Los Angeles, California[5]
  • 1925: Laborer in Los Angeles.[6]
  • 1926: Salesman, in Los Angeles.[7]
  • 1930: worked on a farm as a laborer.[8]
  • 1932: worked as a driver.[9]
  • 1936: worked as a foreman, place unknown.[10]
  • 1940: worked for the government, in the WPA program[11]
  • 1942: worked as a pipe liner probably for the WPA at the Ontario Municipal Airport[12]
  • 1946-1960s: he did not work, living at the national Military Hospital in Los Angeles.


4. Anna Marie Sullivan (1892-1979), my paternal grandmother had these occupations:
  • 1915-1922: teacher for various school districts in Montana[13]
  • 1922-1939: wife and mother
  • 1939-1940: waitress at cafĂ© in San Bernardino[14]
  • 1940-1943: waitress at Cozy Corner in Napa, California[15]
  • 1944-1948: teacher at one room school house in Napa county[16]
  • 1949-1962: teacher at William Elementary School in Concord and substitute teacher in Pittsburg, California[17]


6.  Tom J. Johnston (1912-1973), my maternal grandfather had these occupations:
  • 1930: listed as a ranch hand[18]
  • 1930s-1950s: carpenter, working various jobs
  • 1950s: ran a bar/pool hall and taxi service with his brother
  • 1960s-1973: maintenance carpenter at Diablo Valley College

 


7.  Pansy Louise Lancaster (1913-2013), my maternal grandmother had these occupations:
  • 1950s-1975: worked as saleslady for woman’s boutiques, lastly The Clothes Horse. She also did alternations at women’s and men’s stores.
 
8.  Johan Anton Hork (1843-1906), my paternal great-grandfather worked only as a tailor.[19]

9.  Julia Ann Sievert (1854-1928), my paternal great-grandmother did not work outside the home.

10. John H. Sullivan (1854-1932), my paternal great-grandfather worked primarily as an electrician for the Anaconda Mining Company.[20]

11. Anna Marie Gleeson (1860-1912), my paternal great-grandmother did not work outside the home. She was a farmer, as she obtained a homestead.[21]

12. Thomas Newton Johnston (1885-1951), my maternal great-grandfather worked at:
  • 1907-1917: farmer[22]
  • 1918-1940s: worked at a lumber yard[23]


13. Nell L. Hutson (1888-1919), my maternal great-grandmother did not work outside the home.

14. George Warren Lancaster (1893-1964), my maternal great-grandfather worked at the following:
  • 1910s-1920s: worked as a farmer, raising first cotton, then grains.[24]
  • 1930s-1950s: worked as an auto mechanic[25]

15. Lela Ann Loveless (1896-1951), my maternal great-grandmother did not work outside

[1] Pittsburg-Antioch City Directory, 1955: 221, Wm J. Hork (Lela N), (Los Angeles, California: R. L. Polk, 1955).
[2] Pittsburg-Antioch City Directory, 1957: 304, Wm J. Hork (Lela N), RL Polk. Also ibid, 1959: 304. Also ibid, 1960: 183. Also ibid, 1962: 203.
[3] Military Enlistments (Montana), World War I, Montana Adjutant General's Office Records 1889-1959 (RS 223), Montana Historical Society Research Center, Helena, Montana., World War I (HAUGEN-JACOBSON), Cyril Willis Hork, ser. no. 173-64-55.
[4] "Northern Pacific Railway Company Personnel Files, 1890-1963," digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 25 Nov 2015), File 144100, Cyril Willis Hork. This application listed all previous work.
[5] Santa Monica, Ocean Park, Venice Sawtelle and Westgate Directory City Directory, 1923, p 303, Cyril W (Anna) Hork,  Los Angeles Directory Co, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com).
[6] Ibid, 1925, p. 430, Wm (Ann) Hork.
[7] "California Voter Registration 1900-1968," 1926, roll 19, Los Angeles Co, Los Angeles Precinct no. 1100, William H. Hork, digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com).
[8] 1930 U.S. census, San Bernardino Co, California, Ontario City, ED 3b-41, sheet sht 13b, p. 182b, dwelling 380, family 453, William Hork; NARA microfilm publication T626, 188.
[9] "California Voter Registration 1900-1968," 1932, San Bernardino Co, Ontario Precinct 15, roll 6, William C. Hork, digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com).
[10] Ibid, 1936, San Bernardino Co, Ontario Precinct 7, William C Hork.
[11] 1940 U.S. census, San Bernardino Co, California, Ontario, ED 36-63, sht 64A, p 903, William C. Hork, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Apr 2012), NARA T627, roll 290;.
[12] "California Voter Registration 1900-1968," 1942, San Bernardino Co, Ontario Precinct No. 18, roll 12, William C. Hork, digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com). See also World War II Draft Registration Records, Selective Service Records, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, D.S.S. Form 1, William Cyril Hork, ser. no. 849.
[13] Polk's Anaconda (Deer Lodge County, Mont) City Directory, 1918, p 311, Anna Sullivan, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com).
[14] 1940 U.S. census, San Bernardino Co, California, Cucamonga, ED 36-36, sheet sht 65a, p. 472, household 150, Anna M Hork, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com).
[15] Napa City Directory, 1942: 73, Anne Hork, Polk-Husted Directory Co, 1942.
[16] Ibid, 1948-49: 112.
[17] Contra Costa Gazette, Martinez, California; clippings/newspaper held by the Contra Costa County Historical Society History Center, Martinez, California, "Williams School Enrollment", 1 Sep 1949, mentions Mrs Ann Hork.
[18] 1930 U.S. census, Erath Co, Texas, pop sched, Stephenville, enumeration district (ED) 2, sheet 3b, p. 40b (stamped), dwelling 55, family 63, Thomas T Johnston, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 18 May 2011), T626, roll 2326.
[19] 1900 U.S. Census, Ravalli County, Montana, population schedule, ED 81, Sheet 15a, p 33 (stamped), household/family 285, John A Hork, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jun 2011), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 914. See also numerous city directories in Hamilton, Montana, Portland, Oregon and Detroit, Michigan.
[20] 1900 U.S. census, Deer Lodge County, Montana, population schedule, Anaconda, ED 15, sht 1, dwelling 24, family 24, John Sullivan, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jun 2011), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 911.
[21] Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Record Group 49; Records of the Bureau of Land Management; National Archives, Washington, D.C., Ann Gleeson (Davison County) homestead file, final certificate no. 14038, Mitchell, South Dakota, Land Office.
[22] 1900 U.S. census, Comanche Co, Texas, pop. sched., Justice Precinct 3 (part of), enumeration district (ED) 7, sheet 1a, p. 168a, dwelling 8, family 8, Thomas N. Johnston, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Nov 2011), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1541.
[23] 1940 U.S. census, Erath Co, Texas, population sched., Stephenville, enumeration district (ED) ED 72-34, 8a, p. 32 (stamped), household 188, Tom N Johnston; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 December 2015).
[24] 1920 U.S. census, Erath Co, pop. sched., ED 7, sht 3A, Dublin Public Highway, dwelling 44, family 45, Warren Lancaster, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), T625, roll 1801.
[25] 1940 U.S. census, Erath Co, Texas, pop sched., Stephenville, ward 2, enumeration district (ED) 72-7, 4A, household 75, Warren Lancaster; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 April 2012).

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