So nothing much changes. People still have several different jobs in order to make ends meet. What they put on their tax forms is something that must give them a headache. This must also have been the case in the 19th century when stating their occupations to the census takers or any other official document. One thing that does occur today and must have equally been the case then is changing one's job and complete occupational direction. Back at the beginning of the police force in London, my 3 x great grandfather gave his occupation on his son and daughter's baptismal entry as mariner when, in fact, he had been a policeman for more than a year. This was very confusing until I looked into the origins of the early police force and found that the few policemen that were around suffered threats to their own and their families' lives, personal assault and all sorts. I should imagine that he and his wife took a joint decision to conceal his true occupation. By the time the last child was born and registered in the civil registry, the police force was regarded in a better light and he probably felt sufficiently confident to declare his true occupation of police constable as this is what appears. Audrey ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sally Welker" <sally@allidaho.com> To: <OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 7:23 AM Subject: [OEL] Combined Occupation > My 3xGGranddad was listed on the 1861 Walsall Census as tailor and letter carrier...on his death certificate a few years later his occupation was given as hair dresser!? His son (my 2xGGranddad) was the informant...Still puzzled... > Sally in USA > > > ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== > OLD-ENGLISH Web Page > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ > >