1. Occupations ending in “wirth(h)”
If your ancestor’s occupation is German word + wirt(h) (that “h” is an old-fashioned spelling and doesn’t change the ending), he is an innkeeper/tavern owner of an inn/tavern named German word. For example, if his occupation reads Bärenwirt, he is the innkeeper (Wirt) of the Bären Inn. If his occupation reads Sternwirth, he is the innkeeper of the Stern Inn.
2. Occupations ending in “weber”
You may be familiar with the occupation of Weber (weaver), but did you know there were different kinds? Some occupations you may see are Leinenweber (linen weaver) and Seidenweber (silk weaver).
3. Occupations ending in “drucker”
Drucker is the word for printer. Occupations you may see with this ending include Buchdrucker (book printer) and Kupferdrucker (copperplate printer).
4. Occupations ending in “mitglied”
Mitglied is actually the word for “member”. So if your word in the occupation column ends in mitglied, it means your ancestor was a “member” of whatever word comes before mitglied. Ratsmitglied, for example, would be a member of the Rat (council).
5. Occupations ending in “pfleger”
Pfleger is the German word for “caretaker”. If your occupation ends in pfleger, therefore, your ancestor was the caretaker of the word before. Waisenpfleger, for example, would be the caretaker of orphans (Waisen), or a guardian, whereas Zunftpfleger would be the caretaker, or warden, of a guild (Zunft).
6. Occupations ending in “bauer”
Bauer is the German word for farmer in genealogy. An occupation ending in bauer, therefore, is a certain type of a farmer. An Achtelbauer, for instance, would be a farmer on an 1/8 (achtel) of a full-sized farm. An Altbauer, on the other hand, would be an “old” (alt) farmer, a farmer on a life estate.
7. Occupations ending in “diener”
Diener is the German word for servant. If your occupation ends in diener, your ancestor was a type of servant. You may see Kirchendiener – literally church servant, but translates as sexton, or Kanzleidiener (government servant), among others.
What other endings have you seen on your occupations? Let us know in the comments!
Related articles:
9 Amazing Websites for Occupations in German Genealogy
What Did You Do For a Living, Ancestor?: Common Occupations in German Genealogy
Taking a Stand!: Understanding the German Word “Stand” (PREMIUM – Guest Post by Ken Weaver)
17 Responses
Bokelmann – I have found it means a person from Bokel, the name of a city or town. No clue if it is a certain town or town versus country home. (Diepholz in Hannover region.)
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Jan Castle
there are several towns/villages named Bokel in the Hannover region. You can go to http://www.meyersgaz.com and search for Bokel. it comes with maps and you can see if any are close to Diebold.
My grandmother and her father went back and forth in the city directory’s with Weaver and Weber. Finally settling on Weber. I have my grandmother’s request for a change of a birth certificate from Weaver to Weber. She was trying to get a correct birth certificate for a passport. I believe my mom had this document because she was trying to get into the Mayflower Society. My grandmother’s grandfather came over to Syracuse as a Weaver with his last name from Bayern.
In my ancestral town of Obereschach, near Villingen-Swennigen, the two most frequent occupations recorded in 1800’s Catholic church records are bauer and landwirt. Both are translated as farmer, but I can’t help but feel there might be a difference between the two terms. I don’t see how the landwirt could be an innkeeper, since there are so many of them in a small town.
You’re right, Landwirt is a farmer – not the innkeeper meaning here!
“Meister,” as in Braumeister, Schmidtmeister, Schumachermeister, etc.
Yes, those are the levels of occupations! Meister – master. Geselle = journeymann. Lehrling = apprentice.
“-hausen” , One of my ancestral lines is Schafhausen. Maybe tended sheep? Another was Jaeger, or hunter. He owned the Kreuzpost in Burkheim, which is still in operation to this day, now as a hotel and spa.
What about Akkerwirth/Ackerwirth, meaning farmer, found in my Kottcke family’s Battrow, Flatow area church records… does ‘wirt’ mean innkeeper here also? How could that be when there were so many men recorded as Akkerwirths?
The word ‘dienst’ is also written after some of the godparents’ names, which I’ve thought meant military service.
Thank you for your insight.
Yes, Ackerwirth means farmer – there are also “wirt”s as in “keepers of the land”:) So Ackerwirth and Landwirt are farmers, not the innkeeper meaning.
“Schuster” is a shoemaker, while “schumacher” is a blacksmith, a maker of horseshoes.
Hi Jack! Schuhmacher does mean shoemaker or cobbler, as does Schuster. https://www.dwds.de/wb/Schuhmacher and https://www.dwds.de/wb/Schuster
Added to my previous comment above, in an 1832 municipal archive, I found one of my ancestors referred to as a “huf-und-waffenschmied” an old-fashioned German phrase which I took to mean hoof and weapon smith, or blacksmith/gun smith. I welcome any comments or corrections. Thanks!
Yes, Hufschmied is someone who specializes in horseshoes. Fun occupation to find!
Bluemel or Blumel with umlaut over the “U.” I have been told “Bluem” would translate “bloom” or flower. The “el” on the end would be diminutive or feminine. So, small flower or bouquet, perhaps a grower or seller of flowers? The crest has two flowers on it.
Hi Katherine. Just one suggestion: that you have an example or two from the old German of what these words look like for us novices. Maybe it would help us as we are doing are research to recognize some of these common occupations. Thanks!
Matt
My great great great grandfather’s was Hochweber