Tennessee Occupation and Business Records

United States   Tennessee    Occupations

The majority of early Tennessee settlers were farmers.

In the year 1820, the top 11 Tennessee manufactured products were (ranked from largest to smallest):


 * Whiskey and other spirits
 * Blacksmith's work
 * Flour, meal, plaster, and grain
 * Leather and leather products
 * Saddles, bridles and harnesses
 * Hats and bonnets
 * Cabinetware
 * Shoes and boots
 * Textiles and yarn
 * Firearms
 * Houses and building materials

Biographies or lists are sometimes compiled of members of professional trades. Tennessee examples include:


 * Caldwell, Joshua William. Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Tennessee. Knoxville, Tenn.: Ogden Brothers, 1898. FHL US/CAN Film 1425711 Item 3; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * Caldwell, Benjamin Hubbard. Tennessee Silversmiths. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 U2c. The record includes an index.
 * Keever, Rosalie Ausmus. Some Pioneer Preachers and Teachers of Tennessee. Johnson City, Tennessee, 1974. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 U2k.

Apprenticeship records, often created when a child was orphaned and bound out to be raised by local residents, identify occupations of guardians and their wards. Many of these records have been published:


 * Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m; digital version at World Vital Records ($); purchase at Genealogical.com.
 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com.
 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com.

In more recent times, larger companies have sometimes preserved records about their employees. These usually contain the hiring and termination details and may include biographical data about the employees and possibly their families. If the company where an ancestor worked is still in business, you may be given limited access to their historical employee records. Few employee records have been made public, so contact the individual companies regarding their records.

A list of slaves that were impressed to work on the railroads is in:


 * Bamman, Gale Williams. "African-Americans Impressed for Service on the Nashville and North Western Railroad, October 1863." National Genealogical Society Quarterly, September 1992, 204-210. Includes: name, age, height, complexion, name of owner, county, town, and other remarks.

Frisco Railway Employee Cards Online
The Frisco Railway (also called St. Louis-San Francisco) operated from 1876 to 1980 in the Midwest and south central United States:

Starting in 1940 the Frisco Railway compiled thousands of employee cards that are now indexed and available for viewing on the Springfield-Greene County Library District Internet site. The information on a typical card includes:


 * Employee Name
 * Address
 * Birth Date
 * Birth Place
 * Race
 * Gender
 * Parent’s Names
 * Location of Assignment
 * Job Title

Pullman-Standard Employees Project
The Pullman-Standard Company of Michigan and Indiana was a well-known builder of railroad cars. During World Wars I and II, the company also "played a leading role as an arsenal," producing "freight cars, tanks, and munitions for America's war efforts during both World Wars." The company's employee personnel cards at kept at Indiana University Northwest's Calumet Regional Archives and contain references to many natives of Tennessee. An index for employeeswith surnames beginning with the letters A to M is currently available online, along with a request form to retrieve copies of the original documents.