Employment
This page provides general instructions on researching a person's employment, including those who were self-employed.
Genealogists often search for employment records expecting to find personnel files filled with background details about their ancestor. That is seldom the case, for these reasons:
- Compiling employee files was not common in the past.
- Often, the only staff records were payrolls that listed names, number of days worked and the amount paid.
- Old records were often disposed of rather than archived.
- Some individuals worked as contract employees.
- Many people worked for themselves, such as farmers and merchants.
On this page
Before you start
Gather information such as:
- name
- approximate year of birth
- place of residence
- occupation
If you do not know your ancestor’s occupation, here are some sources than can help.
Places to look
The only records for some occupations and professions are lists created by local authorities or applications, licences and certificates. We hold a variety of these types of records.
Archival sources
You can search these two collections by name:
-
Applications for commission as notaries and advocates, Quebec, 1740-1852 (RG4-B8, volumes 1 to 28, microfilm H-1410 to H-1418 and H-1755)
- The alphabetical index of names gives the volume, page and microfilm references for the records, which are digitized.
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Applications for liquor licenses, Yukon, 1898-1901 (RG91-B-2, microfilm M-2883).
- For information about the records, read the "Scope and content" section of the series description. To find out if there is a file for a particular person, use Collection search. In the search box, enter the keywords RG91, liquor and a surname.
There are also some files in federal government records. Here are two examples:
- J.H. DeGraff - Ponaka Alberta - For license as auctioneer, 1903
- Yonekich Aoki, New Westminster applying for a license to cut timber, 1899
To search for these types of files, use Collection search. Enter keywords such as a surname, place and type of work or occupation.
Other records
The names in these records are not indexed in Collection Search:
Quebec
- Lists of bakers, pedlars and carters, Quebec, 1780, 509 pages (MG8-C9, volume 1)
- Carters names and residences, Montreal, 1840 (RG4-B14, volume 37)
- Register of Coroners, Quebec, 1853-1855 (RG4-B26, volume 6)
- Roll of oaths of office and allegiance, advocates, notaries and other legal officers, Quebec, 1791-1841 (RG1- E11, volumes 7 and 9)
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Civil Secretary and Provincial Secretary, applications for licences, bonds and certificates (RG4-B28)
- licences for inns, taverns, pedlars, billiard table keepers, etc., 1765-1848 (volumes 1 to 8)
- applications for licences as auctioneers, 1805-1853 (volumes 10 and 11)
- licences, bonds, applications, etc. for cullers of lumber, timber and staves, 1808-1846 (volumes 12 to 23)
- applications for licences to keep billiard tables, 1802-1838 (volume 57)
- licences to operate ferries, 1841 and 1846 (volume 58)
- licences, applications, bonds, etc. to operate taverns, 1766-1847 (volumes 59 to 101)
- licences and applications to trade as pedlars, 1796-1845 (volumes 116 to 119)
- applications for licences to sell liquors from and to shops, 1765-1848 (volumes 120 to 128)
Ontario
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Upper Canada and Canada West: Civil Secretary and Provincial Secretary, records relating to the issuance of licences (RG5-B9)
- correspondence, accounts and returns of licences issued to auctioneers, 1819-1838, 1846-1853 (volume 1)
- Provincial Land Surveyors, bonds and certificates, 1843-1867 (volumes 45 to 47)
- correspondence and returns of licences issued to hawkers and pedlars, 1807-1835 (volumes 51 and 52)
- correspondence and returns of licences for shops, taverns and stills, 1801-1846 (volumes 53 to 60)
- licences - taverns, stills, shopkeepers and innkeepers, 1817-1852 (RG68, volume 215, Liber A, microfilm C-3948
- petitions and applications for appointment as notaries public, 1844-1847 (RG5-B17, volume 1)
Published sources
Many professions are regulated by provincial organizations or operate voluntary associations. They often publish directories of members, annual reports and other material that include information about members. You can find many of these in our Aurora catalogue by searching by type of employment or occupation. Other keywords to try are association, directory, society, members, list. Here are some examples:
- A directory of the biscuit and cracker bakers of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, 1885
- Clock & watchmakers and allied workers in Canada, 1700 to 1900
- Les tonneliers au Québec : du XVIIe au XXe siècle
Many of these types of publications are digitized on Canadiana. Here are some examples that include names of individuals:
Access the records
Digitized records
If you find a record of interest, there may be a digital image. Some of these are available through Collection Search. Others, specifically some digitized microfilms, are available through Héritage.
Non-digitized records
For records that are not digitized, you will need to see them in person. If you cannot visit us in person, you may want to order copies or hire a researcher.
Related links
Research guides and other resources
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