1841 census, occupation C L

[Jill on the A272]

Twice while transcribing 1841 census for Cuckfield, district 3 I've found C L as an occupation, any ideas please?

It's not Cl as in Clerk, the capitals are separated.
HO107; Piece: 1111; Book: 6; Civil Parish: Cuckfield; County: Sussex; Enumeration District: 3; Folio: 44

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/8978/SSXHO107_1111_1111-0173?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d8978%26path%3d&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnBrowsing#?imageId=SSXHO107_1111_1111-0180

(William Edwards at Butler's Green)

[Janet in Yorkshire]

What do the other abbreviations represent?
My ancestors were country folk - lots of ag labs, MS FS etc but I'm pretty ignorant on the abbreviations for other occupations. Sorry.


Jay

[Guest]

I just tried to find them in 1851 to see if it said the same thing but couldn't find them sorry

[Gwyn in Kent]

I wonder if it IS clerk?
This enumerator seems to use capital letters quite randomly, eg. see George HAMMOND towards the bottom of page 5.

Gwyn

[Jill on the A272]

Thankyou for your ideas, I'll be transcribing as it stands, C L, and adding "possibly clerk" in the notes field.

The enumerator started with the usual "Ag Lab" then appears to use his own system where L B means Labourer (another clerk adds "Ag" later) and the Rd L B I think refers to Railroad Labourer as the London-Brighton railway line was being built in 1841 (which also accounts for several miners some of whom have Welsh sounding names who would have been making the tunnels).

[Olde Crone Holden]

C L = Canal labourer, i.e. a navvy. (As some of the others are railway labourers)

OC

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Well done, OC

Jay

[Olde Crone Holden]

No, just realised Rd Lab will be ROAD labourer, not rail labourer, but I still think C L is canal labourer. I believe the term was used for general construction labourers at that time, later known as navvies.

OC

[Jill on the A272]

Interesting thought about canal labourer, though I still think that Rd L B refers to railroad labourer. North of Cuckfield in Balcombe where there are cuttings, a tunnel and the viaduct the navvies are referred to as "excavators" and in another district of Cuckfield as R Labourer. I am, of course, transcribing exactly what is written and not my own opinion.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Would they have called it the railroad though, rather than the railway?

OC

[AntonyM]

I am, of course, transcribing exactly what is written and not my own opinion..

Which is the correct way for all transcription.

Whether you add a comment in the notes as to a possible interpretation is a decision for whoever is managing the transcription project. In all the transcription projects I have worked on, it would be a definite no.

[Jill on the A272]

Thanks for the guidance Antony, I've removed any interpretation from the notes field leaving only notes such as "first name left blank".

[Jill on the A272]

Would they have called it the railroad though, rather than the railway?

OC

I've come across both terms in contemporary newspaper articles.

[JLB]

In the Sussex Family History Group database, a William and Martha have children in 1841 and1843 .In both cases the father is listed as Labourer.

Jan

[Jill on the A272]

Thankyou Jan.