Provision dealer

[dottieau]

On the 1861 census for Catherine Bowen living at 41 Duddeston Row her occupation was Provision dealer.
What would this title mean in those days? Wholesale shop or maybe just selling from her home. Thank you Dorothy

 

[Astonian]

hi dottia
that would have meant selling from her home combined shop from a front room i would say in that period
there was a house up there for years right up until the mid sixtys with an old advertising board of some kind of product
still with its orinional enamuel sign above the front room window as i recall from my boy hood days and youth
and it was an orinional built house with its little house front window my grand parents at aston cross had a two tear ware house for provisons
that was from the early 1900s right through until the fifties they also had one on tyburn rd at the same time when i was a little whipper snapper i used to deliver with them around brum in a little three wheeler van with there name on it and to there shops they owned
it was on the land where the west midlands central is built now at aston cross bu the one you are on about was a house
best wishes Astonian

 

[dottieau]

Thank you Astonian for your interesting answer. Its nice to picture life from times gone by you always have such knowledge. Thank you