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E & M on census

  • Thread starter Thread starter mand
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M

mand

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Hi,
Can anyone tell me what E & M means after the occupation on the census?
William DERRINGTON Brother In Law W Male 31 Birmingham, Warwick, England Standing Engine Machinist (E&M)
And maybe a 'standing engine machinist' i'm presuming this means he worked a machine that didn't move??

Thanks
 
I have a feeling he was actually employed in the production of the Standing Engine and not operating the machine itself. It could be refering to what is known as a Standing Beam Engine.
I looked at the image on Ancestry and what looks like E&M is written over the top of his occupation and could be just a note the enumerator wrote for himself as they often did, who knows !?


bren
 
This term does seem to crop up from time to time in the 1881 census. It is always associated with engineering work of some sort, from "fitter's labourer" through "smith" and "machinist" to "engineer". My guess is that it signifies "electrical and mechanical" as it still does today. One might think that it indicated the qualification of the person - perhaps the scope of the apprenticeship - although the labourer above tends to refute that. But then again perhaps he could have been "labourer to a fitter (E&M)".

If this guess is correct the inclusion of the term in the census suggests that it was of some significance, perhaps suggesting some enhanced professional/social standing or source of pride.

The term appears in other parts of the country and so is unlikely to be the name of a local engineering company.

Chris
 
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Thanks Bren, fantastic photos on that site, the architecture is amazing. I dont imagine that any machinery sits in such oppulent surroundings these days.
Mand
 
Thanks Chris, another interesting theory. If it used all over the country, would there be a way of find out what the abbreviation meant?
Mand
 
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