The family at work - Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.

Topic Info:
With next Monday being Labor Day in the US, it seems a good time to think about how our ancestors earned a living. Share what you have found about an ancestor's occupation.

History of Labor Day
There's been some conjecture on when Labor Day started. Some say it was September 1882 and May 1882 among some others. However Oregon was the first to actually claim the holiday in 1887. By 1894, thirty US States claimed the holiday. In 1894, it was adopted as a federal holiday for everyone. However, not everyone would get the day. In the 1930's unions told workers to strike if they didn't get the day off and most employers give people the day off. Credit I say most because not everyone (police, hotels, hospitals, etc) gets the day off.

Ancestors
But what did our ancestors due for jobs? For ease sake, I'm going to keep this in direct line ancestors with not siblings or else I might be retired before I'm through as I have thousands of people in my database.

Please be advised I have many more names for more direct line ancestors, but have no occupations for them. I have certain documents obtained from various resources including US Naturalization Services, Belgium Archives, Polish Archives, and German Archives - just to name a few!

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18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 to December 31, 1800 & 19th century began on January 1, 1801, and ended on December 31, 1900.

Relation to me	Name	Occupation
4x great grandmother	Francisca Cecilia De Lye Vandendriessche	Stay at home wife/mother
5x great grandfather	Jacobus Josephus Gauquie	farmer, garde champetre (rural policeman)
5x great grandmother	Carolina Francisca Noppe Gauquie	Stay at home mother/wife
4x great grandfather	Joannes Jacobus Gauquie	Workman, innkeeper
4x great grandmother	Joanna Theresia Vandendriessche Gauquie	Stay at home wife/mother, Seamstress
4x great grandfather	Pierre/Pieter Jacobus Vandendriessche	Publican

What Jacobus Josephus Gauquie would have probably worn while working in the late 1700s & early 1800s. Credit

19th century began on January 1, 1801, and ended on December 31, 1900 & 20th century was a century that began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000.

These are between all of the wars and battles going on during this time.

Relation to me	Name	Occupation
2x great grandfather	Feliks Wojtkowski	farmer/small estate owner
3x great grandmother	Catharina Victoria Kesteman Gauquie	Baker, store owner
3x great grandfather	Desiderius/Didder Franciscus Gauquie	Baker, store owner
2x great grandmother	Florentina Van Rompaye	Servant, stay at home wife/mother
2x great grandmother	Hansine Emeline Nielsdatter Larsen	Stay at home wife/mother
3x great grandmother	Maren Nielsdatter	retired/widow
2x great grandmother	Anna Zakrzewski Wojtkowski	Stay at home wife/mother, small mill owner
2x great grandfather	Petr/Piotr Slepwronski	Farmer/small estate owner
2x great grandmother	Florentina/Florentyna Murawski Slepwronski	Stay at home wife/mother, farmer/small estate owner
2x great grandfather	Aloysius/Charles Hyppolitus Gauquie	Belgium militia rifleman, cabaretier (tells stories, sings, dances), creamery worker, farm laborer, dairy farm laborer
Great grandmother	Walerja/Valie Rutkowski Ostrzycki	Stay at home wife/mother, midwife, housekeeper
Great grandfather	Stanislaw/Stanley Ostrzycki	Laborer, glass house laborer, laborer glass factory, orderly glass factory, laborer corning glass works (I do have more information on ancestors but not on occupations)
Great grandfather	Joannes Julius/Jules Gauquie	Firtman(spelling?) Stationary, Dairy Farmer, various committees, held office Town of Blooming Grove (superintendent of highways), land owner
Great grandmother	Anna/Annie Larsen	Servant, stay at home wife/mother, farm laborer/owner
Great grandfather	Johann Schmitz	Farmer (I do have further information on the line but not what the occupations were)
Great grandmother	Marja/Mary Slepwronski Wojtkowski	Stay at home wife/mother, grocery retail
Great grandfather	Adam Wojtkowski	Farmer/small estate owner, butcher/grocery retail
Great grandmother	Bronislawa/Bernice Ostrzycki Jagodzinski/Barry	Stay at home wife/mother
Great grandfather	Apolonius/Leo Jagodzinski/Barry	Labor, mill worker, laborer, roller worker, shovel worker laborer, restaurant/bar & grill worker, chef for Hotel Lexington NYC
Great grandmother	Anna Klepperich Schmitz	Stay at home wife/mother
2x great grandfather	Paul Larsen	Carpenter

Cousin Louis Van Rompaye's business he started in Chester, NY. It's still running today over 100 years later. Credit

Mary & Adam Wojtowski (with unidentified friend) at their butcher & grocer store in NJ. Credit: J. Fitzgerald

Cousin Prosper Verhaeghe near his bakery in Belgium after WW2. Credit: J. Driesens

What Mary and Adam Wojtkowski and their daughter Jean house they would have lived in Poland. Credit A.Ostrzycki

20th century was a century that began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000 & 21st century  began on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 2100.

Relation to me	Name	Occupation
Father	Matthew G. Schmitz	US Navy Retired, painter, engineer/mechanic, anything Navy
Mother	Joanna Gauquie Schmitz	Stay at home wife/mother, factory worker
Grandfather	Mathias/Mathew Schmitz	Joiner, Carpenter, Grocers Retail, Painter at hospital, Army (WW2), Bar & Restaurant owner
Grandfather	Louis Peter Gauquie	Chicken farm worker, farm labor, railroad bridge painter, railway bridgeman/bridge worker, railroad riveter, plumber, clean/repair furnaces and chimneys, maintenance worker West Point
Grandmother	Genevieve/Jean Wojtkowski Schmitz	Stay at home wife/mother, factory worker, Grocers Retail, Bar & Restaurant owner, Rooming house owner
Grandmother	Janet Dorothy Jagodzinski/Barry Gauquie	Stay at home wife/mother, sewed underwear in factory, made hats/bags in various colors business owner

Matthew G Schmitz (front) taking a break while on the Atlantic in 1955. Credit. M Schmitz

Jo Ann Gauquie Schmitz prior to her going to work in the Bag Shop in Walden in 1996. Credit. J. Fitzgerald

Louis P. Gauquie while working for the railroad Erie Railroad in estimated 1930s to 1940. Credit J. Gauquie

I do have more names and connections, but I don't have occupations to go with them....something else to see if I can find!

Needing to examine this information further... Credit