Occupations

Discover the occupations and jobs people in your family history and ancestry had

A military hospital, 1914

The best websites for finding military hospital staff

Shop front 1829

Discover your past

Where to find historical trade directories online

First World War nurses, Christmas Day 1914

Discover your past

How to find First World War nurses’ records

A British coal miner c.1915

Discover your past

How to find coal miners in your family history

An operation in a lecture theatre at University College Hospital Medical School, London, in 1898

How to find doctors and nurses in your family tree

Sweater Salesman

How to find commercial travellers in your family history

Choir of St Martin's Church, Dorking, Surrey, 19th century.Artist: MJ Starling

The 15 best websites for finding clergy in your family tree

Servants at Biddlesden Park House, Buckinghamshire, c.1896-1920

Was your ancestor a domestic servant?

War Time Fruit

The 14 best websites for shopkeeper records

Agriculture

How to find cheese-makers in your family history

Women sewing straw hats, c. 1920

How to find hat-makers in your family history

1603, An English blacksmith using an anvil in a forge. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Where does my surname come from?

Ag labs pitch hay into a cart on a farm near Whitby, c. 1880

How to research ag labs

On Made in Great Britain, Claire 'de Lune' and Katie Ventress try their hands at traditional pottery making in Stoke-on-Trent (Credit: BBC/Endemol Shine/ Rudi Gordon)

How to find potters in your family history