OCCUPATIONS OR TRADES
An important topic of genealogical research is not only knowing the important dates and from where our ancestors immigrated, but knowing the occupations or trades they had in their homeland and any changes they had to make after they arrived in their new homeland.
General Information
Historic Czech Occupations
Village life and the occupations of our ancestors can be confusing. Farming was the primary occupation of the majority people of the country. There are many occupations mentioned in Czech registries. The other common occupations and trades and how you will see them listed in Czech, German, and Latin in the records can be found in lists generated by researchers.
Historic Slovak Occupations
When our ancestors ended their nomadic way of life and became pastoral, cultivating the land, they
began to establish settlements, then villages and towns. The majority of our predecessors in Slovakia worked in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. Craftsmen abounded but they tended to live in cities.
The majority of our ancestors lived in villages and worked on the land. Farming was the main occupation; growing and harvesting a labor intensive process. In Slovakia’s rich agricultural land set below the Carpathian Mountains entire villages engaged in farming for the local lord.
