Mfg.
Mfg. is short for manufacturing, and Mfr. for manufacturer; both were approved abbreviations in the 1900 census occupation column.
The 1900 census instructions allowed Mfg. for manufacturing and Mfr. for manufacturer in the occupation column. Mfg. usually describes the business, as in Shoe mfg. co., while Mfr. names the person who owns or runs the works.
The instructions also warned against vague answers like works in carriage factory, asking for the actual trade instead. So a careful enumerator wrote a line such as Machinist, Mfg. co.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1900 census
Bookkeeper, Shoe Mfg. Co.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Mfg.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/mfg. Last checked 2026-10-10.