Daily AncestorCanvasser
A canvasser went door to door seeking orders or sales for a business, or votes for a candidate; in census returns it usually means a door-to-door sales agent.
To canvass is to work through an area making direct contact with people one by one. Political campaigns used canvassers to win and count supporters, and businesses used them to take orders.
The 1940 census instructions put agents or canvassers who sold on commission for one or two firms with wage and salary workers, even if they had little supervision, while commission merchants who served many sellers or the general public counted as working on their own account.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Canvasser." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/canvasser. Last checked 2026-10-10.