Daily AncestorEngineer
In older census returns engineer usually means a man who ran an engine, most often a locomotive engineer, rather than a trained designer of public works.
Railroad engineer, or simply engineer, is the North American name for a train driver. Others ran the steam engines of mills, buildings and steamboats.
The 1900 census told enumerators to tell a stationary engineer from a locomotive engineer, and from 1920 to write the full title, such as civil, electrical, locomotive, mechanical, mining or stationary engineer. An engineer with no other word in an earlier return was usually driving an engine of some kind.
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Daily Ancestor. "Engineer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/engineer. Last checked 2026-10-10.