Daily AncestorFlagman
A railroad flagman protected trains and track workers by signaling with flags or lanterns, for example walking back to warn an oncoming train.
On a train crew the flagman went back along the track when a train stopped, to warn any train coming behind. Other flagmen guarded road crossings or work crews, waving trains or traffic to stop or slow down.
In a census the industry column usually says railroad, so the entry is easy to tell from a flag bearer in a parade or a ship's signalman.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1900 to 1940 census
Patk. Nolan, 61, Flagman, Railroad
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Daily Ancestor. "Flagman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/flagman. Last checked 2026-10-01.