Daily AncestorForeman
A foreman supervised a work crew or a department, in a factory, mine, shop or railroad gang, while still being an employee himself.
The foreman was the frontline boss, the leader of a crew or of a room in a factory. In 1900 enumerators were told to add the line of work, as in foreman, wholesale wool, and from 1910 not to count a foreman as an employer, because the men he hired worked for the company, not for his own business.
In the American South the word was also used for an enslaved man who assisted the white overseer in managing the field hands.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Jno. Carr, 48, Foreman, Cotton mill
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Foreman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/foreman. Last checked 2026-10-10.