Daily AncestorLaborer
A laborer did unskilled manual work for wages; in a census the word alone rarely says where, so enumerators were told to add the kind of work or industry.
In old records a laborer earned a wage with physical strength rather than a trained skill: digging, hauling, loading, and helping craftsmen on buildings, roads and railroads.
Census takers were warned about the bare word. In 1900 they were told never to write simply laborer but to say what kind, such as day laborer or farm laborer. From 1910 on they were to avoid it when a more precise title existed and, if they used it, to name the industry, as in laborer, coal mine.
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Daily Ancestor. "Laborer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/laborer. Last checked 2026-10-10.