Daily AncestorManufacturer
In a census, manufacturer meant the owner or proprietor of a factory or works, not a worker in it, and enumerators were told to name the branch, as cotton manufacturer.
Census instructions for 1870 and 1880 reserved manufacturer for proprietors of establishments. A bonnet maker or lace maker who did the work was not to be called a manufacturer, and the entry was to state the branch, such as woolen manufacturer.
In 1900 the rule was repeated: describe the owner as manufacturer with the branch named, and never return a manufacturer as a maker of an article. The abbreviation Mfr. appears in the 1900 list of approved short forms.
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Daily Ancestor. "Manufacturer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/manufacturer. Last checked 2026-10-10.