Daily AncestorOffice boy
An office boy was a junior employee in an office who ran errands, carried messages, filed and did other odd jobs.
Wiktionary defines an office boy as a junior male clerk employed in a professional office to do odd jobs, such as running errands or making copies.
The 1900 census instructions told enumerators to distinguish between an errand, office and messenger boy in a store, and to state the duties performed by each, as in errand boy, dry goods, or messenger boy, telegraph.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Willie Hargraves, 15, Office boy, Law office
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Daily Ancestor. "Office boy." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/office-boy. Last checked 2026-10-12.