Daily AncestorSewing machine operator
A sewing machine operator ran a sewing machine in a clothing shop or factory, or at home for a manufacturer, usually on one part of a garment.
Sewing machines were invented during the Industrial Revolution to cut down hand sewing in clothing companies; the first is generally credited to the Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790. Early machines were turned by hand or worked by a foot treadle, and electric ones came later.
The 1900 census instructions told enumerators, in the case of a sewing-machine operator, to specify the kind of work done, rather than leave the bare title.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Fannie Rosendahl, 19, Sewing machine operator, Shirtwaist factory
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Daily Ancestor. "Sewing machine operator." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/sewing-machine-operator. Last checked 2026-10-12.