Daily AncestorShowman
A showman produced or ran public shows as a business, such as a circus, menagerie, sideshow or traveling exhibition.
Wiktionary defines a showman as one who produces or presents shows as a profession, especially the owner, manager or master of ceremonies of a circus or variety show. In Britain and Australia showmen are families who travel with funfairs and amusement rides; in the past the word also covered people who ran freak shows, sideshows and traveling theater troupes.
The 1900 census instructions told enumerators to distinguish between an actor, a theatrical manager and a showman.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1870 to 1910 census
Cyrus Pettengill, 46, Showman, Conn.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Showman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/showman. Last checked 2026-10-12.