Census help,. what does this say.?

Question

Its a occupation.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee6/leanne_dando2007/untitled.jpg

Answer 1

"A occupation" ? No letters missing there maybe ?

I think it's probably J. P. Otter and he was a fishmonger.

Answer 2

Well he's some sort of potter that's for sure, but what does the initial in front of it mean, I'll have a snoop about and see what I can find.

Answer 3

potter , as further down it says painter . Midlands as above said Stoke on Trent probably not 100% .

Answer 4

yep it says j potter

Answer 5

"J." is always short for "journeyman" - basically someone who has completed their apprenticeship but isn't yet a master of their trade with their own premises so they work freelance so to speak, hiring out their labour where they can.  The "jour" in "journeyman" actually is French for "day", as in hiring out your labour by the day - that's todays useless piece of information for you.  I've got a lot of "journeyman blacksmiths" in my tree - only in later censuses were they recorded as "blacksmith (master)".  

The second word is potter.  Self-explanatory really.

Answer 6

Good Question & good answers - especially Scaredy Cat's;  but I have another question;  "Is this from an American Census  of 1841 or the UK?  Are these abbrevations for the USA? & did they use them in other Census years? Thanks for all the information

Answer 7

I see that it's an 1841 census - Abbreviations were used in the 1841 census more than any other.  J means Journeyman (meaning time-served/having completed an apprenticeship) and Potter.  So this person was a Journeyman Potter.

Answer 8

I would say that the letter before potter is most likely an 'I'or possibly a 'J',the 'N' in the little box to the right means that he was not born in that town. I think possibly others may be right in guessing it means either independant or a journeyman.

Answer 9

Potter;

One who works in a pottery

Somewhere in Stoke on Trent area by any chance?

Answer 10

It's I : Potter, possibly Independent Potter, you will notice the next entry down is Ind : short for Independent and normally meant that the person was of independent means, so maybe I : Potter was a self employed potter, the entry at the bottom is I : Painter, presumably an Independent Painter ?

Edit : If it is a J and not an I it might stand for Journeyman !