Machine Shop - Grand Trunk Railroad - Pointe St Charles
Finding my great-grandfather on the
Montreal Census I discover he is a Brass Finisher. What is a Brass Finisher? I thought maybe he
shined brass? Not so!
While trying to find out just what a
Brass Finisher did, I came across this book by Nelson Sizer, phrenologist. If
you are researching a more modern day ancestor, you may want to take a look at it.
“Choice of pursuits; or, What to do, and why, describing
seventy-five trades and professions, and the talents and temperaments required
for each; also, how to educate, on phrenological principles, each man for his
proper work. Together with portraits and biographies of more than one hundred
successful thinkers and workers. – 1897”
The “portraits and biographies” are of well-known people in
some of the trades they talk about. It is a remake of his book The
Road to Wealth and How to Follow It, 1882. Especially read under the chapter
How to Educate, the part on "Conscientiousness". Education starts in
the nursery!
So
I found that a brass finisher’s work is very precise. My great grandfather worked in the machine shop
of the Grand Trunk Railroad, breathing in metal dust all day. He died at the age of 60.
There is another free ebook at google called: Report: of the
Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labor in Canada. (Quebec Part
II 1889). The beginning is Q&A with various labourers, how many employees
they hire, how many hours worked, etc. Scroll down to about page 1367
alphabetical list of names of witnesses, and they talk about wages, and in some
instances give the amounts.
The
1901 and 1911 Census of Canada asked for people to state their wages. My Brass Finishing ancestor in 1901 stated he
worked the 12 months and earned about $600 for the year. In 1911 he stated he
worked 52 weeks, for 56 hours a week and earned $365 for the year of 1910. (Note
that on the 1911 Census they asked for occupations of persons 10 years of age
and over.) So what happened that almost 10 years later he is making half the wages?
You can also find wages in the Sessional papers.
You can also find wages in the Sessional papers.
Relevant Links:
Royal Road to
Wealth: How to Find and Follow It 1882 - (trade/occupation descriptions)
Choice of pursuits, or,
What to do and why(what it takes to master certain trades)
Commission Report on Labour (some wages)
Historic Value of Euro and
other monies (good info on full site)
Comparative
Wages, Prices, and Cost of Living 1885 (free ebook google)
Six
Centuries of Work and Wages – England
History
of Wages in the United States from Colonial Times to 1928
Alphabetic
Index of Occupations - US - gives industry for the occupations
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