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Not an ignorant question at all. Some of these professions listed in the census records leave me scratching my head in amusement and then rushing to - www.gendocs.demon.co.uk For instance, I have an ancestor who was a 'Scavenger' - I had visions of him climbing over rubbish dumps, collecting other people junk to sell to make a living, but no a Scavenger was a person employed by the parish to clean the streets! My Great Grandfather was a Carman with the railways. He used his horse and cart to move trucks into position, or into the sidings. Basically a Carman could be employed anywhere transport was needed. Trina

Got this from rmhh(.)co(.)uk/occup/index.html remove brackets and no need for www Carman/Charman/Carrier/ Carter/Cartman Driver of (horse-drawn) vehicles for transporting goods. Carmen were often employed by railway companies for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. Modern day van driver. Also sometimes someone who drove horse-drawn trams was called a Carman.

I like it - hey you made me and son smile - white van driver. Thanks all for your help - I take it he was a transporter. Bless. ha ha

My gg grandad was one A white van drive ....LOL Thanks Gillian you made me smile. not silly at all.

Carman = White Van Man! OC

No need to apologise for the question - there'd be no need for these boards if we all knew everything there was to know. Here are a couple of good sites that explain what old occupations mean: http://www.rootsweb*com/~albarbou/docs/oldoccupations.htm http://www.census1891*com/occupations.htm (replace asterisk with dot)

Yes, a carrier - usually with a horse-drawn vehicle.

Hi, A carman drove a vehicle used to transport goods. Regards Vera

In 1891 what would the occupation carman be-thanks. XX