Genealogy Chat

Hi all,

Have received today another certificate, where yet again occupation is listed as "Gentleman"

What exactly does that mean? this was in 1843 though I have others later with the same occupation .

Thanks in advance

Nicky

Thanks for that Christine, I remember my mother a while ago telling me there were "Gentleman Farmers", long ago, but seeing as this death occured in the heart of Westminster I thought that to be unlikely in this case. LOL!!

Nicky

He may have had a bailiff to organise the day to day running of the farm

Hi there,

Just to confirm that Christine is right. A gentleman was someone from a good family who did not need to work and was classed as 'lower gentry'. Where someone is from the 'upper gentry' they are called 'Esquire'.

Ivy, Thanks for your input.

Lynn, Thanks for confirming Christines information, I thought it was something like that as they seem to be quite a "well to do" family


Nicky

This what the old occupations site says for Gentleman
Gentleman Gentry; Aristocrat, whose income came from his land
Moira

Oh dear, sorry to be a party pooper but Ive seen my licensed victuallers as "gentlemen" in their wills and death certs also my lightermen and I understand someone else had a porter as a "gentleman" in their death cert. So it can be a pretty fluid term.

My "gentlemen" were retired and apparently able to live on their savings but another member on here "Gentleman" was just unemployed.

Heather,
I can see then that "Gentleman" was used quite liberally!! I think in my case my "Gentleman" was a man of money ,as his widowed wife left with 3 young children never had to work {According to the census} yet she still managed to privately educate at least one of her sons, Thanks for your input anyway.

Nicky

Have you got a will for him?

Heather.

No I hav`nt a will for him, I have done some searching on the A2A but hav`nt come up with anything, have you any ideas how I could trace one?

Nicky

If you have a death date/place and think he is likely to have left a will you could venture a fiver with York Probate - address is on the home page here. They do a search 5 years after death? Or you could go to a main library to look at the probate index.

My lighterman/pilot Gentleman died in 1823 and left the equivalent of getting on for a million quid - sharing out £3k a time to each child and even grand child except my direct ancestor who he then whipped it away from in a codicil he made 2 months before his death :( No reason why and she was a young widow with kids so a bit mean.

Heather,

When you say a main library, do you mean ANY main library, or does it have to be one in the area of death, if it is the former does that mean I can check for other family members who may have left wills if I have their date of death? because obviously I`d rather do the leg work myself if I could do it locally ,than pay York probate £5.00 per preson and maybe come up with nothing.

Sorry if these seem really silly questions but I do not have any family wills, and for the "Gentleman" concerned anything that could shed some light on his parents /siblings would be great, as at present I have nothing on him at all, apart from the family he married in to and his 3 subsequent children.

thanks again for all your input

We all wondered how we`d manage when OC left, but you seem to be filling her shoes very well!!

Nicky