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Occupations!What we do is also an important part of our family history. It shows trends, like father, like son or opposite ends of the employment spectrum. Working for the multi-national or self employed. Localised specialist or traveller. Over the years I have collected all sorts of information on McMonagles near and far, primarily and slowly for this branch, but other McMonagles around the world have sent me copies of their own trees, in an attempt to match with ours somewhere down the line. It's always interesting to look at occupations through the ages and on different continents, the jobs are probably pretty similar but the descriptions vary from country to country. On an American certificate, Engineer's Material co-ordinator, ours, a Storeman. On another, Engineer's Expedite Clerk, we would call that a………… Storeman. I've also find a number of occupations that may no longer exist or are less common that they used to be, Coal Briquette Merchant, Domestic Servant, Typewriter Mechanic, Iron Puddler, Bowling Green Keeper and Photographic Developer. Most of these jobs still get done, but are not necessarily what you would call your occupation, they probable fall under the banner of "task" rather than your actual title. Our tree also has a few military listed, RAF corporals, a couple of sergeants and a Royal Marine, although the edge was taken off that one when it was followed by… (Joiner) Through certificates you can trace employment records, not who they worked for but what they worked at. With some people you see a change in occupation, others a change of title. The title change often depends on which member of the family is filling out the paperwork. Here are a couple of examples.
Our current list of occupations is as diverse as those gone by, we have a couple of Taxmen, an Optician, Vet, Lawyer, Musician, Travel Agent, Diving Instructor and of course the obligatory I.T. (Information Technology) guy. To tie all this information together is to understand what a family history is all about. Your great grandparents took the plunge and left their homes in Ireland for Scotland and pastures new. They were probably following other family members or a specific type of job and once they were settled here, they married Scots. Families with Irish roots tended to be large in number and the list of possible names short, which lead to many cousins, similar names. The next generation again had fairly large families and again some of them took the plunge and headed to North America, not specifically following a job type but a better way of life and a bit of sunshine. Once established they tempt siblings with stories of sun, sea and sand. Others train here in Glasgow and take their new skills to New Zealand and Australia where they are recognised as being trained by the best and are in great demand. As the families spread and grow around the world so does the list of occupations and the choice of Christian names. As a Scot living in Japan do you choose a Scottish or Japanese name for your child, would Podraig seem out of place among the Butch, Dutch and Sissy's of the American Mid -West? Do you stick with traditional family names or go for names that suit your current environment? Whatever, whoever, whenever, it all gets added!! As if to quantify what I've just been rambling on about, the latest addition to the family tree is Sebastian McMonagle, born in Glasgow, son of a Scottish father and Danish mother and the first Sebastian on the tree. What is a Family History?From whence we cameGarngadhillOccupationsHow can you help?
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