North Carolina Occupation and Business Records

There are publications concerning persons in North Carolina in such occupations as lawyers, furniture makers, silversmiths, gunsmiths, postmasters, clock and watch makers, and physicians. For example, there are books of collected biographies of gunsmiths, postmasters, and silversmiths in North Carolina. An example of a book concerning persons who worked at a particular occupation is:

Cutten, George Barton. Silversmiths of North Carolina, 1696–1860. 2nd ed. Raleigh, NC: Dept. of Cultural Resources. Division of Archives and History, 1984. (FHL book 975.6 U2c.)

Apprenticeship Bonds, ca. 1840–1925

When children were orphaned, needed employment, or wanted to learn a trade, they often were apprenticed under a contract or indenture called an apprentice bond. These bonds list the name of the young man or woman, the county of residence, their age, the occupation the person was to learn, sometimes the name of a parent, and the name of the master. Apprenticeship bond records of some counties are at the North Carolina State Archives, and microfilms are at the Family History Library. Some apprenticeships are listed in the Freedmen’s Bureau records. For information on these, see the "Minorities" section in this outline.

Some occupational records are found in public records; see that section of this outline for details. Occupational records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Locality Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA - [COUNTY]- OCCUPATIONS