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Author Topic: Job Description  (Read 1008 times)

Offline Oletta

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Job Description
« on: Monday 04 June 12 10:51 BST (UK) »
Hi everyone

Can anyone tell me what a Commission agent did for a living?  Would they have travelled abroad with this job?

Look forward to hearing anyone

Regards

Oletta

Online rosie99

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Re: Job Description
« Reply #1 on: Monday 04 June 12 11:09 BST (UK) »
Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Lodger

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Re: Job Description
« Reply #2 on: Monday 04 June 12 11:21 BST (UK) »
It was (and still is) a fancy name for a bookmaker (Bookie for short) someone who owned a gambling establishment.
Paterson, Torrance, Gilchrist - Hamilton Lanarkshire. 
McCallum - Oban, McKechnie - Ross of Mull Argyll.
Scrim - Perthshire. 
Liddell - Polmont,
Binnie - Muiravonside Stirlingshire.
Curran, McCafferty, Stevenson, McCue - Co Donegal
Gibbons, Weldon - Co Mayo.
Devlin - Co Tyrone.
Leonard - County Donegal & Glasgow.

Offline IMBER

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Re: Job Description
« Reply #3 on: Monday 04 June 12 12:18 BST (UK) »
The term usually refers to a person or company sourcing and ordering (commissioning) items for third parties.  This was very common in the nineteenth century when British colonies had little option but to order goods from the home country.  Commission Agents could handle the whole exercise whether it be stoneware bottles, locomotives or whatever and identified suppliers, transport etc. An example is here:

http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=18538&inst_id=118&nv1=browse&nv2=sub
Skewis (Wales and Scotland), Ayers (Maidenhead, Berkshire), Hildreth (Berkshire)

Offline krismcd99

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Re: Job Description
« Reply #4 on: Monday 04 June 12 12:22 BST (UK) »
from http://www.census1891.com/occupations-a.htm it says the job is the same as an Agent and an Agent is "One who acts or transacts business for another" so yes I suspect they could have travelled alot depending on who their clients were.

Also I wanted to have a chat regarding Joseph Carr, he is a direct descendant of mine.

Offline Oletta

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Re: Job Description
« Reply #5 on: Monday 04 June 12 19:17 BST (UK) »
Thank you all for your replies and all your relevant information given about a commission agent

Best Wishes

Oletta
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