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The image below is a screen shot of the Occupation column taken from an 1887 Death Record listing. I would appreciate any thoughts on what you think the 3rd line says. (The one just above "Supt...")
Thanks for your help.
I agree with Suzie Q. If we had more of the writing, mainly the names listing that would give us more of an idea of how this guy is writing and then maybe we stand a better chance of figuring it out.
Also on Ancestry, I think everything is transcribed so there should be a transcription. Although we all know how good those are.
I'd say definitely "Carpenter". I just checked the 1910 census of my great grandfather who was also a farmer who became a carpenter later in life, and the "a" in "Carpenter" looks exactly like a "u".
You can see the similarity between the "p" in that and the word "Supt." below.
The first two squiggles in your sample likely say "none" and are missing closed loops and strokes, like the word "Carpente(r)". The dip pens of the time could also skip letters and run out of ink.
Are we assuming that the same person wrote all the entries? If so, maybe what looks like an 'F' is actually a 'P'? Because the next line looks like 'Supt' to me, which makes me think it's an abbreviation of 'superintendent'
I question whether it is even possible to decipher that one word on its own. The cursive is criminally sloppy and that entry may be from someone who did not make the other entries, leaving no room to compare the word to others.
Further, if the word was abbreviated or truncated because the pen ran out of ink, or the individual could not properly spell, guesses might as well be random.
The first letter has an apparent serif at the top, while the rest of the writing is sans-serif. That means the "C" could just as easily be a sloppy capital "E" or an "O" or an "A." The letter going above and below the line technically should be an "f" but could be a "p" ("s" during that period was much smaller than earlier ones). What looks like an "ite" at the end could have an artifact from a line on the original paper crossing the "t," which then could be an "l." The trailing "e" could also be a "s."
The graphic mumbling of the other letters prevents even a proper guess as to how many letters are in the word. I tried some combinations with 8, 9, and 10 letters and a crossword solver and struck out. The only two hits that
could even possibly make sense were "Campmate" and an obscure word for a type of courier.
As much in playing as anything, I tried google lens and an AI, and those couldn't even figure out "woolen mill."
If you had a large list of occupations from that time period, perhaps one would present as a possibility.
Squinting and trying various visual tricks, I tend towards either "carpenter" or something along the lines of enfeeblement, but with only about a 5% certainty on either.
There are other records in many areas. I would put this on a back burner and look elsewhere.
Example of "Carpenter" I was referring to (with "nones" thrown in for good measure):
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Solly says — Be nice!
