The censuses of the late eighteenth century undertaken in the USA include some insights into the work that members of the Fairholm families undertook.  

There were six censuses from 1830 to 1900, but the first two did not include a record of occupation and the 1850 and 1860 censuses only recorded it for “each Male Person over 15 years of age”.  Most of the census of 1890 was destroyed by fire in 1921 so no information is availale for that one.  That is why I have included the one for 1900, although it is strictly not part of the eighteenth century.

There are fewer census returns for the New Jersey branches than for the English branches so the number of occupations is less.  As a result, I have included all the results in a table below rather than attaching a seperate spreadsheet.  As with the English spreadsheet it identifies the various jobs that were recorded and the year(s) in which they occurred.

The analysis covers all the members of the New Jersey families that I found in the censuses.  I have not included entries for very young children and those recorded as scholars.

There is less variety in the range of work that members of the family undertook, compared to the English censuses, with an obvious absence of mechanised industrial jobs.  Interestingly, the role of blacksmith, coach maker and wagon maker appear, similar to the wheelwright entries that occur in the English censuses.

John Fairholm is the man who is entered with "None" and "Gentlemen", in 1850 and 1860 respectively.  I take him to be the eldest son of William Fairholm & Margaret (nee Vail).  As such, perhaps he inherited any family wealth that existed upon the death of his father, allowing him to live a more comfortable life than his siblings.

censuses - New Jersey

Analysis of occupations in the late 18th century  

Photograph by maximillianovich from pixabay.com