| Dear Fellow Genealogist,
The year is 1935. Husband-and-wife duo Robb and Trix Sagendorph of New Hampshire decide to channel their love of New England into a new publication: Yankee Magazine.
Fast forward nine decades, and their company (Yankee Publishing) was still in the family. When Family Tree joined Yankee in 2019, the Sagendorphs’ grandson was CEO. In an era when many family-owned businesses were forced to sell to private equity or close, Yankee beat the odds and kept the Sagendorphs’ vision alive.
Today we focus on a somewhat different kind of “family business”: what your ancestors did for work. The articles below cover how to determine your ancestor’s profession, then find records of that work.
On this day in 1935—the same year the Sagendorphs founded Yankee—Congress established a new benefits program designed to curb poverty among senior citizens: Social Security. If your ancestor lived (and especially if they worked) after 1935, you can likely request their SS-5, an application for a Social Security number. Learn how to read that document below.
As we do today, many of our ancestors got more from their work than just a paycheck. Their profession provided them with identity, community and purpose. By learning about what they did for a living, we also learn about them.
Working 9 to 5 (what a way to make a livin’),
— Andrew, Editor of Family Tree Magazine
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