Occupation 1852

[ParibasWest]

Die Suche betrifft das Jahr oder den Zeitraum: 1852
Genaue Orts-/Gebietseingrenzung: Schlossborn
Konfession der gesuchten Person(en):
Bisher selbst durchgeführte Internet-Recherche (Datenbanken):
Zur Antwortfindung bereits genutzte Anlaufstellen (Ämter, Archive):

Hello,

I have Baptism records for two people in 1852 with the occupation listed as "farmer" but one in Bauer and the other is Ackersmann. Is there a distinction?

Thank you for helping me!
Gloria

[Anna Sara Weingart]

Hallo,

Here is a source -> https://books.google.de/books?id=Aw9...schied&f=false
where following distinction was done:

- The word Ackersmann describes only the job as farmer.
- The word Bauer describes the job as farmer and the status in the society.

That means: an Ackersmann could live in a city and therefore be a free townsman, but he worked as a farmer.

Against that, the Bauer lived only in villages, where he worked as a farmer. And in the 18th century he was a subordinate of the local feudal dominion.

Best regards.

[ParibasWest]

Hallo,

Here is a source -> https://books.google.de/books?id=Aw9...schied&f=false
where following distinction was done:

- The word Ackersmann describes only the job as farmer.
- The word Bauer describes the job as farmer and the status in the society.

That means: an Ackersmann could live in a city and therefore be a free townsman, but he worked as a farmer.

Against that, the Bauer lived only in villages, where he worked as a farmer. And in the 18th century he was a subordinate of the local feudal dominion.

Best regards.

Thank you. This is interesting trying to distinguish those two two words. If someone is referred to as a peasant, he could be either one. If the person owns land would he be described with a different word?
Regards, Gloria

[Anna Sara Weingart]

Ackersmann is a neutral word that describes only the occupation as a farmer.

[Anna Sara Weingart]

The Bauer can either be rich, if he owns many land, or poor, if he owns no land. But also if he is rich and owns many land, it does not prevent him of being only in a low social rang of the feudal society.

Against that, a baron or an earl can work as an Ackermann, if they like it. But a baron or an earl are never a Bauer, because they do have a higher social rang.

[Anna Sara Weingart]

sorry, i meant "social rank", not "social rang"

The social rank in the feudal society was not defined as how many land somebody owned, but in the rank in which someone was born to.
If a baron or an earl worked as an Ackersmann and owned only a small property, he had nevertheless a higher social rank than a Bauer who owned ten times more land.

[Anna Sara Weingart]

Thank you. This is interesting trying to distinguish those two two words. If someone is referred to as a peasant, he could be either one. If the person owns land would he be described with a different word?

Bauer and Ackersmann were usually both land owner.
For tenant farmers there exists other words in German.


A Bauer is automatically also an Ackersmann, but an Ackersmann is not automatically a Bauer.

[ParibasWest]

Bauer and Ackersmann were usually both land owner.
For tenant farmers there exists other words in German.


A Bauer is automatically also an Ackersmann, but an Ackersmann is not automatically a Bauer.

Thank you for the excellent explanation. I have no understanding of the history and want to learn more.
Regards, Gloria

[Anna Sara Weingart]

... I have Baptism records for two people in 1852 with the occupation listed as "farmer" but one in Bauer and the other is Ackersmann. Is there a distinction?

In the year of 1852 the differences in the meaning between the words Bauer and Ackersmann, as I described it above, have been leveled, due to the social revolutions as a result of the French Revolution. The serfdom didn't exist any more, so the Bauer was now a free man in the year 1852.
In your case, in the village Schlossborn, an Ackersmann and a Bauer were both living in a village (rural area). Thus, the word difference, as I described in my first post, that the word Ackersmann could mean, that a farmer lives in a city, doesn't match in your case.
So, what difference is left?
The word Ackersmannn comes from the word "ackern", that means "to plow an acre". That specifies the activity of an Ackersmann.
Against that, the word Bauer has a more general meaning of the various activities of a farmer. For example a "Milchbauer" (Milch-Bauer) is a dairy farmer (Milch = milk). So if you say "Bauer", this can also mean a Milchbauer. An "Obstbauer" is a fruit farmer. But these activities can't be expected if someone is called an Ackersmann.
I think, this is the difference of Bauer and Ackersmann in your case: the Bauer is a farmer with unspecified farming activities; the Ackersmann is someone whose farming activities are limited to growing field crops (for example: wheat, oat, potatoes).
Best regards

[ParibasWest]

In the year of 1852 the differences in the meaning between the words Bauer and Ackersmann, as I described it above, have been leveled, due to the social revolutions as a result of the French Revolution. The serfdom didn't exist any more, so the Bauer was now a free man in the year 1852.
In your case, in the village Schlossborn, an Ackersmann and a Bauer were both living in a village (rural area). Thus, the word difference, as I described in my first post, that the word Ackersmann could mean, that a farmer lives in a city, doesn't match in your case.
So, what difference is left?
The word Ackersmannn comes from the word "ackern", that means "to plow an acre". That specifies the activity of an Ackersmann.
Against that, the word Bauer has a more general meaning of the various activities of a farmer. For example a "Milchbauer" (Milch-Bauer) is a dairy farmer (Milch = milk). So if you say "Bauer", this can also mean a Milchbauer. An "Obstbauer" is a fruit farmer. But these activities can't be expected if someone is called an Ackersmann.
I think, this is the difference of Bauer and Ackersmann in your case: the Bauer is a farmer with unspecified farming activities; the Ackersmann is someone whose farming activities are limited to growing field crops (for example: wheat, oat, potatoes).
Best regards

Very interesting and helpful!
Gloria