<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Help with occupation on census</TITLE> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18812"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Laura,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In response to your request, I believe his occupation is manufacturer of sugared flag root.  This link has information on flag root: <A href="http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/Canada/HealthInformation/Encyclopedias/Calamus.htm">http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/Canada/HealthInformation/Encyclopedias/Calamus.htm</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>It notes "<FONT face=Verdana>Reputedly, the root was also coated with sugar and used as candy and breath freshener in the past. "  Also, on Google Books, there is "Medicinal and Other Uses of North American Plants a historical survey with special reference to the Eastern Indian Tribes".  It's a limited view, but I could get page 231 which lists assorted references to flag root.  Included is a 1919 reference "These rhizomes are to be seen on sale on the Street corners of Boston and are frequently chewed to sweeten the breath."</FONT></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">I would be eternally grateful if anyone can help me decipher the occupation for Benjamin Rogers on line 47 of the Nantucket, Massachusetts, 1880 census (ED 492, p. 21). I am looking at the image on Ancestry at:<BR><A href="http://search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6742&iid=MAT9_547-0024&fn=Maria+L.&ln=Rogers&st=r&ssrc=&pid=16982441">http://search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6742&iid=MAT9_547-0024&fn=Maria+L.&ln=Rogers&st=r&ssrc=&pid=16982441</A><BR><BR>Laura<BR><BR>-- <BR>Laura G. Prescott<BR>Brookline, NH<BR><I>www.LauraPrescott.com</I><BR></SPAN></FONT> <P><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>