Occupational Musical Chairs

[darkerhorse]

In rural Sicily in the late 19th century, my ancestors (father and four sons), all living in the same town, had their occupations variously recorded as colono, contadino, villico, and massaro.

Many times their occupations were reported by informants such as midwife, relative, or unrelated individuals. Sometimes they were self-reported, or at least they appeared in person when the documents were recorded.

However, at one time or another, each of them had their occupations listed as massaro, including self-reported titles. I haven't noticed whether more than one of them had the title massaro at the same time.

My direct ancestor (third oldest son) was most consistently referred to as massaro - from marriage until death. The occupational titles of the others varied over time and none died with that title.

My question is what is their likeliest employment scenario for this family?

[MarcuccioV]

The base industry would be farming. In our area, "contadini" were peasant farmers or sharecroppers that worked for a "possidente" (landowner). "Villico" is used primarily in Sicily and my guess would be more of a hired hand that had no stake in the crop itself. "Massaro" indicates a farm manager of some sort. They are all related, but different. We also had the term "Bovaro" (cattle rancher)...

[darkerhorse]

AI suggested the family rotated the position of farm manager. My main interest is whether the massaro was a tenant farmer or a farm manager, and which while higher status.

I noted that you chose this over pasta e fagioli...

[MarcuccioV]

I noted that you chose this over pasta e fagioli...

Never a fan of pasta e fagioli, despite my mother making it quite often...