Laboureur vs cultivateur in Alsace

by Tom Randolph
(Sheldwich, England)

In French records in the 1800s, was there a distinction between a 'laboureur' and a 'cultivateur' or were they interchangeable to mean a farmer?

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Laboreur or cultivateur or journalier
by: Suzele

Hi Tom,

As a general rule, they mean more or less the same thing. There's a tiny difference maybe.

Cultivateur is still used today to mean a farmer.

An eleveur is someone who raises animals.

It could mean someone who owns some land. Not a lot. But something and they grow things on it.

It can also mean someone who works for a larger landowner as a farmhand.

A journalier is definitely someone who gets paid to work for another person.

But in any case, it's someone who doesn't have a lot of land or wealth. And it's what most people did if they lived in a small village in the 1800s.

In most of the records I've looked at, they were mostly small farmers or day laborers.

Every once in awhile you find someone with additional skills!

Hope it helps,
Suzele

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