I was researching a South African family the other day who did some traveling back and forth between South Africa and England. While examining a 1912 passenger arrival manifest at Southampton, UK, I noted a gentleman listed on the same manifest as the ancestral family whose occupation caught my attention. Check it out:

1912 Southampton Passenger Arrival List

In case you can’t read it, Mr. M. S. Henikman was an “Ostrich Feather Buyer”, a South African citizen who was traveling to England. I’ve never seen this occupation in any of my previous research, which was why it caught my attention.

So what in the world would an Ostrich feather buyer do? I just had to look into this more. Come to find out, Ostrich farms started in South Africa in the 1850s and during the late 1800s and early 1900s. There were various uses for Ostrich feathers, the two most prominent uses that I could find references to were feather dusters and quill pens. Mr. Henikman probably was a merchant who would purchase feathers in South Africa from farmers and private collectors and then take them to England where he would sell them to manufacturers who produced various products such as pens and dusters.

It’s always fun when you come across an unusual occupation in your family tree. When this happens, do some extra digging to find out exactly what such a job may have entailed. This will help your family history really come to life and you’ll come to have a greater appreciation for your ancestors!