Help reading occupation please

[Sabrina]

On 1851 Census:

Ann Hunt - Ch...? woman

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=8860&iid=WORHO107_2043_2043-0501&fn=George&ln=Hunt&st=r&ssrc=&pid=8963805

I thought it might have been Char woman, but there seems to be an 'i' in it.

[Merry]

Looks like chain woman, which, if it was near Christchurch, where I live would mean watch chains, but that was a specialist occ of this area and mostly carried out by children (better eyesight!)

It could be chair woman - what did her husband do?

[Sabrina]

He was a Shoemaker. In the 1861 census she is a Farm Labourer.

[Merry]

Not much help really it it?!! lol

[Merry]

FMP have transcribed it as chair woman, but we really need to ask the enumerator if he maybe wasn't sure what she had written (or whoever filled in the householders schedule) so he scribbled!

On balance it's probably more likely she was a charwoman, but I don't think that is exactly what was written!

[Sabrina]

lol, not really! A logical thought process though! :d

[Margaret in Burton]

Choir Woman??

Was she a churchgoer?

[Sabrina]

Marg, My first thought when I first saw it was 'choir' - could that be an occupation?

[kiterunner]

Looks like Chain to me.

[Sabrina]

Thanks for all your thoughts - I shall have another look at it in the morning, when the eyes are not so tired!

[Margaret in Burton]

Looking at it again it could be Chain Woman. The one underneath looks like Glovering.

[Oakum Picker]

I have seen many instances of 'chairwoman' in census records & believe it is generally accepted as meaning/being 'charwoman'.

[Sabrina]

I have seen many instances of 'chairwoman' in census records & believe it is generally accepted as meaning/being 'charwoman'.

Thank you Glen, that's interesting. Probably the most likely occupation for her I think.