A look at Dafler jobs

I have two data sources to share that provide a cross-section of the occupations Daflers have had across some discrete periods of time. In today's post, we'll look at those occupations and discuss what they might have meant in a broader context.

Note: this report is going to be particularly focused on the careers and achievements of men. This is not meant to ignore or minimize the impact of Dafler women on the finances and stability of their families; rather the records and the societies of that time were geared to document the activities of the fathers and husbands of the family.

Dafler occupations in Franconia, 1500-1800

The records provided to us from Annelise Uckele in 2012 included occupations as found in church records. Surprisingly, almost all records included a description of the profession. Here's a list of the occupations she compiled for the ancestors of Johnn Dörfler, along with English translation:

Occupation	English translation	Count
Bauer, Bäuerin, Bauernkind, Bauerntochter	Farmer, farmer's wife / son / daughter	18
Köbler, Köblersfrau	Small farmer, small farmer's wife	2
Lohnbauer im Schloss	Contract farmer in the castle	1
Markgräfl. Lehenvogt	Margravial feudal baliff	1
Schmiedmeister, Schmiedmeisterfrau	Master blacksmith; master blacksmith's wife	7
Schuhmachermeister, Schuhmachermeister-frau	Master shoemaker; master shoemaker's wife	7
Müllermeister, Müllersfrau	Master miller; miller's wife	2
Maurer	bricklayer	1
Schlossbauer, SchlossBäuerin	Castle builder; builder's wife	3
Steinhauer	Stonemason	1
Dienstmagd	Maid	1
Zimmerer	Carpenter	1

From this list, the stereotype that the Dafler family is a family of farmers has significant historical support. Our ancestors in Germany were mostly farmers throughout their recorded history, and farming was more prevalent as we get closer to the time Johann Wolfgang departed from Germany to the United States. Skilled trades were not uncommon, especially farther back in our history - but by the start of the nineteenth century our family was dependent on agriculture. This put our ancestors very much at risk for several threats - the increasing fragmentation of farms as they were repeatedly split between sons as well as the effects of volcanic eruptions and the severe "year without a summer" in 1816, the culmination of many years of poor growing climate and failed crops.

Dafler Occupations in WWI and WWII Draft Cards

One of the advantages of our unique surname means that one can pull all records that include "Dafler" and get a manageable and comprehensive set of records for our family. Using the government records from Fold3, I downloaded all draft cards with the surname Dafler. About 95% were linkable to Daflers in our family tree.

Draft cards give us an insight into the locations, physical description, relationships, and other attributes of the men surveyed in a snapshot of time (in this case, 1918 and 1942). These cards can confirm birth dates and addresses, shed light onto marriages, and reveal employers.

An example WWII draft registration card. Cards vary in data collected but are mostly similar.

I compiled the employment information for nineteen WWI draft cards and 26 WWII draft cards by "job category". Take a look at how the trends changed in a generation:

The most obvious change is the introduction of manufacturing as a occupational opportunity. Dayton and Richmond offered several large factories eager for labor to work on the new assembly lines, such as Frigidaire, Delco, Brunswick Radio, Sheffield Gage, and the Wayne Works. The factories offered a more stable income that didn't depend on the weather and had much more predictable schedules. (From my 2025 perspective, I also envy their tradition of "pensions" - a retirement system that is all but extinct now!) In just 24 years, Dafler men quickly pivoted to this career path and really didn't look back.

Occupations that I considered "service" providers stayed constant across this time period. In 1918, I found Daflers working as barbers, pharmacists, billing clerks, and bank cashiers. By 1942 we could add teacher, grain mill operation, and work at the Dayton Power and Light Co. to that list.

The other change on this chart is more subtle - two young Daflers listed themselves as students in 1942. One was a graduating senior, and another was studying at Indiana University. Dale Dafler was a recent high school graduate in 1941. According to my father, he was actually heading to Dayton to apply to the fire department in December 1941 when he heard the news of Pearl Harbor; he immediately turned around and took the interurban right back to Preble County - knowing his next job would be in the military form of public service. (His draft card was the only one I saw that listed the submitter as "unemployed".)

Conclusions

Saying that the Daflers have always been farmers has always been an oversimplification, as the data shows. Agriculture has certainly played a large part in Dafler family economic life, but our family has also shown the ability to master specialty skillsets and work in various manual and professional fields.

The transition from agriculture as the dominant career field to manufacturing happened in very short order. After literally centuries of wrestling our daily bread out of the earth, the Dafler family left agriculture over the course of about two generations. I wouldn't claim that these changes are special to the Dafler family; instead, they tell a tale about how our family adapted to and took advantage to widespread economic changes in the United States - how the Dafler family stands as a typical family in the Miami Valley.