Occupation: H---

Charles Davis Dec 2, 2014:

You're probably right, Veronika In any case, if she helped out in the family store I don't think she'd be described as a "Help"; I'm pretty sure that term would only be applied to a paid domestic worker. If the store didn't make much money maybe she might have done paid housework for other people to increase the family income (there were not quite so many immigrant "helps" in those days), but I agree, it's not particularly likely. We just can't tell.

Veronika McLaren Dec 2, 2014:

My solution to a translation would probably be the "bracket" suggestion.

Veronika McLaren Dec 2, 2014:

I am not sure that the dashes necessarily stand for letters. I have seen quite a few birth certificates and the number of dashes and ./.'s seem quite random. If the mother is also the wife of the father (likely), then "Help" does not appear all that likely, unless she indeed officially helped out in the store.

Charles Davis Dec 2, 2014:

Well, I did post an answer here, though not with high confidence; I thought it was probably "housewife". But B D Finch pointed out that "Help", as in non-resident domestic worker, was another possibility, and that H plus three dashes suggests a four-letter word. I agree with that, and I withdraw my answer. I think the likeliest answer to this is "Help", but of course any answer is a more or less plausible guess.

AllegroTrans Dec 2, 2014:

Beyond that observation by Veronika I don't see how we can help

Veronika McLaren Dec 2, 2014:

The most common job description for women in the 60s who stayed home was "homemaker"