Your relative might have had interests or hobbies that were unrelated to his “real” occupation–the one that is always listed in census records, death certificates, etc. But those non-occupational interests or hobbies might have caused your relative to appear in certain records–most often newspapers.
A relative who was a semi-professional musician may have been mentioned in the newspaper in a write-up related to a concert, an athlete may have been mentioned in the local sports pages due to a notable performance in a game, a local actor may have been mentioned as appearing in a local play, etc.
Document these activities that your relative was involved in. It will help you when searching for newspapers and other items where activities of this type may be mentioned.
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