Fascinating photographs reveal the unknown history of the hard-working American hobo who lived by a strict moral code and traveled the country in search of honest jobs and freedom (22 Pics)

The remarkable photographs shine a light on the unknown history of the American hobo in the 20th century

They are frequently branded lazy or mistaken for 'bums' who sleep on trains and carry a bag hung on a stick

But a closer look reveals many hobos were homeless American Civil War veterans searching for honest work

Not to be confused with a 'bum' or a 'tramp' - tramps are people who travel and don't work while bums are people who don't travel and don't work - a hobo is a term that came about after the American Civil War (1861-1865). The war laid much of the country to waste, ripping apart families and destroying towns. Pictured: A family who traveled by freight train, seen in Yakima Valley, Washington, August 1939. Ironically, these migrant workers helped build the very railroads they travelled on, as well as the sewer systems, water lines, roads and bridges that make up the American landscape

A migratory boy in a squatter camp who had come to Yakima Valley, Washington for the third year running to pick hops. His mother said: 'You'd be surprised what that boy can pick'. The tradition emerged after the war and later, when soldiers on both sides often discovered they had no home to return to and no job. So many men took off on the road looking for any short-term manual work they could find - and often found paid jobs on the very rails they relied upon for transportation. Their families would often join them

Boxer Lou Ambers holds onto a freight train. Lou was a world lightweight boxing champion but before that and during the Great Depression era he travelled across America to compete in 'bootleg bouts' so he could earn money for his widowed mother.

A hobo who had arrived for the Klamath Basin potato harvest, Tukelake, California, in August 1939

Men wash dishes at the Hotel de Gink in 1915, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers in New York. In 1889, the Nationwide Hobo body was founded in Missouri - with a strict ethical code for all hobos. The sixteen rules include tenets like 'Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you', 'When in town, always respect the local law and officials', 'Always try to find work, even if temporary' and 'Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk'

Lower Douglas Street, Omaha, pictured in November 1938, was one of the hobo centres of the Old West. The National Hobo Convention has taken place in Britt, Iowa every August since 1900 and hobos began their own 'hotels for hobos' such as the Hotel de Gink in New York City where they could be self-sufficient. Notable hobos like future America novelist Jack London and labor activist T-Bone Slim travelled America during this time

The number of hobos increased greatly during the Great Depression era of the 1930s. With no work and no prospects at home, many men - and even whole families - decided to travel for free by freight train and try their luck elsewhere. Pictured: A man in a hobo jungle making turtle soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota, circa 1939

Florence Owens Thompson, also known as 'Migrant Mother' from the iconic Great Depression photograph, sits in a makeshift tent at a pea pickers camp in Nipomo, California, in 1936. At around this time an entire language, known as 'the hobo code', was created to help migrant workers communicate with one another

A hobo in ragged clothing sits on a fence in Napa, California, circa 1920. The visual signs which hobos wrote in charcoal and coal aided their fellow travellers in finding a safe space to rest for the night, or a home that might offer a warm meal, while simultaneously warning others of a mean dog

Two hobos walk along railway tracks, with one carrying a brindle.

A man - said to have been a hobo for over 25 years working on mines, lumber camps and farms - is photographed in December 1938. These fascinating images show how misunderstood and vilified the hobo of the early twentieth century can be today - when in fact they were often men with principles, looking for a fair day's work. Others, meanwhile, just wanted to live with no address and no strings attached

Often depicted sleeping in a train car or carrying a bag on a stick over their shoulder as they wander across the countryside, the American hobo is frequently branded as lazy or mistaken for a 'bum'. Pictured: A group of men in suits gather around a table full of food at a hobo convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1912

 James Eads Howe pictured in 1922, the founder of the International Brotherhood Welfare Association, which was an aid society for hobos. Howe was born to a wealthy St. Louis family but chose instead to live his life as a hobo. 

A man in a hobo jungle in Minneapolis, Minnesota kills a turtle to make soup, circa 1939

Men drink their morning coffee at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York, circa 1915

A hobo sits against a fence with his dog in Hoboken, New Jersey, circa 1910.  A closer look reveals that many hobos were homeless American Civil War veterans who embraced a strong work ethic and were forced to travel the country in search of their next honest dollar

A barber working at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York, circa 1915. In the background a man can be seen waiting with a newspaper 

A hobo with pince-nez sits against a fence with his dog in Hoboken, New Jersey, circa 1910. Attached to the dog's collar is a bucket

Another hobo with his loyal pooch stands outside gates while holding his pipe in Hoboken, New Jersey, circa 1910

Future World Lightweight Boxing Champion Lou Anders (pictured) was forced to take to the rails and work following the economic downturn. Here he is seen cooking over a campfire, using a tin can on a stick

A hobo wakes up early in the morning from his bed alongside a corral in Imperial Valley, California, in 1939

Men prepare mulligan stew, a famous hobo dish, at the Hotel de Gink, a hotel for hobos and itinerant workers located in New York, circa 1915