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Before trade schools came into existence, boys in their early teens (and sometimes as young as six years old) served apprenticeships. |
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Usually they were "bound out" or "indentured" to learn a trade and serve a master as an apprentice until they reached the age of twenty-one. |
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Officially, girls did not serve apprenticeships in most places. Instead they became indentured servants in exchange for their upkeep and learned domestic skills. |
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Orphans, fatherless children, and those from poor families served apprenticeships more often than others. Whenever you encounter an orphaned ancestor also check for probate records. |
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Apprenticeship records include the terms of the agreement made between the master and the parent(s) or guardian of the child. |
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Most masters agreed to provide some compensation when the apprentice had fulfilled his obligation, such as a suit of clothes and a set of the tools needed to practice the trade. |
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Apprenticeship and indentured servant records
can be found in New England town records and
elsewhere in county court minutes and order
books, and sometimes in deed books.
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