Amelia County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures 1736-1890

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Creator:
Amelia County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Amelia County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1736-1890, consist of contracts or agreements binding out white, Black, or multiracial children, sometimes those who were orphaned, to learn a particular trade or craft. These indentures may be written agreements between the family of the apprentice and those responsible for the indentured. In many cases this includes the direct involvement of the Overseers of the Poor. They typically contain the name of the person or institution binding out, the person to whom bound, the name of the person being indentured, the length of the apprenticeship, and the responsibilities of the person taking on the indenture.

These records are comprised of 20 folders of indentures. Many of the apprentices bound out prior to 1867 are identified in the indentures as "free Blacks" or "free persons of color."

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: In 1765, the General Assembly established that illegitimate children of "woman servants, Negroes, white women by Negroes were to be bound out" until the age of 21 for males and 18 for females. In the late eighteenth century, the General Assembly established the Overseers of the Poor, an appointed body that provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for people who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them and those who were orphaned through apprenticeship contracts. These agreements arranged for white children to be taught a trade or domestic skills as well as educated in reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 1805, the General Assembly amended the previous act to no longer require the master of "black or mulatto orphans" to teach reading, writing, or arithmetic, with the intent that this would prevent Black children from learning these skills.

Locality History: Amelia County was named for Amelia Sophia Eleanora, daughter of King George II. It was formed from Prince George and Brunswick Counties by an act passed in 1734 to take effect on 25 March 1735. The county court first met on 9 May 1735. The county seat is Amelia.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Amelia County (Va.) in 2001 under accession numbers 37990, 37993, and 37995, and in 2003 under accession number 40724.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Apprenticeship Indentures, 1736-1890, arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.45 cu. ft. (1 box)