Daily AncestorApprentice
An apprentice was a young person bound by contract to a master for a set number of years to learn a trade or farming in return for keep and teaching.
In the 1600s and 1700s apprenticeship carried no stigma, and children of prosperous families were apprenticed too. Poor apprentices were children the overseers of the poor bound out so the town would not have to support them.
Contracts promised to teach the art, trade or mystery of a calling, such as husbandman or blacksmith, and often reading and writing. Boys usually served until 21 and girls until 18. Look for the indenture in town, county court or overseers' records.
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Daily Ancestor. "Apprentice." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/poor-relief/apprentice. Last checked 2026-10-03.