Indenture of apprenticeship

The contract was made between the master and a parent, guardian or official, such as the overseers of the poor or, after the Civil War, a Freedmen's Bureau agent. It usually gives the apprentice's name and age or birth date, the trade or skills to be taught, the length of service, the duties of both sides and sometimes a bond.

Because it often states an age or birth date, the indenture can help where no birth record exists. When the term ended, a freed apprentice might ask for a copy of the cancelled indenture as proof of freedom.