As discussed in the Historical Background section, there are several reasons children were bound as an apprentice. Learn more on this portion of the guide about how to research each type on how to research each reason children were bound out as apprentices: children who were orphans, children who were illegitimate, and children from poor families. In all cases be sure to look at court records. Children who were volunteer apprentices are more difficult to research further due to the lack of records.
When an apprentice bond is found for a child, there are other records to look through to get more information both about the child and either the mother or father. Court records are always important to look through. Apprentice bonds, bastardy bonds, guardian records, poor house records are all created as a result of a court action, including orders by the court. Often, the information found in court records is complementary to the apprentice bond, bastardy bond, or guardian record. For example, in a fictional scenario, the apprentice bond may say that Susy Owens, a base born child who turned 8 years old in July is bound to John Phillips and the court minutes states that Susy Owens is age 8 and is the illegitimate child of Mary Owens. Both records combined give a fuller picture of the apprentice.
Continue learning more about researching children in the North Carolina records.
When researching orphaned children, there are several other related records to search through:
As previously discussed in this guide, being an orphan was a reason a child would be bound out as an apprentice. Even if the child was assigned a guardian, they could still have been bound out as an apprentice. If they were not assigned a guardian, it is even more likely they were bound out as apprentices. Before 1900, many county courts held an "orphan's" court on the last day of a court term. These court minutes show orphans assigned a guardian or being bound out as an apprentice. In some cases, they appeared several times, first to be assigned a guardian and later to be bound out as an apprentice. If there was ever a change in guardian or who they were bound out to as an apprentice, they would again appear in the county court minutes.
Image Caption: Order from the court to the sheriff of Granville County to bring in Daniel A. Paschall, guardian of Charity Powell. Dated 11 January 1847.
Original record is located at the State Archives of North Carolina.
Citation: Granville County. Superior Court. Civil Action Papers. C.R.044.325.123-124
The next step to look through is the county court records. If they became orphans before 1868, it’s good to look through the court minutes of the County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions; however, if the county also had the Superior Court running at the same time, it could be found in the Civil Action Papers. As with Apprentice bonds, court records are often complementary to the additional records such as guardian records.
When researching guardian records, it is important to understand is the guardian records are about guardians and not so much about the orphan. The exception is the record assigning an orphan to a guardian. Records with the assignment are often called guardian bonds. However, several counties don’t have guardian bonds until the later 1800s. Often the record that shows assignment to a guardian can be found in a miscellaneous category called “guardian records”. An example is Granville County. Their guardian records go back to 1758, ten years after the county was created; however, guardian bonds don't exist for the county until 1888. Earlier bonds are found in a collection called "Guardian Records". Guardian accounts are all about the guardian and are primarily records of payment to people for their service as a guardian. You will find guardian records under estate records. For example, Wake County:
Estate Records
Guardians’ Accounts, 1878-1939
Guardians’ Bonds, 1868-1892
Guardians’ Dockets, 1817-18
Guardians’, Index to, 1858-1934
Guardians’ Records of, 1892-1910
Guardians’ Records, 1772-1948
Wills and estates don’t always exist, but it’s important to search for them. To look for wills before 1900, search through the State Archive’s catalog of records. You can search for a person’s name or browse the alphabetical index. For wills in the 1700s, they can sometimes be found in deed books if they bequeath a lot of land. For estate records, take a look at the State Archive’s County Records Guide for the specific county. The SLNC Government & Heritage Library has published indexes of estate records for several counties. You can do a basic search of our catalog with the following format: “Wake County Estates” or “Wake County Estate Records” to see what we have in microfilm and print. In addition, many early wills 1665-1789 can be found in the North Carolina Digital Collection.
When researching orphaned children, there are several other related records to search through:
When an unwed woman became pregnant, or recently had a baby, or in some cases if the husband suspected the baby was not his, and someone notified the county court, a charge of having an illegitimate child would be filed against her. The courts would ask the woman who the father is. Sometimes the father was named and other times she refused. When she did name a father, the court would send an order to the sheriff in the county where they lived to bring the alleged father to the next court to answer the charge. At the court where they were to appear, the alleged father answered the charge, a bond was drawn up with the father and one or two bondsmen who paid a bond to the county, known as a bastardy bond. The purpose of this was to ensure the child would not become a ward of the court. Even if the father paid the bond, the child could still be bound out as an apprentice. If the mother refused to name a father, she and up to two bondsmen paid the bond. In some cases, illegitimate children were bound out as apprentices to relatives such as an uncle, adult brother, an aunt if they were girls. It is also more likely they will be bound out at a younger age; there are cases when the child is a baby.
It should be noticed that children are rarely named in bastardy bonds and deductive reasoning will need to be used to find out who the child is. For example, in a bond and complementary court case, the woman is "with child" (meaning pregnant), you can compare birthdates and ages to eliminate children that were likely born before that date to help you narrow down the child. Also the same can be said children born more than a year after the date of the bond.
As with apprentice bonds, the bond was created from an order of the court. If you find a bond, check the county court minutes within the previous few weeks. The court minutes and bastardy bonds often supplement each other, and you may find out new information in the court minutes that is not on the bond. Look through is the county court records. There were two court systems, the court minutes of the County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, which existed until 1868 and the Superior Court, which took over in 1868, but in some counties they ran at the same time. Before 1868, always check the Court of Pleas and Quarter sessions for the county and if the Superior Court also existed, it is a good idea to check the minutes for Civil Action papers. After 1868, it is necessary to check the Civil Action Papers.
When researching children from poor families, there are a few other related records to search:
For children from poor families, there is often nothing in the bond to show this, but the court record might. Sometimes in the court minutes where the child is bound out as an apprentice, there may also be a court record showing the parents being admitted to the poor house. There were several alternative names for a poor house: almshouse, poor farm, home for the poor and infirm, county farm, county home. If there is no indication why they are bound out, it's a good idea to county poorhouse records.
Poor house records are can be found at the State Archives of North Carolina. Finding the records can be confusing. Technically, poor house records are part of the court records section; however, if you go to the Archives to do research, they are physically located in the "miscellaneous" collection. The records are often related to finance, but the court minutes can name who was admitted to the poor house. Also, from 1790 to the early 1900s, census records list people who lived in these homes. Sometimes the only poorhouse record is the county court naming who is admitted.
The final type of apprentice are volunteers. Because of the nature of how they become apprentices as volunteers, rather than forced into the system, there is a real lack of records beyond the apprentice bond and the complementary court record. A reason that families may have voluntarily placed their children in the system is due to the legal requirements for apprentices to receive an education and be taught to read and write; this is especially true if they lived in a rural area with no school nearby. If your ancestor was an apprentice, but nothing in the apprentice record to show they were an orphan, born illegitimately, or had parents in the poor house, there may be a good chance that they were voluntary apprentices. Be sure to look for the accompanying court record to help complete your search.