Dear Yvonne and Steve You asked a question about how an 11-year old (lucky to know the age, aren't you?) could be a witness to a deed (indenture)? According to one of my favorite lecturers, Robert Young Clay, retired Archivist of Virginia State Library, lecturer, author, and topnotch genealogist, in Virginia, at least in Colonial times, a young person could be of almost any age to be a witness, provided he/she was deemed competent to understand what he/she (equal rights) was signing. As you may have noted, a witness frequently had to go before the court and give an oath that he/she had witnessed such a document. Considering that youngsters were expected to share the workload at home and that the life expectancy was so short, children were not coddled as they are today. Also, consider the sparseness of neighbors. Unlike New England, in the South, inhabitants were not clustered in villages. I note that one of my ancestors, an adult at the time, was frequently a witness to all kinds of documents. Reason: He operated an ordinary, and I deduce it was near the courthouse, and certainly near a major crossroads or ferry. Considering age: I attended one of the walk-around lectures at Colonial Williamsburg and the lecturer commented that Thomas Jefferson became president at age 32. One of the listeners was astounded at his youth. Then we discussed the mortality statistics of that time, and then the literacy rate. T. J. lived to be an old man, of course. Of course, if Mr. Clay is subcribing to this list, my apologies if I have misquoted you. E.W.Wallace