As I glean from my reading: Indentured servants (usually adults, sometimes chlidren) were generally paying off their passage to America. Apprentices were children (sometimes orphan) learning a trade and giving labor in exchange. Orphan children with no support were bound (sometimes apprenticed) to someone who would provide for them. Some were probably treated as family and others as drudges. Orphan children with property were given a guardian. The point was to guard the property, not the child. Differences in these positions depend on the purpose/intent -- each person (immigrant, county, parent, child, employer/guardian) had a different purpose: Indentured: immigrant -- to get passage to America; shipowner -- to make money on transporting people even though they had no money; employer -- to get a guaranteed worker. Orphan bound: county -- to remove the child from the county "welfare roll;" surviving parent (usually mother) -- to see children provided for; responsible adult -- to get a worker or to care for friends' and relatives' children. Apprentice: parent and apprentice -- to be trained to support self in future and be provided for now; county -- to remove from the welfare roll; employer -- to get a guaranteed worker. Guardian: dead/surviving parents -- to ensure the family land is preserved and the child is provided for; guardian -- to make money from managing the estate (and guard the estate and child, if a relative). Lynne Hundley ---------- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [WVGREENB-L] Riffe > Date: Thursday, May 27, 1999 12:52 AM > > Hello Listers, > Awhile back someone asked about a Jacob Riffe, I believe who may have been an > Indentured servant. I have had such a confusion of mail, again, and > apparently misplaced the message, so hopefully this reaches the right person, > or anyone else interested in the Riffe family. I am not researching this > family, but knew of a book at the RGS library. I finally got hold of it. > Turns out that it is a book about Apprentices, instead of indentures. I > looked up Jacob Riffe, and did not find him, not too surprising, considering > that he was apparently not an apprentice. > I am wondering where the line is drawn between an indentured servant and an > apprentice...was it just because the indentured was paying off someone, for a > bill? Either way, it appears to me, that people served "masters" and did not > seem to get much pay. And they both served a period of time. It is > interesting that in this book, there are six year old children as > apprentices, as well as women, with an undefined area of study. In thinking > about this, I suppose I am correct in concluding that the position of an > apprentice could be used to fill the gaps when the man of the house died, > leaving small children, or women, who were in need of protection. Perhaps > someone else knows more about this than I do. > I will try to list some names, which you might be interested in, in another > message. > Joyce in CA. > <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/3231/">Our Extended Family > </A> > > > ==== WVGREENB Mailing List ==== > Approximately 3 people subscribe to and unsubscribe from the list each week. You are encouraged to resubmit your queries once or twice per year to reach new listmembers.