Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Scott County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1815-1881. Local government records collection, Scott County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from Scott County.

Historical Information

Scott County was named for Winfield Scott, a native of Virginia, in recognition of his victories during the War of 1812; he was later commanding general of the American army during the war with Mexico, 1846-1848. It was formed from Lee, Russell, and Washington Counties by a statute adopted on 24 November 1814. The county court first met on 14 February 1815. The county seat is Gate City.

In 1780 the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Anglican vestries and churchwardens of the colonial period with elected bodies called Overseers of the Poor. The Overseers provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for the persons who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them or who failed to educate or instruct them, as well as orphans to become apprentices. The boys learned a trade and the girls learned domestic skills.

Scope and Content

Scott County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1815-1881, are bonds and contracts of apprenticeship given by the Overseers of the Poor, showing the names of master and apprentice, the trade to be taught, details of the contract, the amount of the bond and the names of sureties. Many of the apprentices bound out prior to 1866 were free African Americans.

Related Material

Additional Scott County Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Scott County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--History.
• Apprentices--Virginia--Scott County.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Scott County.

Geographical Names:

• Scott County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Indentures--Virginia--Scott County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Scott County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data