Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Westmoreland County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1788-1881. Local government records collection, Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County.

Historical Information

Westmoreland County was named for the English county. It was formed from Northumberland County in 1653. The county seat is Montross.

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

Westmoreland County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1788-1881, 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 persons of color.

Related Material

Additional Westmoreland 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:

• Westmoreland County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

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

Geographical Names:

• Westmoreland County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data