Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Charlotte County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1787-1871. Local government records collection, Charlotte 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 Charlotte County.

Historical Information

Charlotte County was named for Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764. The county court first met on 5 March 1765. The county seat is Charlotte Court House.

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

Charlotte County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1787-1871, 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 Charlotte 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:

• Charlotte County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

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

Geographical Names:

• Charlotte County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data