Genealogy Chat

My family were saddlers and wheelwrights mainly. Started an apprenticeship at 14, finished at 21, became a journeyman (paid by day or "jour") and eventually became a master.

But something I spotted in my Molyneux Family History World last quarter was fairly new to me and may be to other Genes members. I quote:

PARISH APPRENTICESHIPS were a means of training poor children. Until 1692 parish children could be apprenticed to a local household against the wishes of the child or their parents and with no premium being paid to the master. This practice seems to have been particularly common in rural parishes. From 1692, apprenticeships of even a short duration also became a means of gaining a setlement, and overseeers have been accused of subsequently seeking to apprentice difficult children outside their own parish in order to save the cost of future poor relief.

Both boys and girls were apprenticed. Boys could be apprenticed to the full range of ocupations from chimney sweep to apothecary and engineer. Girls, on the other hand, were normally apprenticed to "housewifery", though they could also expect training in forms of work associated with the occupation practised by the household in which they were bound.

Until 1767 a parish apprenticeship normally lasted until the age of 24 for boys and 21 (or marriage) for girls.

The nature of parish apprenticeships changed following the passage of Jonas Hanway's second Registration Act in 1767. The main change was to introduce a maximum length of 7 years""

John,

I was really interested to see that there was a change to a maximum of 7 years apprenticeship in 1767 as I didn't know about this and I don't think everywhere complied.

I have a copy of an indenture dated 1816. In it the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish have placed a little girl with my ancestor, the local vicar. She is 10 and the apprenticeship is to last until she is 21, so 10 or 11 years. She is an apprentice in "husbandry" which probably means she was a skivvy. My ancestor was to provide for her so that she wasn't a charge on the parish.

I just hope he was kind to her!

They can be very interesting records, some of which I have seen at the Guildhall in London.

Thanks Joy and Vera. Joy, what you said about the Guildhall records triggered a memory that I had seen on a thread that you knew quite a lot about these.

A couple of interesting thoughts today have struck me:
1. When you see these samplers, were those done as part of a housewifery
or husbandry apprenticeship.
2. What would kids today think of 7 years of work with virtually no pay after they left school. And unable to marry their beloved till they had finsished their training?

On my tree, my 7 x great grandfather married in 1670. He was born 1649, so was 21. He married daughter of his master. I think she may have been pregnant with my 6 x gt grandfather when they married.

Can't remember the name of the marriage, but the marriage was secret and was not in their local parish church. I believe it was because he had not finished hos apprenticeship and/or it was not acceptable to marry daughter of your master. In fact, I have never located marriage. When the "home" parish church found out, he and his wife were ex-communicated. I am sure he was quite religious even as a young man, and that would have hurt greatly. But he was re-communicated within 5 years and went on to be a churchwarden at same parish church (Newport in Salop) :-) :-)