What was the apprentice bond issued at the beginning of Emancipation Proclamation to young slaves that kept them from being freed?

The person who "owned" my grandmother during slavery filed an Apprentice Bond at the beginning of Emancipation. It appears that is was for the slave owner to keep young children enslaved?

I would like more information and where can these bonds be found in the Archives..

  •  

    Thanks for posting your query on History Hub!

    Apprenticeships/Apprentice Bonds were a traditional form of training or schooling in which a minor learned a particular trade by living with, assisting, and working under the guidance of a master craftsman/craftswoman. It was essentially a way for a person to learn a profession (the role that the various technical schools fulfil in today's society). The minor would be bound to the craftsperson for a set period of years and would not be freed from their authority until adulthood (variously about age 20, 21, etc., depending on state).

    Immediately following emancipation, many former slaveholders began to abuse the apprenticeship system as a means to basically "re-enslave" some African American children. Those children would basically be under the legal custody of the craftsperson rather than their own parents. Most of the recently freed-people vehemently resented and resisted this system.

    Since these apprenticeships were not regulated or administered by any agency of the Federal Government, these types or records are not generally held at the National Archives. The National Archives does house the records of the old local courts for the District of Columbia, so we would have some apprenticeship-related records for the formerly-enslaved person living in the Washington, DC area (which would only be relevant if your grandmother was enslaved or resided in DC). But generally, apprenticeship records would be housed on the state or local level, so you should check with the state archives for the particular state where your grandmother lived.

    We hope this information is of assistance!

    Sincerely,

    Archives 1 Reference Branch (RR1R)
    RR1R-24-62249-DD