Forced Immigration to Colonial Virginia and Maryland: The Indentured Servitude of Children Part 2

Historical Background 

Jamestown was founded in 1607 and was the first permanent English colony in North America. From the beginning of the Virginia Colony venture, there was a need for people to settle and work the land. The constant threat of death from starvation, disease, or Indian attack meant the population was always in decline.

 Archaeological dig within the walls of the original Jamestown fort. The image was taken by the author, April 2014.

In 1617 the Lord Mayor of London was asked by the Virginia Company to send poor children to the colony. Under the terms reached, these children were to be apprenticed in Virginia until the age of 21 and then given 50 acres of land for their use.[1] The Virginia company asked for 100 children in 1619 and again in 1622 under the same terms due to loss of colonists from the 1622 Indian massacre.[2] As the need for settlers, and people to work the land, grew kidnapping became the easiest way to meet the needs of the colonies.

A "Kidnapper" was slang of the period for "one that Decoys or Spirts Children away and sold them for the Plantations."[3] A Letter from King James I to Sir Thomas Smythe, Governor of the East India Company dated 13 January 1618 permitted Sir Smythe to collect "idle young people having no employment" and send them to work in Virginia.[4] This directive made unscrupulous men bolder in whom they took from the streets and ports.

Persons who paid for the transportation of another, with or without an indenture, were rewarded with land.  In both Maryland and Virginia, a person who paid the passage for another person was given 50 acres of land for each person, called a “headright.[5] In addition to the land, an Indentured person was considered the property of the person who held their indenture.  If the person who paid for the transportation died, the indenture was inherited or sold to another person.[6]

Sir Thomas Smythe. 

Images: Woodcut. Sir Thomas Smythe. (1558-1624 ) NPG D26047, National Portrait Gallery, London. https://www.npg.org.uk

 In extant Court Order Books from Maryland and Virginia, 124 ships were identified as transporting unindentured children to the American colonies.[7] Manifests and records from these ships give researchers information on departure and port of call information. From that data, the possible origins of these children can be surmised, and, in some cases, who took them.

Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland saw Irish children kidnapped and sent to America. In September 1653 the Council of State sent 400 Irish children to New England and Virginia. Another 1,000 Irish girls “of 14 years or under” were shipped to Jamaica in October 1655.[8]  These events lead to a general law allowing kidnapping of idle children dated 1659.[9]

The following chart shows numbers of children sent to the colonies without Indentures taken from extant court records in Virginia and Maryland. In the documents, the child identified themselves as spirited or kidnapped, or another person brought them forward and stated such. When compared to dates, the laws were passed, allowing the kidnapping of children, a spike in numbers is noticeable.

Number of Children Sent to Colonies Without Indentures[10]
Year	Number	Year	Number	Year	Number	Year	Number
1657	0	1673	105	1689	41	1705	25
1658	2	1674	161	1690	20	1706	41
1659	5	1675	194	1691	24	1707	14
1660	33	1676	226	1692	53	1708	34
1661	44	1677	146	1693	53	1709	7
1662	61	1678	175	1694	65	1710	34
1663	76	1679	215	1695	36	1711	8
1664	102	1680	140	1696	61	1712	17
1665	82	1681	76	1697	67	1713	8
1666	9	1682	106	1698	235	1714	18
1667	84	1683	63	1699	677	1715	10
1668	138	1684	52	1700	204	1716	5
1669	158	1685	150	1701	105	1717	8
1670	128	1686	145	1702	49	1718	25
1671	68	1687	74	1703	38	1719	45
1672	95	1688	58	1704	21	1720	16

Children who arrived with "irregular" indentures went before the court of the colony when they arrived. The indentures needed to be verified, or created, for the service to be legal. The court then set the time for the length of indenture, even if the child stated they did not willingly come to the colony.[11] Often the ages for younger children were adjusted on the boat, at purchase, or at court to show them to be younger than they were.[12] That practice resulted in many younger children serving longer terms.

Known Ages of Persons Without Indentures from Court Records[13]
Age	Number	Age	Number	Age	Number
1	1	10	198	19	125
2	0	11	253	20	141
3	3	12	439	21	73
4	4	13	528	22	38
5	4	14	623	23	3
6	13	15	546	24	6
7	23	16	506	25	2
8	41	17	416	26	0
9	98	18	335	27	0

The numbers of African and Indian children imported as slaves did not outnumber those of white children until the early 1700s.[14] Some researchers feel this trend was because it was harder for African and Indian children to run away. White children who ran away could easily blend into society since they knew the customs and spoke the language.  Virginia added two days of additional servitude, and Maryland added ten days of additional servitude for each day a runaway child was missing.[15] Despite the penalty, children often ran away since it only took one successful escape to be free.

Virginia Gazette. (1736) Advertisements. Virginia Gazette. 12 November. Collection: Virtual Jamestown. http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/imagesAds/v1288.jpg : accessed 6 April 2018.

 

Indentured servitude in the American colonies declined sharply with the increase of slaves from the Caribbean and Africa.  These people were a significant portion of the population who founded the United States, and their labour built the colonies.  Many families who trace their genealogy to the colonial era can claim one, if not more, of their immigrant ancestors among those who were indentured.

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[1] Mason, Mary Ann. Op. Cit.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Bodleian Library. (2010) The first Dictionary of English Slang, BE Gent c. 1699. Bodleian Library: University of Oxford.

[4] Phillips, Richard Hayes. Without Indentures. Op. Cit.

[5] Library of Virginia. (2018) Headrights (VA-Notes). Guides. http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/va4_headrights.htm : accessed 8 March 2018. 

[6] Stratford Hall. Indentured Servants.  Stratford Hall: Home of the Lees of Virginia. http://www.stratfordhall.org : accessed 8 March 2018. 

[7] Phillips, Richard Hayes. (2015) White Slave Children of Colonial Maryland and Virginia: Birth and Shipping Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

[8] Phillips, Richard Hayes. Without Indentures. Op. Cit.

[9] Henings, William Waller. (1819-1823) Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619. 13 Volumes. http://vagenweb.org/hening/ : accessed 15 March 2018.

[10] Henings, William Waller. (1819-1823) Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619. 13 Volumes. http://vagenweb.org/hening/ : accessed 15 March 2018.

[11] Mason, Mary Ann. Op. Cit.

[12] Phillips, Richard Hayes. Without Indentures. Op. Cit.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.