Indentured Servants During the Colonial EraMaryland State Archives
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Indentured servants were persons obliged by contract to work for a stated number of years. During the early settlement of Maryland, many newcomers were indentured servants who wanted to immigrate to the colony, but could not pay for passage. Those people could agree to exchange time in service for the cost of the voyage. The servant might have accompanied his master to Maryland, or signed papers with a sea captain who then sold the contract after landing in the colony. One form of indenture obliged the master to provide transportation, food, clothing, and lodging for the servant during the term of servitude. On completion of the servant's term, the master may have promised to furnish clothing, a year's provision of corn, and the right to 50 acres of land. The usual length of service was 4 to 5 years, but in the case of a valuable skilled worker, such as a blacksmith or cooper, the time could be shortened to induce the person to sign.
In 1717, the British Parliament adopted a policy of transportation, which banished convicts to the American colonies, usually for 7 years, and this allowed them to be bought and sold as indentured servants during their sentences. These indentured servants were subject to the master's discipline and could be sold to other masters. Neither men nor women could marry until they completed or purchased their service contracts.
A person could be placed in servitude by the action of a county court. In 1773, for example, a Frederick County female servant was adjudged for bastardy, having a child "begot by a Negro." The child had been born free because that was the status of the mother. The white mother was sold for 7 years of servitude and her mulatto daughter, 11 months old, was sold as a servant to serve until age of 31 years.
Materials compiled in this document can be used by educators to fulfill the following National History Standards for Grades K-4:
STANDARD 1: Family life now and in the recent past; family life in various places long ago.
Standard 1A: The student understands family life now and in the recent past; family life in various places long ago.
K-4: Compare and contrast family life now with family life in the local community or state long ago by considering such things as roles, jobs, communication, technology, style of homes, transportation, schools, religious observances, and cultural traditions. [Compare and contrast]
STANDARD 3: The people, events, problems, and ideas that created the history of their state.
Standard 3B: The student understands the history of the first European, African, and/or Asian-Pacific explorers and settlers who came to his or her state or region.
K-4: Use a variety of sources to construct a historical narrative about daily life in the early settlements of the student’s state or region. [Obtain historical data]
Standard 3C: The student understands the various other groups from regions throughout the world who came into the his or her own state or region over the long-ago and recent past.
3-4: Develop a timeline on their state or region and identify the first inhabitants who lived there, each successive group of arrivals, and significant changes that developed over the history of their state or region. [Establish temporal order]
DESCRIPTION: Advertisement, "To Be Sold, A Likely Servant-Man's Time ...."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: May 17, 1745
SOURCE: Maryland Gazette Collection in Early State Records Online
TRANSCRIPTION: To Be SOLD, A Likely Servant-Man's Time, who has about 6 Years to Serve: He is a strong, healthy, young Fellow, well-tempored to the Climate, and is able to do any Country Work.
Any Person inclinable to purchase the said Servant's Time may enquire of the Printer thereof, and be further satisfied.
REPOSITORY: Maryland State ArchivesDESCRIPTION: Advertisement, "Run away from the Subscriber ... an Irish Servant-Man named James Barker..."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: June 14, 1745
SOURCE: Maryland Gazette Collection in Early State Records Online
TRANSCRIPTION: Run away from the Subscriber, living at Chaptico, in St. Mary's County, on the 9th of this Instant June, an Irish Servant-Man named James Barker, about 22 Years of Age, is short and well-set, much pitted with the Small-pox, and pretends to be something of a Sailor. He had with him, a white Whitney Coat and Breeches, a green Callimanco Jacket without Sleeves, a check'd Shirt, a Silk Handkerchief, a white Linen Shirt, a course Linen Shirt, and tarr'd Trowsers of the same, two Pair of good Shoes, one Pair of white Thread Stockings, one fie Hat, one old Felt-hat, and a long brown Wig.
Whoever secures the said Servant, so as his Master may have him again, shall have 20 s. Reward, if taken in Maryland; and 3 I if taken in another Province; besides what the Law allows.
GEORGE BOYD
REPOSITORY: Maryland State ArchivesDESCRIPTION: Advertisement, "Run away from the Subscriber on the 29th of May last, two Servant-Men, one of the White, the other a Negro...."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: June 14, 1745
SOURCE: Maryland Gazette Collection in Early State Records Online
TRANSCRIPTION: Run away from the Subscribers, on the 29th of May last, two Servant-Men, one of them White, the other a Negro. The white Man had on when he went away, a blue Drugget Coat, a black Jacket, and a Pair of Osnabriggs Trowsers, and has one of his Hands wither'd. The Negro had on a Country-Cloth Jacket and Breeches, and an old Felt Hat. His is about 21 Years of Age and has a roguish Look.
Whoever secures the said Runaways, so that their Masters may have them again without further Charge, shall have Forty Shillings Reward, besides what the Law allows.
Kent Island in Queen Anne's County
JOHN CARTER
JACOB CARTER
REPOSITORY: Maryland State ArchivesDESCRIPTION: Advertisement, "To Be SOLD, a Likely Servant-Woman...."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: June 21, 1745
SOURCE: Maryland Gazette Collection in Early State Records Online
TRANSCRIPTION: To be SOLD, A Likely Servant-Woman, that has 6 Years and a half to serve: She is strong and healthy, can do any Household Work, and understands Weaving. Enquire of the Printer thereof.
N.B. Her principal Failing is Drunkenness.
REPOSITORY: Maryland State ArchivesDESCRIPTION: Advertisement, "Run away from the Subscriber, living in Fairfax County, Virginia, ... an English Convict Servant Woman, named Isabella Pierce...."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: June 21, 1745
SOURCE: Maryland Gazette Collection in Early State Records Online
TRANSCRIPTION: Run away from the Subscriber, living in Fairfax County, Virginia, on the 30th Day of March last, an English Convict Servant Woman, named Isabella Pierce, of a middle Stature, a thin Visage; and limps with her right Leg, which if examined will appear to have a large Scar on each Side of the Ancle. Her Apparel, when she went away, was a small Plad Hat, a blue Jacket, a strip'd Swankin ditto, a Mancks Cloth Petticoat, a Pair of white Plad Stockings, and Country-made Shoes: she is supposed to have changed her Apparel, and to have stolen the Indenture of one Bridget Castile, and to pass by it in her Name: She has stolen from the Subscriber two Gold Rings, a Silver Stock-Buckle, and about 6 I. in Cash.
Whoever will apprehend the said Isabella Pierce, and convey her home, with the Goods, Papers, and Money found upon her, if taken in Maryland or Virginia Governments, shall have 5 I like Money; paid by my, living at the Mouth of Dogus Creek, on Potomack River, in the said County.
THOMAS LEWIS
REPOSITORY: Maryland State ArchivesDESCRIPTION: Letter, Elizabeth Springs to her father, John Sprigs in White Cross Street near Cripple Gate, London
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: Sep. 22, 1756
SOURCE: Published in Isabel Calder, ed., Colonial Captivities, Marches, and Journeys (New York: Macmillan Company, 1935), 151–52 and available at Digital HistoryDESCRIPTION: Account, John Hammond
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1656
SOURCE: John Hammond, Leah and Rachel, or, The Two Fruitful Sisters Virginia and Mary-land: Their Present Condition, Impartially Stated and Related, 1656 and available at Digital History
Slavery and Indentured Servants. From the Library of Congress
Resources on Incorporating Primary Sources and Historic Sites in Classroom Instruction
Explorations: Indentured Servitude and Slavery. From Digital History
Fogleman, Aaron S. "From Slaves, Convicts, and Servants to Free Passengers: The Transformation of Immigration in the Era of the American Revolution" The Journal of American History (Jun. 1998): 43-76.Heavner, Robert O. "Indentured Servitude: The Philadelphia Market, 1771-1773" The Journal of Economic History, (Sep. 1978): 701-713.
Lancaster, R. Kent. "Almost Chattel: The Lives of Indentured Servants at Hampton-Northampton, Baltimore County" Maryland Historical Magazine (Fall 1999).
Smith, Abott Emerson. "The Indentured Servant and Land Speculation in Seventeenth Century Maryland" The American Historical Review (Apr. 1935): 467-472.
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An Archives of Maryland Online Publication
© Copyright, Maryland State Archives,
July 15, 2005