Child Apprentices in America was a book that just seemed to jump off the shelf at me. It was not anything like what I was searching for, but after exhausting the shelves of anything that resembled my original research I gave into the bibliophile in me to sit down in the big comfy leather chair and have a read.
Now, anyone that has spent any amount of face time with me knows that I would champion a system of apprenticeships here in this country and in this era. I am all for a more vocational approach to education beyond 6th grade, within reason. So, thinking this would be entertaining at least to read, I began.
Upon finishing the introduction and some of the background information on Christ's Hospital I learned it was Greyfriar's (One of my favorite stories is that of Greyfriar's Bobby - not related to this story except that the Franciscan Monks were called Greyfriars because of the grey robes they wore..... )
Now, in medieval times "hospital" meant a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young. Christ's Hospital was founded in 1553. You can read more about it in the links above.
What strikes me as heinous is the tradition to present the apprenticeship system that started with Christ's Hospital and involved the Virginia Company most often as one that trained and cared for these poor waifs. We have been told all through out our history classes that apprentices "took articles" and accepted apprenticeships for training and a better life AFTER they had reached a certain age and mastered some basic skills- most likely about the age of 14 - we have been led to believe.
Although this book, Child Apprentices in America, is NOT a primary source, there is evidence of vast amounts of documentation and research into ship records and that of the articles of apprenticeship that leads me to believe that the book is pretty darn accurate. I will do more research on this matter I can assure you.
The indexing that this book offers is a sad one. I read abstract after abstract of articles of apprenticeship for children ages 4, 5, 6 and some older. Some of these children were orphaned, while others' parents just could not afford to keep them any longer and conscripted their very young child to work upon one of the hundreds of ships that ran the merchant routes between the old world and that of the new. Many a shop keeper in the new America sent back to London for a young child to become an "apprentice" in their shop.
A child of 4 years old could not possibly have mastered any skill except going to the potty without help.
I saw listings of children ages 5 or 6 being sent off in the hands of a ship's captain in the employ of the Virginia Company to Barbados, Jamaica, Bermuda, and many other islands to be dock hands. There were hundreds of other snippets of stories to be gleaned from the abstracts found in this indexing.
Honestly it was too much for me to bear. As I helped my six year old daughter with her first grade math tonight and looked into her sweet innocent eyes, I thanked God that I have never had to face that situation in mine or my children's lives. I left the room for a few minutes so I would not cry in front of my daughter at the thought of ever having this happen to her, or my son.
I look at our idea of what poor is, or our idea of a hard life in the year 2012 in the United States. And then I imagine what life had to be like in order to think that sending my tender child off to work in such horrible conditions with a complete stranger and no expectation to EVER see them again would be an improvement over the situation they were in?
The book tries to honor these children that quite possibly shared the load on their backs to bring our country from a colony to a growing democracy with relatively free markets in the 1800's. I would like to believe that these children were able to work through the average 7 year term of articles and then go on to have a better life....but I know better. I wonder how many even LIVED through their apprenticeships, or the passage across the Atlantic. Think, there was no one really to answer to on the part of the company or the one requesting an apprentice. Abuse, ill care, and starvation were a common situation world wide for children. How could it be any better for an apprenticed child?
There were two other avenues for a child to go also...
St Thomas' Hospital (an actual medical hospital and housing facility)- for those impoverished by disease or accident and they were cared for. St Thomas' hospital has basically been known as a research hospital from the beginning.
The Bridewell Institution - for those reduced to want by their own idleness or vice where they were restrained, corrected and put to useful work. (How can a young child be reduced to want by their own idleness or vice? Restrained and corrected as a treatment?)
Again, I am brought back to a re-occurring issue: How are we taught HISTORY? How are we taught so called facts?
I knew before this book that there was ill treatment. That is a common theme throughout history. I just had never seen documentation of the AGES of these children before. I had always glossed over the obviousness of this fact. OF COURSE the apprentices were of such young ages. Few older children that were impoverished lived without crossing the law and lived a very rough life. A younger child would be preferred to that of an older child that would not be as easily manipulated - or discarded. A few older children were apprenticed to lawyers, surgeon-barbers, land acquisition offices and the like, but most of what I saw were ship hands bound for the East Indies, New England, or the Caribbean.
Just as when I walk through an older cemetery and see row upon row of children's graves it moves me very deeply to know that children's lives were so very HARD. And of course there are millions right now that do not have what we take for granted.
Again, History makes me take a long hard look at my present situation in a new light. Again, History has taught me something new about myself.
-Suzanna
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