Apprenticeship agreements (often called indentures) were common in colonial America, following traditions long in place in the old country. Apprenticeships were a means by which a young person was taught a trade and an established master of that trade obtained help. Some trades still require apprenticeships. Many apprenticeships were privately arranged and there is no documentation, but many indentures were officially recorded.
Indentures were legal agreements and could be recorded even if the child served an apprenticeship under the father or a close family member. The contract usually stipulated the names of both parties, the length of the contract, and the conditions by which both must abide. In general, the master was required to train the apprentice in a trade, provide food, shelter and clothing and perhaps some formal education. The apprentice was to serve the master, behave well and honorably and not pass on trade secrets. These agreements were recorded in a court. If your ancestor engaged in trade, you will want to look for indenture records in the appropriate locality. Often they are with the deeds, but may be found in probate or orphans' court records, with guardianships.
You may find them in books labeled "Minute Books". In some New England towns, they may be in the town records.
There are also connected records. Not all apprenticeships ran smoothly and troubles were sometimes ironed out in the courts. Runaways were not uncommon and advertisements in local newspapers often named and described the absent apprentice.
Not all indenture records are for true apprenticeships. Some record an agreement whereby a child, usually of a poor family, is "bound out" either to earn an income for the family, or to provide for the child when the family can't or if the child is orphaned. Some immigrants paid for their passage to the new world by signing or being bound by agreements to work for a certain number of years to pay off the cost of the transportation.
