Legacy Tree Logo
Contact Us
  • English
    • Auto
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Swedish
    • Danish
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Russian
Contact Us
  • Services
  • Highlights
  • About
  • Press
  • Blog
  • .
    • English
      • Auto
      • Spanish
      • Portuguese (Brazil)
      • Swedish
      • Danish
      • Norwegian Bokmål
      • Russian

All in a Day’s Work: Using Apprenticeship Records to Trace Your Ancestors from the United States to England

February 27, 2017 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Making the leap backward from the United States to England during colonial times can be difficult. There aren’t those lovely modern passenger lists to use to determine the identity of the family left behind, places of birth, and family or friends who have already immigrated. But, if you are fortunate, and know one or two key pieces of information about that colonial ancestor, Findmypast has some great databases which can help you to make that leap across the pond.

Let’s imagine your ancestor was John Randall, an Englishman by birth who ended up in Anne Arundel County, Maryland by the 1790s. From the census records you know that he was born no later than 1765, but he could have been born ten or twenty or more years earlier than that since he only appeared in the “white males 45 years of age and older” columns.

You also know that John was a joiner or a specialized carpenter who made the wooden parts of a building such as stairs, door frames and doors, and window frames. But you are stuck on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, unable to find John Randall in England. A search for John Randall with various spellings of his name results in a thousand possible matches for men born in England between 1725 and 1765.

Fortunately for you, there are a series of specialized document sets on Findmypast which can help you trace John Randall. They are all related to his occupation and can be used to trace any ancestor who lived and worked in a specialized trade in England between 1442 and 1933.

From medieval times, the most common way for a young man to learn a trade was to become an apprentice. His parents would pay a fee to a master craftsman to take in the young man for at least seven years and teach him the skills of the trade. Careful records were kept of the name of the apprentice, the name of the master, and the trade which the boy was to learn — and those contracts still exist today. Findmypast has several of these record sets available: Country Apprentices 1710-1808; City Of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices and Freemen 1526-1933; City Of London, Ironmongers, Apprentices and Freemen 1511-1923; and London Apprenticeship Abstracts, 1442-1850.

In the case of John Randall, you know that the haberdashers (in England this meant dealers in small items used for sewing such as buttons, thread, needles, etc.) and the ironmongers (one who made iron hardware, such as handles, hinges, and locks) were not the places to look for him, but the Country Apprentices and the London Apprenticeships Abstracts are both possible places where a man who was a joiner might be found.

A search of these sources yielded two entries for the same person: Master John Randall, a carpenter from Sherrington or Sherington in Gloucestershire, took in two apprentices–one in 1761 and one in 1764. While it is certainly possible that Master John Randall of Gloucestershire could be the ancestor you seek, you still need to find some evidence that this man emigrated (left England) between 1764 and 1790.

FindMyPast database and record collections

This is where another document set comes in handy. Findmypast has a set of passenger lists (Early Emigration from Britain 1636-1815) which, depending on the date of travel, can contain some very specific information. Your next step is to search that document set for John Randall of Gloucester, traveling between 1771 (when James Lowe’s 1764 apprenticeship would have ended) and 1790 (when you already found John living in Anne Arundel County, Maryland). This search resulted in four possible options, three who traveled to Philadelphia, and one who traveled to Maryland:

FindMyPast databases and record collections

The three men who left in 1774 for Philadelphia were a sawyer from Kent, a husbandman from Salisbury, and a laborer from Salisbury – none of which matched the ancestral John Randall, joiner. But the first man on the list was 40-year-old John Randall, a carpenter and joiner from Gloucestershire. He embarked on the ship Sibella from London on 21 March 1774 and landed in Maryland:

FindMyPast databases and record collections

You can also see a copy of the actual passenger list which provides you with the information that John was traveling with his wife, 30-year-old Ann Randall. Their final destination was Maryland where they intended to settle. This matches the age of the woman who appeared in the U.S. census records you had already found, and provides a possible name for your ancestor’s wife.

FindMyPast databases and record collections

While there is still more research necessary before you can definitively say that the John Randall you found in Gloucestershire is your ancestor, by utilizing these unique record sets available on Findmypast you have managed to find what appears to be the ancestor you were seeking. And, once you have verified that the two men are the same person (John’s Maryland will naming his wife, Ann, would be a great start, or a deed naming the two of them buying or selling a piece of real estate, would be another way to confirm the connection[1]) you have a very specific part of England to begin your search for John Randall and his ancestors in Gloucestershire.

Legacy Tree Genealogists has extensive experience in helping clients trace their ancestors from all over the world, and we can help you dig through colonial records to find details about your ancestors and make the jump across the ocean. Contact us today!

 

[1] See Maryland, Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Founders (Published 1905); Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Wills 1777-1917; Maryland, History, 1634-1848; and Maryland, Index Of New Early Settlers Of Maryland Query By Dr. Carson Gibb all on Findmypast for information on early settlers in Maryland.

Filed Under: British Isles, Immigration, Internet Research, United States

About the Author

blank
Legacy Tree Genealogists
The team at Legacy Tree Genealogists has been helping clients worldwide discover their roots for 20 years. We're based near the world's largest Family History Library and connected with genealogists and archives around the world, and we love doing what we do! We also love sharing our genealogy tips with our readers.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

REQUEST A FREE QUOTE

    Popular Posts

    Icelandic village

    4 Key Steps to Trace Your Icelandic-Canadian Ancestry

    December 31, 2024 By Rachel Whiting Leave a Comment

    How To Use Orthodox Baptismal Records for Genealogy Research

    November 13, 2024 By Linda - Researcher with Legacy Tree Genealogists 2 Comments

    Babies Left Behind: researching unknown G.I. fathers in the United Kingdom during WW2

    November 5, 2024 By Maggie - Legacy Tree Genealogists Research Team Manager 3 Comments

    How To Understand German Handwriting and Gothic Scripts

    July 2, 2024 By Keri - Legacy Tree Genealogists Researcher Leave a Comment

    Intro to German Genealogy: Practical Tips for Family History Research

    April 23, 2024 By Legacy Tree Genealogists 6 Comments

    Italian Heritage Travel: The My Bella Vita Experience

    April 9, 2024 By Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

    German parish records

    3 Essential Websites for Exploring German Parish Records

    August 16, 2023 By Legacy Tree Genealogists 7 Comments

    CATEGORIES

    SEARCH

    NEWSLETTER

    • Home
    • Services
    • Highlights
    • About
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Careers
    How to Hire a Professional Genealogist
    Terms of Use Privacy Policy

    © 2004 - 2025 Legacy Tree Genealogists. All rights reserved.

    Cookie Consent

    This site uses cookies to enhance your experience. Consent allows us to track browsing data. Opting out may affect functionality.

    Functional Always active
    Storage or access necessary for enabling the use of services requested by the user, or for the sole purpose of communication over an electronic network.
    Preferences
    Storage or access necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the user.
    Statistics
    Storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    Storage or access required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    Preferences
    {title} {title} {title}
    Cookie Consent

    This site uses cookies to enhance your experience. Consent allows us to track browsing data. Opting out may affect functionality.

    Functional Always active
    Storage or access necessary for enabling the use of services requested by the user, or for the sole purpose of communication over an electronic network.
    Preferences
    Storage or access necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the user.
    Statistics
    Storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    Storage or access required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
    Preferences
    {title} {title} {title}