Indentures at such young ages were a kind of placement -- foster care is somewhat analogous -- for orphans or children of indigent parents. The provision of bound labor was the payment for the master who took on the charge; the obligation of training in some skill was to ensure that such children would be economically self-sufficient adults and not on the poor rolls. It was not adoption because that would entail the transference of parental rights. David Kiracofe College of Charleston To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html