Michael a Ports

Elbert County, Georgia Court of Ordinary, Record of Apprentices, 1867-1903 (Volume #1) Michael a Ports

Michael A. Ports, Pub. 2020, 222 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #0-89308-030-6.

Elbert County was formed in 1790 from Wilkes County. It lies in the Northeasern portion of the state along the Savannah River just across from Anderson and Abbeville Counties, South Carolina. The first settlers started arriving in the area from Virgina and the Carolinas and continued on as land grants were being issued from service in the Revolutionary War. These records primarily consist of copies of the indentures of apprenticeship, essentially the contracts binding the apprentice to the master. The indentures provide the date and term of the apprenticeship, and the names of the apprentice, the master, the person authorizing the indenture, usually a parent, guardian, next of kin, the ordinary, or judge, as well as witnesses. The indentures also specify the duties and responsibilities of both the apprentice and master.