Pauper Apprenticeship in Early Nineteenth Century Ontario

Abstract

The primary formal mechanism for dealing with orphaned and abandoned chil dren in Ontario before Confederation was apprenticeship. This legally recognized form of home placement originated in the English PoorLaw and was provided for in provincial legislation in 1799 and, in detail, in 1851, as well as in a Toronto municipal statute in 1846, despite the rejection by Ontario of the English Poor Law. Surviving apprenticeship indentures and court records suggest that individu als were aware of and made use of this legislation. Aside from its use privately pauper apprenticeship was used as early as the 1830s by organizations arranging for the immigration of poor British children and by organizations assisting the orphans of immigrants. Home placements, including apprenticeship, were also used extensively by children's homes after mid-century, even for quite young children. Pauper apprenticeship thus emerges as highly significant in the history of provision for dependent children.