Description
Petitions or other court matters relating to actions before the court involving problems between masters and indentured servants or apprentices, usually held during a Private Session of court. Two types of petitions are present:
1. Petition of servant or apprentice to the court for redress due to abuse from master, refusal of master to pay freedom dues of other reasons contains name of master and servant or apprentice, township or borough, type of trade, amount of time served and/or time remaining to be served, reasons for redress, signature of mark of servant, court term, date of petition, date filed, court’s decree.
2. Petition of master to the court requesting relief because of the absconding, jailing, pregnancy, etc. of the servant or apprentice. The master requests the court to set an amount of additional time for the servant or apprentice to serve to pay back the costs incurred by the master because of the misbehavior of the servant or apprentice. It includes name of master and servant or apprentice, township or borough, description of the servant’s or apprentice’s activities, signature or mark of the master, court term, date petition filed, court’s decree, and sometimes an accounting of money spent by the master in relation to the servant’s or apprentice’s activities.
Note 1: The Inventory has many entries taken from the Quarter Sessions Dockets, but the papers are missing.
Arrangement: Chronological by petition date.
Index: None. Click "inventory" for list of holdings.
Related Records: Clerk of Courts Volumes: 1. QUARTER SESSIONS DOCKETS
Cumberland County Historical Society Manuscript:
2. Postlethwaite, Samuel: Ledger of Accounts 1760-1778 (Cumberland County Historical Society BR
P858a). In the middle of this personal business ledger is the Jail Keeper's Account Book for 1775 Nov. -
1778 Jan. for Cumberland County when Postlethwaite was the Jail Keeper. Many imprisoned indentured
servants are registered in this account.