| Date | Mar 20, 1840 |
|---|---|
| Law/Legislation | Law |
| Jurisdiction | MD |
| Title | An act to provide for the better regulation of the Free Negro and Mulatto Children within this state. |
| Description/Full Text | Orphans courts to summon, &c. SECTION 1. Be if. enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That, from and after the passage of this act, the orphans' court of any county in this State, upon in- formation being given to either of said courts, shall sum- mon before them the child or children of any free negro To bind as ap- prentices. or negroes or mulattoes in said county; and if it shall ap- pear, upon examination before such court, that it would be better for the habits and comfort of such child or children, that it should be bound as an apprentice to some white per- son to learn to labor, then such court shall bind, as appren- tices, such child or children to some white person, males till they are twenty-one years of age, and females till they are Judges to wit- ness indenture. Name and age to be stated, &c. sixteen years of age; and the indenture of apprenticeship shall be witnessed by the judges of such court, or some two thereof; and shall state the name and age of the child bound, and the name of the master, and shall be recorded in the clerk's office of said county, at the expense of the mas- ter, within three calender months after the making of the Want of form not to invali- date, &c. same; and any indenture under this act shall not be inva- lid for want of form, if it contains the name and age of the apprentice, the name of the master, and is witnessed by the court binding the same, or any two judges thereof. Authority to transfer ap- prentice. SEC. 2. And be it enacted, That the master or the ex- ecutor, administrator or assignee of such master may, with the assent of the orphans' court, to be entered on the minutes of said court, assign and transfer to any other person residing in the said county, any apprentice bound under this act. Penalty for en- ticing appren- tice to runaway. SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That if any negro or other person shall entice or persuade any apprentice bound un- der this act, to run away or abscond from the service of the master or person entitled to his or her service under this act, such negro or other person so offending, shall, upon conviction in the county court, be subject to fine and imprisonment as for a misdemeanor, or at the discre- tion of the said court, be confined in the penitentiary house of this State for not more than four years, nor less than twelve months. In case appren- tice abscond. SEC. 4. And be it enacted, That if any apprentice, un- der this act, abscond or run away, the county court To sell. of said county shall have full power to adjudge and order such apprentice to serve such further time, after the expi- ration of the period for which such apprentice may be bound, as will compensate the master or person entitled to the service, for all loss occasioned by such running away, including expenses of recaption; and said county court shall have full power to authorize the master of such absconding apprentice to sell him or her, and for the whole period he or she may have to serve, to any person within this State; provided, the said county court shall be Proviso. satisfied that such apprentice was not induced to run away by the ill treatment, or fraud, or contrivance of the master. SEC. 5. And be it enacted, That any constable, or the To serve pro-cess. sheriff of said county, shall serve any process issued by child or children of any free negro or mulatto before such court; and in the service of such process, shall arrest and carry such child or children before such court on the day named in such process; and the officer serving such pro- Compensation. cess shall receive two dollars, and the court binding such apprentice, shall receive one dollar; and the said sums shall be paid by the person to whom the child may be bound as an apprentice. SEC. 6. And be it enacted, That, upon the death of the Property to passto widow, &c. master or his assignee, the property and interest of said master or assignee shall pass to the widow, if there be a widow of such deceased master or assignee, if no widow, then to the executor or administrator of said master or his assignee; provided, that no child be bound under this act, Provisoes. if the parent or parents have the means and are willing to support such child and keep the same employed, so as to teach habits of industry; and provided, that in binding out as aforesaid, those persons shall be preferred as mas- ters who may be selected by the parents, if there be any, and if not, by the children, if the person selected by them be approved by the court. |
| Additional Information | – |
| Source | https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000600/html/am600--33.html Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground, Barbara Jeanne Fields |
| Transcriber Notes | – |
If you are citing this record, please use the following format:
[Author (if known)], Laws and Legislation Related to Slavery and Free Blacks in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (1642-1860), [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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