Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations
This database of indenture contracts includes over 15,000 indentured servants contracts from the London, Middlesex, and Bristol Registers. The contracts indicate not only the servant's name and length of indenture, but also the name of the servant's parents and owner, their home province and city, occupation, destination, and ship of embarkation. These records provide a detailed composition of indentured servants in the 17th century Atlantic World.
A map showing England's county boundaries and major cities in the 1600's.
The Widening Gate: Bristol and the Atlantic Economy, 1450-1700 An online edition of Davis Harris Sack's study of Bristol, England, the port from which most British indentured servants departed.
A map showing the Atlantic World in the late 1600's
| Bristol Registers 1654-1686 | Middlesex Registers 1682-1685 | London I Registers 1682-1682 | London II Registers 1718-1759 |
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The Bristol Registers records all indentured servants who left from the port of Bristol, England from 1654-1686. Servants listed their place of origin as towns and provinces all over England, as well as many foreign countries such as Ireland and France. They were headed to many different places in the New World, including Virginia, Barbados, and the Caribbean islands. Lengths of indenture varied from 3 to 7 years, with the average length for females being 4.3 years, and for males, 4.44 years. The database contains records for approximately 10,000 indentured servants sent from Bristol to the New World.
The Bristol Registers are taken from the book The Bristol Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686, by Peter Wilson Coldham, published by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. (Baltimore), in 1988. The original registers, entitled Servants to Foreign Plantations, were contained in two leather-bound volumes and can be found in the archives of the Corporation of the City of Bristol, England. Coldham has modernized the town and village names. Editorial comments added by Coldham are indicated by parentheses and brackets.
The Center has compiled lists of values contained in the place of origin, occupation, and destination fields of the Bristol Indentured Servants Database. These lists were created to give the user some guidance as to the type of names that can be found in the database. These values are accessible through the links below. Fields in the Bristol Indentured Servants Database:
Place of Origin Names Occupations Destinations
| Date | Servant's Spouse's Name | Agent's Name |
| Servant Name | Parent's Name | Agent's Spouse's Name |
| Servant Gender | Servant's City of Origin | Agent's City of Origin |
| Length of Indenture | Servant's Province of Origin | Agent's Province of Origin |
| Destination | Occupation of Servant | Agent's Occupation | Ship | Occupation of Parents | Notes |
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The Middlesex Registers records all indentured servants who left from the port of Middlesex, England from 1682-1685. Servants listed their place of origin as towns and provinces all over England, as well as many foreign countries such as Ireland and France. They were headed to many different places in the New World, including Virginia, Barbados, and the Caribbean islands. Lengths of indenture varied from 3 to 9 years, with the average length for males being 4.36 years, and for females, 4.22 years. The database contains records for approximately 1,000 indentured servants sent from Middlesex to the New World.
The Middlesex Registers database was created from microfilms of the original indenture records. This 2-roll set was entitled Plantation Indentures and was created by the London Metropolitan Archives. The original records can be found in the Middlesex Guildhall, in England. Editorial comments added by Virtual Jamestown staff members have been indicated by enclosing the material in brackets.
The Center has compiled lists of values contained in the place of origin, occupation, and destination fields of the Middlesex Indentured Servants Database. These lists were created to give the user some guidance as to the type of names that can be found in the database. These values are accessible through the links below.
Place of Origin Names Occupations Destinations
Fields in the Middlesex Indentured Servants Database:
| Date | Length of Indenture | Servant's Parent's Name |
| Servant's Name | Destination | Servant's Parent's Place of Origin |
| Servant's Gender | Ship | Servant's Parent's Occupation |
| Servant's Age | Ship's Captain | Agent's Name |
| Servant's Spouse's Name | Witnesses to the Indenture | Agent's Gender |
| Servant's Place of Origin | Indenture Signed or Marked | Agent's Place of Origin | Servant's Occupation | Notes | Agent's Occupation |
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The London I Registers records all indentured servants who left from the port of London, England from 1682-1692. Servants listed their place of origin as towns and provinces all over England, as well as many foreign countries such as Ireland and France. They were headed to many different places in the New World, including Virginia, Barbados, and the Caribbean islands. Lengths of indenture varied from 2 to 15 years, with the average length for males being 5.84 years, and for females, 4.16 years. The database contains records for approximately 1,000 indentured servants sent from London to the New World.
The London I Registers were drawn from Michael Ghirelli's book A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1682-1692, Baltimore, Magna Charta Book Company, 1968. The book is compiled from a set of large manuscript volumes, the Lord Mayor's Waiting Books, found in the Record Office of the City of London. All information found in the records except place names have been modernized by Ghirelli. Editorial comments added by Ghirelli have been indicated by parentheses, and comments added by Virtual Jamestown staff have been indicated by brackets.
The Center has compiled lists of values contained in the place of origin, occupation, and destination fields of the London I Indentured Servants Database. These lists were created to give the user some guidance as to the type of names that can be found in the database. These values are accessible through the links below.
Place of Origin Names Occupations Destinations
Fields in the London I Indentured Servants Database:
| Date | Length of Indenture | Servant's Parent's Name |
| Servant's Name | Destination | Servant's Parent's Place of Origin |
| Servant's Gender | Ship | Servant's Parent's Occupation |
| Servant's Age | Witnesses to the Indenture | Servant Parent Alive or Deceased |
| Servant's Spouse's Name | Notes | |
| Servant's Place of Origin | Agent's Name | Agent's Gender | Servant's Occupation | Agent's Occupation | Agent's Place of Origin |
| Basic Search | Advanced Search | Browse Entire Database |
The London II Registers records all indentured servants who left from the port of London, England from 1718-1759. Servants listed their place of origin as towns and provinces all over England, as well as many foreign countries such as Ireland and France. They were headed to many different places in the New World, including Virginia, Barbados, and the Caribbean islands. Lengths of indenture varied from 1 to 21 years, with the average length for males being 4.57 years, and for females, 4.7 years. The database contains records for approximately 3,000 indentured servants sent from London to the New World.
The London II Registers have been compile from the book A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1718-1759 by Jack and Marion Kaminkow. The book was published in 1964 by the Magna Charta Book Company of Baltimore. It is a transcription of microfilms of the original records, entitled Agreements to Serve in America and can be found at the Guildhall, London, England. Editorial comments added by Kaminkow have been indicated by parentheses, and Virtual Jamestown comments have been indicated by brackets.
The Center has compiled lists of values contained in the place of origin, occupation, and destination fields of the London II Indentured Servants Database. These lists were created to give the user some guidance as to the type of names that can be found in the database. These values are accessible through the links below.
Place of Origin Names Occupations Destinations
Fields in the London II Indentured Servants Database:
| Date | Length of Indenture | Servant's Parent's Name |
| Servant's Name | Destination | Servant's Parent's Place of Origin |
| Servant's Gender | Ship | Servant's Parent's Occupation |
| Servant's Age | Witnesses to the Indenture | Agent's Name |
| Servant's Spouse's Name | Indenture Signed or Marked | Agent's Gender |
| Servant's Place of Origin | Notes | Agent's Place of Origin | Servant's Occupation | Agent's Occupation |