Apprentices

Tinsmith Hello, I am an apprentice making tin plates. I am 8 years old. I have no money and can't see my parents. I have to do a good job to earn my food and bed.

Today I made a tin plate with a cat on the front and I know making plates is not as easy as it looks. I do not know how I manage. The man I work for is insane. I have never been a tinsmith and yet he expects me to do a man's job in two days. How could Papa have done this to me? Although I am part of the Craftsman's family, I can not sit at his table to eat. I have to sit at a separate table. I miss my family.

You probably realize that tea is very important to us. Today I heard that the family I stay with will sacrifice and stop drinking tea. They feel it is worth it.

Journeyman - a journeyman is a young man who has been an apprentice and is looking for money. Journeymen travel from shop to shop earning a living. They were called Journeymen because they went on journeys. When the boy earned enough money he bought a shop of his own and became a craftsman.

Craftsman Crafts - a craftsman is a man who has been an apprentice and a journeyman. Now they have enought money to purchase tools and run their own shop. Young men have to go through a lot of stages until they run their own shop.

Colonial samplers at the Concord Museum
What do the girls do? I am Lydia. I am working day and night on my second sampler. Do you know that I can hardly see my mother's stitches, they are so small! I would much rather be out riding horses or in father's store. Did you know that I have to make a mistake in my sampler because I am not supposed to be perfect.

The boys in my family have to learn a lot about what kind of things they need to do for work. They have to work very hard for their future. While they learn, we girls have to do so much sewing. It is hard to sit still for so long. We need to learn to sew to be good mothers and wives.