A
performance bond, 1708 (with photo of the original)
(A bond is evidence of a
debt. The usual bond--see example of 1747 bond below--simply
requires that an amount of money be paid--if it is, the bond
becomes void; if not, the holder can institute legal action. A
performance bond contemplates that the bound person do a particular
thing. In this case, a barrister is apparently bound to carry out
the terms of an indenture. The bond itself (see photo) was
typically on paper rather than vellum. Traditionally, the first
paragraph was in Latin and the second, which stated the condition, was
in English. When the condition was fulfilled and the bond became
void, the seal was often removed from it, or a piece of it was cut off
to indicate its invalidity.)
A Bond or
Obligation, 1747
(This bond is related to
the
indentures
of the same year. Note that the first part is a promise in the
first
person by the debtor, and that the second part--the condition--is a
third-person
description of the obligation. If the condition was not
fulfilled,
the obligation in the bond itself became enforceable)
A
Bastard Bond, 1781 (photo)
(This bond was used to ensure that a child born out
of wedlock would not become a public burden. The obligation
portion states that Thomas Gallon and John Gallon (the suspected father
or fathers) are firmly bound to the churchwardens and overseers of the
poor in the sum of one hundred pounds. The condition recites that
one Dorothy Gardner, spinster, is "big and pregnant with Child which is
likely to be born a Bastard and to be Chargeable to the said parish"
and that if the Gallons at all times indemnify the parish for all Costs
and Charges by reason of the Birth, Education, and Maintenance of the
said child, the obligation will become void. (In plain English,
If they don't pay for
the child's upbringing, they will have to pay the hundred pounds).
Apparently, both brothers had their way with the future mother.
A
customs bond (New York, 1790)
Agreement to sell land (Colony of
Connecticut, 1772)
An Indenture of Servitude, Pennsylvania,
1794 (with photo)
(This was a
common way for a European of the time to
have his or her transit expenses paid to come to the United
States. Note that the master also promises to teach the servant
to read and write)
A sharecropping agreement (South Carolina 1875)
(with photo)
(The sharcropper,
"Bob," is illiterate and almost certainly a former slave who is working
in very slave-like conditions, probably for his former owner.)