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Gerald,

Thanks for your interest. Feel free to forward the pictures to Marilyn.

Here is the text of the indenture:

“This Indenture Witnesseth, That Charles Pawson, son of John Pawson of Clipston in the County of Nottingham, Husbandman, doth put himself apprentice to Christopher Strutt, foreign Brother of the Company of FRAMEWORK-KNITTERS of the City of London, to learn his art, and with him (after the manner of an Apprentice) to serve from the day of this date unto the full End and term of Seven Years from thence next following to be fully complete and ended. During which term the said Apprentice his said Master shall serve, his secrets keep, his lawful Commandments everywhere gladly do. He shall do no Damage to his said Master, nor to see it to be done by others, but that he, to his Power, shall let or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the same. He shall not waste the goods of his said Master, nor lend them unlawfully to any. He shall not commit Fornication, nor contract Matrimony within the said term. He shall not play at Cards, Dice Tables, or any other unlawful games, whereby his Master shall have any loss. With his own goods or other during the said term, without license from his said Master, he shall neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt Taverns not Play-houses, nor absent himself from his Master’s service day or night unlawfully, but in all things, as a faithful Apprentice he shall behave himself toward his said Master, and all his, during the said term. And the said Master, in consideration of       , being the money given him with his said Apprentice, his said Apprentice, in the same Art and Mastery which he useth by the best means he can, shall teach and instruct, or cause to be taught and instructed, finding unto said Apprentice, Meat, Drink, Lodging and all other necessaries, according to the Custom of the City of London, during said term. And for the true Performance of all and every said Covenants and Agreements, either of the said Parties bindeth himself unto the other by these Presents. In Witness thereof the Parties above named to these Indentures interchangeably have put their Hands and Seals the Second Day of November in the Twelfth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Anno Domini 1725.”

Another FWK family connection:

Charles Pawson's father was John Pawson of Clipston as previously mentioned, his mother was Elizabeth Brandreth, born 1690 in Sutton-in-Ashfield.   The Brandreth family of Sutton-in-Ashfield were also framework knitters, the most famous (or infamous) member being Jeremiah Brandreth, aka "The Captain." He led the failed Pentrich Revolution and lost his head in the process. Another cousin, Thomas Masland, marched along and was held for trial but was not convicted since he was probably just a fringe sympathizer.

Frank Masland

Keith,

Thanks for your interest, I'll keep you posted on the book's progress.

I have attached a picture that may be of some interest. It is a scan of a certificate of indenture dated 1725 for Charles Paulson, son of John Pawson (Paulson) of Clipston in Nottinghamshire, as an apprentice FWK. I have the original. Charles Paulson was my 6th great grandfather.

Frank

Thanks for the info. I would love to see the Truelove, Roby, Boole family tree.

I have been researching my English roots for some time now in conjunction with a book I am working on, "Weavers and Warriors the Story of the Masland Family." John and Charles Masland were grandsons of Charles Paulson and Ann Truelove and Framework Knitters by trade as was their father James Masland of Arnold, Nottinghamshire. I have an indenture dated 1725 of Charles Paulson's father (also Charles) for his apprenticeship in the knitters guild.

John and Charles Masland came to North America on the King's penny as soldiers in the Duke of Cornwall's 32nd Regiment stationed in Quebec in the early 1830's. They were drawn to greener pastures to the south and crossed the border one night in search of a better life. John returned to his weaving roots while Charles enlisted in our American 3rd infantry and went off to fight both Indians and Mexicans with "Old Rough and Ready" Zachary Taylor. For that he was rewarded by having his head blown off at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma in 1846.

John brought most of the remaining members of his family to America including his mother, Mary Ann (Paulson) Masland. He and two of his brothers and two of his sons fought in our Civil War, John enlisting at the age of 54.

My book is based on scores of family letters which survive dating back to the late 1700's through the end of the Civil War in 1865. The year after the war John's two oldest sons,  Charles Henry and James William, returned to the weaving trade and eventually founded the firm of C. H. Masland & Sons which became a large multinational carpet firm before it was bought out in 1986.

I have been researching the Truelove family of Mansfield recently and came across your post. My connection to the Trueloves is through my 5th great grrandmother, Ann Truelove, who married Charles Paulson in 1778 in Mansfield. I believe she was the youngest daughter of George and Ann Truelove and had an older sister Martha as well. Her younger brother, John, married Ann Roby in 1781 and also had a daughter named Martha born in 1782, so the name Martha was in use in our branch of the family. Perhaps there is some connection.

I have in my posession a letter dated August 20, 1834 from Charles Masland to his mother, Mary Ann (Paulson) Masland, daughter of Charles Paulson and Ann Truelove, in which he states,

"I went to see James Truelove in Patterson, New Jersey but he was gone to New Orleans, had got a contract to make three miles of railroad from there to Mobile and when he was gone, the mechanic's bank …and he only got a dividend  one and a half cents on the dollar.  He had eighteen hundred dollars in the bank as his wife told me. She is a fat, genteel looking woman from Staffordshire. She behaved very well with me, wanted me to go to New Orleans with her and family. They have 3 children, the oldest a boy about 13 years of age, the other a girl about 11, the next a boy about 8.  She informed me that George Roby died in Troy, the State of New York, about four years ago.  His first wife died before him and he married a young Yankee woman who is living now in Poughkeepsie, the State of New York.  He had eight frames when he died and considerable money."

As you can see from this some of the Trueloves and Robys came to the United States. I would love to know if you have any more information about those families.

Frank E. Masland IV
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA