I decided to start this blog to let all of you know what I have found so far on our Cloward Family History lines. I'm just starting but have been learning a lot and have found some interesting information as I have gone along. Wendy and I have taken a few trips now to Pennsylvania in the past year, and this last one we took dad and mom with us. We saw some beautiful country, how hard it must have been for Jacob and Ann to leave these beautiful surroundings and family for their beliefs. They were strong people, I will share pictures and information that I gather so that you can learn more about our ancestors as well.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

William Cloward, Indentured Servant?

William Cloward, Indentured Servant?
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2389520/william_cloward/#
Check this out! The Pennsylvania Gazette dated May 13, 1762,  tells of a William Cloward who had escaped his master, having been given the responsiblity of driving a wagon from Lancaster to Philadelphia and never returned. Could this be our William? Could he have headed to Maryland, become a landowner, and raised a family there? In those days indentured servants were sometimes treated poorer than slaves. Indentured servants were under contract to their master for 7 years and at the end of those 7 years, the master would relinquish ownership and give the indentured servant a parcel of land. So...if the indentured servant didn't survive, the master didn't need to give him anything. So this makes William's desire to escape and start a new life pretty plausible.
What do you think? Does anyone out there know otherwise?

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