Periodicals

*Agreement for indentured servitude, in English, published in a calendar for German immigrants. Verbindnis eines Lehrjungen*. 1776. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The resources on this page include a select bibliography of scholarly articles from periodical literature addressing the topics of indentured servants and convicts as immigrants to Colonial America available in the collections of the Library of Congress. Using these references, you may also be able to find the articles at your local library or through interlibrary loan.

The links will help you to identify and request the publications in which these articles are found. Please note the specific volumes of these periodicals in order to request the appropriate copies from the Library's stacks to read or scan.

For assistance, or more information, please contact us using our Ask a Librarian service.

Following the list of print articles, you will find references for several of the subscription databases that provide digital access to a wide range of scholarly journals in which further resources may be discovered.

Print Periodical Literature

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available. You can request the periodical issues to read or scan the articles listed below.

The American Historical Review
Call Number: E171 .A57
Published/Created: Oct. 1895-
James Davie Butler, "British Convicts Shipped to American Colonies, 1718-1775," The American Historical Review 2 (October 1896).
National Genealogical Society Quarterly
Call Number: CS42 .N4
Published/Created: 1912-
Johni Cerni, "Origins of Colonial Chesapeake Indentured Servants: American and English Sources," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 93, no. 1 (March 2005): 5-24.
NGS Magazine
Call Number: CS42 .N56
ISBN: 1529-4323
Published/Created: 1974-
Nathan W. Murphy, "Proving the Identities of Transported Convicts," NGS Magazine (July-Sept 2021).
The William and Mary Quarterly
Call Number: F221 .W71
Published/Created: 1944-
Kenneth Morgan, "The Organization of the Convict Trade to Maryland," The William and Mary Quarterly 42, no. 2 (1985): 201-227.

Subscription Databases

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

America: History and Life with Full Text External This link opens in a new window
America: History and Life with Full Text is the preeminent database indexing and providing full access to periodical literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada. It includes many articles relevant to the study of indentured servitude, convict transport, and apprenticeship in Early America.
JSTOR External This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a vast collection of full-text, keyword-searchable academic journals dating back to the late 17th century. It provides full access to numerous journals with articles relevant to the study of indentured servitude, convict transport, and apprenticeship in Early America.
PERSI (Periodical Source Index) External This link opens in a new window
The Periodical Source Index (PERSI) is the world's largest subject-index database to periodical literature in genealogy. It can also be accessed through FindMyPast.

Indentured Servants, Apprentices, and Convicts: Finding Family Histories at the Library of Congress

Local History & Genealogy: Ask a Librarian

Periodicals

Print Periodical Literature

Subscription Databases