Edward Wilson - the runaway
Any apprentice was totally reliant on the good will of his master and other workers and family. As seen in Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist", fellow apprentices or members of the master's family could bully the poor child. The apprentice could be mistreated, become very unhappy or homesick and have only one means of escape which was to run away.
Edward Wilson was an apprentice who became a runaway in 1771. He left his master in Rotherham and found his way back to his relatives in Newark. This letter shows the consequences to the master in locating his runaway trainee although there is no way of knowing what drove the missing boy to take flight (reference: Newark Museum Unlisted D6.75/C44).
