Does the term "black boys" have any alternative meaning?
Whilst looking through the parish accounts records for Stockton, Norfolk, England covering the 1720s, I came across a few references like this:
All such payments were made to my relative Robert Herrod (aka Herwood / Harwood) and I wonder if this term literally applied to young, black males, or if the term had another meaning at this period of time. Stockton was, and is, a tiny village (population 59 in 2001 census) and seems an unlikely place where anyone of African descent would have found themselves in the early 18th century. I know "black" was also applied as a term for gipsies at this time, but am still baffled as to why Robert would be paid 1s 10d by the parish for his provision of black boys!
Here is another example - such payments continued to be made over a period of several years:
And one more, where there is no mention of Robert Herrod / Harwood. (A further entry confirms this is meant to read, "Pd. att. of the black boys at Easter meeting")
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Found in Collins English Dictionary
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Thank you for the suggestion. I had confirmation this morning that the "Black Boy" or Black Boys' Inn refers to a public house in the village of Stockton, of which Robert Herrod appears to have been the landlord / owner. A Google search provided this: https://norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolks/stockton/stockton.htm.
I supposed some of the entries due suggest this was a meeting place, so perhaps I let my imagination (black inhabitants of a tiny Norfolk village in the 1720s) run away with me!
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@Paul W Thanks for giving us the meaning. It had me curious and now we know 😊
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Thank you so much as well, I enjoyed finding out what this means.
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Hello Paul,
Thank you for your interesting question. Whilst we at FamilySearch are willing to point you to resources, we are unable to conduct research for you. However, the ideas presented here may be helpful and get you started on further research.
There are no records of 'Black Boys' used as a term in old occupations. However, there are explanations for these: Black Borderer, Black Saddler, Black Tray Maker, Blacksmith, Blackworker, Blacking Maker. This information came from a very useful source:
Therefore, the phrase does not seem to pertain to occupation. However, there are other records to explore.
In Historic England, it states, "In the 17th and 18th centuries Black domestic servants in great houses were often seen as a conspicuous sign of wealth." Your supposition that the term was indeed used as a descriptor for young, male, black servants, seems to be correct.
Further representation is in art from the period.
"It was increasingly fashionable, and a form of social currency from the 17th century onwards, for the Black servant in the British aristocratic home to be shown in portraits. This inclusion was a status sign of wealth, and having portraits created was a public way to record these lives. This pictorial inventory has been found in homes of those from royalty to the landed gentry, and across class and county boundaries within the UK."
FamilySearch has many resources you can search in order to find out more. There are some in the FamilySearch Wiki to research where records may have been kept.
There is the FamilySearch Catalogue to find books and other publications for the area in which your individuals lived and worked.
Thank you once again for contacting us. We hope we have whetted your appetite to research further. We hope that we have understood your question and given you helpful information. If we have not, please reply here to us.
Wishing you well for all you are doing in your family history work.
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FamilySearch Support
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Thank you for your efforts in compiling this response. Unfortunately, you appear not to have noticed my post of 1 August, where I report I have found the meaning of the term - it relating to a public house, which appears to have been hired for meetings of the parish council, hence the payments recorded in the parish minutes for the period.
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Thank you Paul.
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