The Trent House Association presents a talk by Dr. Angela Austin on the involvement of two Scottish families – the Trents and the Coutts – in smuggling children from the British Isles and selling their indentures to North American colonists. Registration for this Zoom talk can be made at www.tinyurl.com/Oct12Talk. A suggested free-will donation of $20 can made at registration.
Thousands of children from across England, Scotland, and Ireland were taken from their homes and shipped to North America against their will, transported by wealthy merchants and political leaders who profited from their labor. Families like the Trents and their associates, the Coutts family, participated in these illegal trade networks, using child labor to fuel their economic success and influence.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its donors; by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the Bunbury Fund and the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; and by contributions from NJM Insurance Group and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org.