Land at Airton near Skipton was conveyed to trustees over the period 1709-1720 by William (1658-1709) and Alice Ellis (d.1720), the rent to be used to fund apprenticeships for young people. The funds were to be distributed on a three-yearly cycle: in the first year, to poor children from Quaker families within Settle Monthly Meeting; in the second year, to poor children from Quaker families within Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting as a whole; and in the third year, to poor children from families of whatever religious persuasion living in Airton, Calton and Scostrop. This was a particular concern for the couple; many young men had been apprenticed to William Ellis over the years to learn the craft of linen weaving. The trustees, who included Henry Jackson of Holmfirth and Boswell Middleton of Boroughbridge, received the first payment in 1711. Josiah Box of Harlington was apprenticed to Simeon Wilkinson, a linen weaver from Otterburn, the following year. A list of recipients of the Ellis Fund over the period 1712 to 1743 is given by W Pearson Thistlethwaite. By 1872, the Fund had an income of 20 pounds and was administered by Brighouse Monthly Meeting. The land was sold c.1903.
From the guide to the Records of Airton Estate Apprenticeship Fund of the Society of Friends, 1624-1903, (GB 206 Leeds University Library)
