great information, but keep in mind that Joel may have learned his craft from his father or another family member. Seems a lot of folks believe that *all* fpoc were apprentices and that just is not true (or at least there are no records to back up that claim). In NC, children were bound as apprentices for 4 main reasons that I can deduce from my research on fpoc in antebellum NC: "bastard" child, orphaned child, child of poor parents, or lived in a rural area - and this was true of white children as well. Joel may not be found in any of the apprenticeship records if it was his father (or perhaps an uncle, etc.) who was also a carpenter and he learned the trade from him. I would look for any House, not just Joel, that was a fpoc.