OF A CERTAIN PENNSYLVANIA FAMILY. 21 



people. She is said to have been of limited mental capacity, but was 

 chaste, hardworking but rather slow, and capable in practical affairs. 

 She married III-6, a thirfty, industrious farmer in that section, whose 

 family has been traced back three generations to a prosperous mer- 

 chant in an eastern metropolis. Of their four children, two (IV-12, 13) 

 died in childhood. The surviving daughter (IV-15) left a son (V-27) of 

 average abilitj^ and an illegitimate daughter (V-25), who has little 

 foresight or perseverance. The surviving son (IV-17) was a farmer, 

 thrifty, hardworking, fairly intelligent, with good business sense. 

 He married into a strain showing these traits. Two of the children 

 (V-31, 32) from this marriage died in infancy: a son (V-28), who was 

 strong and mentally alert, died at 13 of measles; the remaining children, 

 one son (V-29) and three daughters (V-34, 37, 39) are fairly intelligent 

 and progressive. The youngest has recently married. The remaining 

 three have promising families and are among the better citizens of the 

 communities in which they live. They have well-cultivated farms or 

 follow various trades. 



In his marriage to Sophia, III-6 was considered to have married 

 beneath himself. Other lines of this family show, in contrast to this 

 average ability of his branch, superior intelligence and certain special 

 abilities. Several members have had marked success in business: 

 two were able attorneys, one is president, another secretary and 

 treasurer of a large savings bank, two others have been prominent in 

 the iron and steel industry. A branch of the family, which removed to 

 a western State, is successful in business and the teaching profession. 

 It would thus appear that while marriage into a superior strain has 

 resulted in general improvement for the Rufer family, it has entailed 

 relative deterioration in efficiency for the strain into which marriage 

 took place. 



Let us return now to trace the descendants of III-7, the sexually 

 inmaoral daughter of Isaac Rufer. She was born in northwestern 

 Pennsylvania about 1820 and remained in this part of the State; was a 

 coarse, licentious girl, who knew nothing but how to keep house in a 

 crude fashion. Married III-8, a fairly capable man, whose family is 

 described as "queer and none too good." His first wife was bed- 

 ridden for several years before her death. III-7 did the housework 

 and had two children by him before his first wife's death. They 

 stopped at the parson's and were married on the way home from the 

 funeral. Their children will now be considered in order of their birth: 



IV-19 was born about 1842. Has been able to farm in a fashion, 

 but had little ability to learn in school and never showed any business 

 sense. Married a woman belonging to Line F (111-38).^ She is said 

 to have been an illegitimate daughter of II-2, Chart B ; her father's 



^ Error in Plate. Dotted line should run to III-3S. 



