EUGENICS RECORD OFFICE. 



C. B. Davenport, Director. 



This institution, which is located at Cold Spring Harbor, Long 

 Island, New York, came into the control of the Carnegie Institution 

 of Washington on January 1, 1918. It was organized by the present 

 director October 1, 1910, with funds given him for this purpose by 

 Mrs. E. H. Harriman. This report will present a brief review of the 

 work of this office from its establishment to January 1, 1918, and will 

 give a more detailed account of its activities from that date to Octo- 

 ber 1, 1918. Since its estabhshment the chief activities of this office 

 have been: 



1. To serve eugenical interests in the capacity of repository and clearing, 

 house. In order to provide data adequate to making eugenical studies, 

 it was found necessary to secure a wide interest on the part of the 

 better famihes of the country in their own pedigrees, and on the part 

 of custodial institutions in securing pedigrees of the socially inadequate 

 strains. Efforts in this direction have been successful, until now many 

 genealogists and biographers are not only seeking to give their family- 

 history compilations a more biological . aspect, but are anxious to have 

 a copy of their studies in the archives of this office, while many super- 

 intendents of custodial institutions look upon the Eugenics Record 

 Office as a very useful central bureau for depositing records and 

 seeking eugenical data. As a clearing-house, the public may make 

 inquiries and be informed concerning (a) the methods of making 

 eugenical records, (b) what studies have been made upon certain fam- 

 ihes, (c) eugenical activities of a given institution or section of the 

 country, (d) the nature of the method of inheritance of a given natural 

 trait, so far as the knowledge of such exists, (e) the analysis of fact, 

 and records with the view to determining their eugenical meanings 

 (J) existing laws bearing upon eugenics, and (g) outUning and advising 

 concerning special problems for eugenical study. The purpose of 

 these activities is to coordinate the interests and investigations of 

 this new science along lines which wiU yield records and analyses of 

 the greatest eugenical value. 



2. To build up an analytical index of the inborn traits of American 

 families. The purpose of the archives department is to catalogue and 

 index all records which come into the possession of the Eugenics 

 Record Office. Up to January 1, 1918, there had been opened 534,625 

 cards (each card contains spaces for 40 entries), which index the 

 individuals described in the records in the archives on the basis of 

 surname, natural trait, and geographical locality. In this work 

 human traits are classified on an indefinitely expansible system, the 

 first synopsis of classification being: 0, general traits; 1, integumen- 



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