The Early Marriage Question 



93 



cases in which the intellecttially superior 

 person has as many as four generations 

 in a century in the tail-male line alone." 



Mr. Redfield then notes that much 

 more than one-halt of all people come 

 within a three-generations-to-the-cen- 

 tury class, taking the average age of 

 male ancestors only, and continues: 



" Now raising the standard of superior 

 individuals to the exceptionally great 

 men such as Aristotle, Augustus, New- 

 ton, Bacon, Faraday, Franklin, Hum- 

 boldt, Cuvier, Darwin, etc., of w'hom 

 there are some two or three hundred 

 known to history, I will give a second 

 SlOO to the treasury of the American 

 Genetic Association if a single one of 

 them can be found in this three-genera- 

 tions-to-a-century class." 



The time limit on both these offers 

 was set at December 31, 1914. They 

 were widely copied by newspapers 

 throughout the United States, and a 

 number of pedigrees sent in, but none 

 of them conformed to the requirements. 

 The most interesting letter in connec- 

 tion with the offer was sent directly 

 to Mr. Redfield by J. B. Nicklin, Jr., of 

 516 Poplar street, Chattanooga, Tenn., 

 who wTote : 



' ' In reply to your offer in the Hart- 

 ford Times I beg to submit the proven 

 instances of five and six generations in 

 less than a century: 



1. Edward, Duke of Kent, born 1784, 



2. Queen Victoria, born 1819. 



3. Victoria, Empress of Germany, born 1840. 



4. Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, born 



1859. 



5. Friedrich Wilhelm, Crown Prince, born 



1882, making five generations in 98 

 years. 



1. Maria Theresa, born 1717. 



2. Leopold II, Emperor of Austria, born 



1747. 



3. Francis I, Emperor of Austria, born 1768. 



4. Marie Louise, Empress of the French, 



born 1791. 



5. Napoleon II, born 1811, making five 



generations in 94 years. 



1. Josephine, Empress of the French, born 



1763. 



2. Eugene de Beauharnais, born 1781. 



3. Josephine, Queen of Sweden, born 1807. 



4. Carl XV, King of Sweden, born 1826. 



5. Louise, Queen of Denmark, born 1851, 



making five generations in 88 years. 

 Also four in 63 years. 



1. Martha (Dandridgc) Custis Washington, 



born 1732. 



2. John Parke Custis, born 1755. 



3. George Washington Parke Custis, born 



1781. 



4. Marv Anne Randolph (Custis) Lee, born 



1807. 



5. George Washington Custis Lee, born 1832 



(son of Robert E. Lee), making five 

 generations in exactly 100 years. 



1. John Bailey Nicklin, born 1803. 



2. EHzabcth Catharine (Nicklin) Connoly, 



born 1833. ►-< 



3. Laura Nicklin (Connoly) Lee, born 1853. 



4. Laura Florence (Lee) Dennison, born 



1877. 



5. Robert Lee Dennison, born 1901, making 



five generations in 98 years and in my 

 own family. 



1. Queen Victoria, born 1819. 



2. Victoria, Empress of Germany, born 1840. 



3. Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, born 



1859. 



4. Friedrich Wilhelm, Crown Prince of 



Germany, born 1882. 



5. Eitel, his eldest son, born 1906, making 



five generations in 87 years. 



1. Mary (Gregory) Taylor, born 1666. 



2. Mary Bishop (Taylor) Pendelton, born 



1688 (aunt of the President). 



3. Philip Pendelton, born 1704 (her second 



son). 



4. Mary (Pendelton) Waller, born 1722. 



5. William Edmund Waller, born 1741. 



6. Benjamin Waller, born 1762, making six 



generations in 96 years and proven by 

 the Court Records in Virginia. 



"I believe that these records, and I 

 can send countless others should you 

 desire them, will prove to you the fact 

 that a century can and has produced 

 four, five and six generations." 



In reply to this letter Mr. Redfield 

 wrote to Mr. Nicklin as follows : 



"I have received your letter of 

 December 10 and have forwarded it to 

 the American Genetic Association, 511 

 Eleventh St., N. W., Washington, D. C. 

 The money of my offer was deposited 

 with the association some months since, 

 and all decisions in the matter rest with 

 them. 



"I have not seen the notice in the 

 Hartford Times and have not before 

 heard of it. Consequently I do not 

 know w^hat the notice may contain, but 

 I enclose a copy of my offer so that you 

 mav see exactly what it is. 



