212 DEGENERACY. 



generation was in 1784 and was the illegitimate son of "Margaret, 

 the mother of criminals." This son (Gen. 3) had, when at the age 

 of 15, a son (Gen. 4), who, between the ages of 24 and 51, had 

 nine children ( Gen. 5 ) by a syphilitic harlot. The mother of these 

 nine children had two bastard children before her marriage and 

 finally died in the poor-house of syphilis. Seven of these nine 

 children were under 16 years of age when their mother died, and 

 were left in the poor-house to grow up and form poor-house as- 

 sociations. The eldest son of this syphilitic mother was sent to Sing 

 Sing for rape on his niece (age 12) and, while he was there, his 

 wife had a bastard son. The next three sons all married harlots, 

 and the other four were criminals, paupers and syphilitics. A 

 daughter of this woman acted as a procuress for her own eldest son 

 of a girl of 12, whom he was subsequently forced to marry. 



REGISTERED "jUKES." 



Generation 2 5 persons Generation 5 224 persons 



Generation 3 34 persons Generation 6 152 persons 



Generation 4 117 persons Generation 7 8 persons 



RATE OF REPRODUCTION AMONG THE "jUKES/' 



This is the slowest moving branch of the family that I have 

 found among these recorded by Dugdale, and it is given as a sample 

 of what characterizes the mass of these 540 persons. For the most 

 part the children were produced at an early age. One girl was a 

 mother at 12, and others were mothers a very little older. One boy 

 contracted syphilis at the age of 13, and was a pauper and petit 

 criminal through life. He was born when his father was 18 and 

 the father was born when the grandfather was 20. His mother 

 was a syphilitic quadroon and second cousin to her husband, who was 



