52 The Age of Parents 



born. He had several children by this marriage, 

 all of whom are said to have been normal. 



Martin, Sr., was a feeble-minded parent when 

 Martin, Jr., was conceived, but was substantially 

 normal-minded when his other children were con- 

 ceived. We have feeble-minded stock coming 

 from the first union, and normal-minded stock 

 from the second. Of course, some of the dif-' 

 ference was due to the individuality of the moth- 

 ers, but the first one was feeble-minded for the 

 same reason that her partner was, and the sec- 

 ond was normal-minded for the same reason that 

 Martin, Sr., became normal-minded at a later 

 date. 



"The Ishmaels'' is a named used to designate a 

 group of degenerate families which are located 

 in and near Indianapolis, and which came mostly 

 from Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina 

 nearly a hundred years ago. In a statement made 

 about thirty years ago, McCullock catalogs 1,750 

 criminals, paupers and prostitutes among them, 

 fifty-seven of whom were in the sixth genera- 

 tion from the original importation. McCullock 

 states that he personally knew three generations 

 of beggars among them. His descriptions make 



