206 HEREDITY IN RELATION TO EUGENICS 



ginia had acquired in 4 years a population of 4,000 souls; 

 between 1630 and 1640, 20,000 persons came to New Eng- 

 land ^ but during the following century inunigration practi- 

 cally ceased, having been discouraged; and from 1681 to 

 1684 Pennsylvania gained 8,000 inhabitants. The estimated 

 arrivals from 1776 to 1820 number 250,000 and about 

 28,000,000 more to 1910. 



Since the first few scores of thousands of immigrants had 

 the greatest influence on the ideals of the colonies they estab- 

 lished and since their blood has had the longer time to show 

 its effects, and since their traits have had the greatest chance 

 to disseminate widely, they deserve special consideration. 

 The great interest taken in these '^ forefathers" by their de- 

 scendants is justified even from the biologic-historic point 

 of view, for their famihes were large, the pedigrees of their 

 families were often carefully kept and are, for the most part, 

 reliable, and we know much about the characteristics of 

 many of the males who reached maturity. We observe, also, 

 in the colonies the same tendency of persons similar in origin 

 and tastes to segregate that is observed among modern immi- 

 grants. 



On the James River the first settlers consisted chiefly of 

 "discredited idlers and would-be adventurers," ^ more than 

 half of them "gentlemen" of good family but untrained in 

 labor, trusting for a change of fortune in the new land. Later, 

 men, women and children were sent by the London Company 

 to colonize the new land and that company was not particular 

 as to quality. Even felons, murderers and women of the 



1 "It is positively known that early in the spring of 1630, eleven vessels left 

 England for New England with 1700 passengers, arriving at the port of Salem, 

 Mass. in June of that year. Fifty of these families settled in Lynn. In the 

 same year the Massachusetts Bay Co. sent over 16 ships — all arrived safe in 

 New England at the port of Salem." Harriet R. Cooks, The Driver Family, 

 N. Y. 1889, p. 26. 



2 Wilson, History of the American People, I., p. 45. 



