20 
Indiana University Studies 
1. The Baker Family: A Feeble-Minded Quarry Group 
The Baker family is what might well be called a typical 
quarjy group. The 2 generations now of the working age have 
always been employed in stone work, and, knowing no other 
occupation, do not seem to have the ability, when the quarries 
and mills are closed, to drop into other kinds of work. 
Originally the Bakers lived in an adjoining county where 
they worked for a stone company and lived in or near a small 
company village. There were 8 brothers and 3 sisters in the 
family. Of these brothers, 7 were living and most of the 
time were working at the above-mentioned stone plant. They 
all looked and acted alike. They were blue, cross and squint- 
eyed, had reddish hair, were tall, stoop-shouldered, and, ex- 
cept 1, were sober honest men. None of them was what one 
would call ‘'bright’’, but they had enough intelligence to do 
what they were told and were regular workmen. 
Sydney married Louise Sage, of County H., by whom he 
had 2 children, Ella and Edgar. Louise, too, was cross-eyed 
and not overburdened with intelligence. She was a fairly 
good housewife, however, and they lived in comfort. He 
worked from 10 to 14 hours a day each work day in the 
year, and because of his faithfulness he was usually given 
something to do when many of the men were without work. 
He died as a result of a quarry accident. His daughter Ella 
married her first cousin, Don Lampkins. He resembled the 
Baker men very closely. They have no children. Edgar, 
the second child of Sydney, is decidedly feeble-minded. He 
has never been able to learn either in or out of school. He 
is not the steady worker that his father was. He is always 
looking for work and never finding it — at least he never finds 
permanent work. He can often be seen beating rugs, cutting 
grass, etc., about town. For a time he drove a delivery wagon 
but made so many mistakes that he had to give up the place. 
He cannot support his family, and his name appears on the 
recoi’ds of the Charity Organization Society. 
Thomas Baker, the brother of Sydney, is a moron of 55 
years. He, too, is a plodder thru life. He married Ruth 
Sage, a sister of Louise. She is a low-grade moron, dirty, 
sloven, and inferior physically. Like Louise, she is afflicted 
with strabismus. She and Thomas have 3 feeble-minded chil- 
dren : George, Ralph, and Ira. Thomas has always made a 
