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The Jukes in 1915

Creator: Arthur H. Estabrook (author)
Date: 1916
Publisher: Carnegie Institution of Washington
Source: Available at selected libraries

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301  

Aubrey, IV 28, the first, was a laborer and industrious. At 26 he was the father of a bastard boy by his cousin Maxine, IV 22, already described on page 19. He then married Odessa, IV 27, a woman of good reputation, but shrewish and a poor housekeeper. They had ten children: Nancy, Matilda, Lydia, Fritz, Penelope, Roxanna, Minnie, Hiram, Hal, and one who died in infancy.

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Nancy, V 156, born in 1855, has never attended school, and can neither read nor write. At 13 she had "brain fever resulting in St. Vitus dance," but she outgrew this. At 15 she married Leroy, V 155, a cousin in the out blood. Nancy has always worked hard and is neat and clean in her housekeeping. She has fair intelligence and has always borne a good reputation. She is very patient with and devoted to her ill-tempered, drunken husband. Leroy can neither read nor write. He was a soldier in the Civil War, lost one arm during it, and is now receiving a pension of $40 a month. He owns a small farm, but it is unproductive and he has always been too lazy to attempt to make use of it. He is deceitful, very intemperate, and now bed-ridden. When excited he stutters. Nancy had twelve children, six of whom died in infancy.

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VI 392, the oldest child of Nancy and Leroy, is a hard worker, keen in business affairs, and good at driving a bargain. In summer she hawks vegetables raised on her husband's farm. Her temper is seldom disturbed, but when aroused it is ungovernable. This temper appears to a greater or less degree in all of her children. When quite young she married VI 391, who worked hard, acquired a farm, and is now putting money into the bank. Their oldest child died in infancy. The next, VII 361, works hard at home and is self-denying. She is somewhat shy and her voice is thick. The next, VII 362, did not do very well in school, but is a well-behaved boy and now works on his father's farm. The fourth, VII 363, while not doing well in school, has a good business head and is very capable. He can not say "G" or "St" and when excited stutters very much. VII 364, now 17, was an average pupil in school and is well spoken of in the community. She was born and reared within a mile of the original Juke country, though not directly in the five-lake region described by Dugdale. VII 365, now 12, is a very nervous child. When crossed or spoken to severely she laughs hysterically. She is retarded 3 years in school and does poor work, except when treated with the utmost patience and kindness. The next younger child, VII 366, is in grade 3 at 10 years and works well under kind treatment. Her teachers say "she takes her temper out in crying." She does not exhibit as much speech defect as her older sister, VII 365. Of the three youngest children, one has a speech defect and an ungovernable temper.

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The next daughter of Nancy and Leroy, VI 394, can read but not write and has attended school but a very short period. She married very young and has lived an uneventful life, having three boys, two of average and one slightly below average mental ability.

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The first son of Nancy, VI 395, stutters very badly. He is a laborer and very ignorant. He married and has one child who also has a speech defect and is left-handed, mentally he is quite acute.

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The second son, VI 398, has had quite a varied career. He stuttered very much as a youth, but has outgrown it. He played "hookey" so much at school that his teachers could make nothing of him. He has a pleasant disposition and is quite talkative. His marriage relations have been many. His first wife was a divorced woman and he in turn divorced her when he discovered that she was having immoral relations with negroes. This happened when he was 23. He then enlisted in the Spanish-American war. At 27 he married again and this wife died of Bright's disease. Although he was forced into his third matrimonial venture by the birth of a bastard boy, this marriage proved to be a fortunate one. He and his wife, although she had two other bastards previous to this, are well mated and with care and economy are providing a good home on his $10 a week.

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The last two sons of Nancy, VI 406 and VI 407, are now in their twenties and are both stutterers. They work when they feel so inclined, which is seldom. Although both have attended school, little progress was made by either. This lack of progress was due to a low state of mental development.

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Matilda, V 157, the second child of Aubrey and Odessa, was a harlot before her marriage to her cousin Ez, V 407, a descendant of Effie. She is unable to read and write and is now mentally inactive. Her disposition is shrewish and she is a continual faultfinder. She is filthy in appearance and her house is no cleaner than herself. This woman has many of the traits of the older Jukes. Her husband, Ez, apparently at one time was quite industrious, for he acquired a house and 1-acre lot. Now he says, "I suffer from heart trouble and am unable to work." He takes life as it comes and receives help from the town with apparent reluctance. Their three children are all girls.

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