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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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41  

The second child of VI 4, VII 20, was born in 1886 and went to school until she reached the fourth reader. She married at the age of 18, and, soon after her first baby died, at the age of a few weeks, she left her husband and became one of the most notorious public women in the neighborhood. She was tall and handsome, a heavy drinker, morally very low, and went to any extreme to earn a poor livelihood by prostitution. In 1911 she was sent to the penitentiary for 6 months for disorderly conduct, but, upon her release, immediately returned to prostitution. She was found dead in the woods back of her home, where she had lain in the rain for several days. It was finally decided that she died of heart disease, brought on by her life of vice, although foul play was at first suspected.

42  

Next in turn in this family comes a boy, VII 23, who is like his brother, VII 25. Both were slow and very much retarded in school work, have grown up indolent, inefficient, and with no desire or ambition to get along in life. Needless to say, both are licentious.

43  

Next younger to VII 23 is VII 24, now 21, who was unable to grasp third-grade work in school, and later could not learn to be a competent housemaid. She became pregnant in 1911, was arrested later for disorderly conduct, and then married a mentally defective cousin of hers, VI 527, to father her unborn child. The family has received poor relief for the past year.

44  

Her two younger sisters, VII 26 and VII 27, were retarded in the work in school, left early, and went to work in a cigar factory. They are now harlots. This completes the offspring of VI 4 and VI 722.

45  

The fourth child of Ephan died in infancy. The fifth, VI 6, has previously been described.

46  

The sixth child, VI 7, was sent to the House of Refuge for disorderly conduct at the age of 14, in 1875. Here she remained three years, acquired a little schooling, and the ability to read and write. However, on leaving the institution she again became a harlot. At 18 she married a licentious, semi-industrious man, who did little to support her or, later, her many children. About 1900 her husband deserted her. She has worked hard to earn a livelihood by taking in washings, has a subnormal mentality and a disagreeable temper, and has run a brothel in her own home with her daughters as inmates.

47  

The eldest child of VI 7, VII 29, is lazy, intemperate, and a wanderer. His first wife died, leaving him a girl who is now 12, good-mannered, but retarded in school work. His second wife, a harlot, divorced him when she found that he was intimate with another woman.

48  

The second child of VI 7 was mentally incapable of work in school. She became a harlot, later married, had one child, continued her harlotry, and was finally divorced by her husband. Her neat and well-dressed appearance does not give the impression of the character she has become.

49  

The two sisters, VII 34 and VII 36, are semi-industrious and harlots. One was divorced by her husband for infidelity; the other, VII 36, has had two illegitimate children, both of whom died at birth.

50  

The next daughter, VII 38, became a prostitute at the age of 14 and was sent to the State Training School for Girls. She made a good record for a short time after leaving the institution, married, and has one child. At 18 she was again arrested for disorderly conduct and, at 22, in 1914, she is found in a house of prostitution.

51  

The next child in this series is a boy, VII 39, well- inclined in school but incapable of carrying on the work. He is quite a "dandy" in his dress and is very fond of music, but dislikes work.

52  

The last two children in this family were girls, VII 40 and VII 41, now aged 19 and 17, respectively. The former was dull in school; the latter "bright." They are now harlots and are running a house of prostitution.

53  

The last daughter of Ephan and Ann Eliza, VI 10, was sent to the House of Refuge as a disorderly child. She was later indentured and the reports say that at 17 she was disobedient, dishonest, and immoral. She married a steady and rather industrious though ignorant man, VI 9, when she was 18. They had five children. The husband was accidentally shot in 1894. The wife has supported the family since then. She has cohabited since his death with a worthless individual who has not given her any support.

54  

The oldest child of VI 10 is a boy, VII 44, now 25. He is an industrious young fellow, and has kept his family well. He is married to a neat, industrious woman and has one small child living.

55  

The second child of VI 10 is a girl, VII 45, of good repute and industrious. She married a distant cousin, VII 564, so distant that she did not know of the relationship, and has two small children.

56  

The next two sons of VI 10 were very slow and backward in school. They work at odd jobs at times, but are generally doing nothing. One of them is a very handsome boy.

57  

The last child, VII 48, is a girl who was very "stupid" in school, dresses very flashily and gaudily, and works in a factory. At 19 she is moral. She is of a "silly" type, easily influenced, and may be led to a career of harlotry. This ends the description of the descendants of Ephan and Eliza.

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