The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1875-01-07
THE NEGLECTED GIRL.
The Remarkable History Of a
Pauper's Defendants.

The Remarkable History or q
Pauper's Descendants.
In the meeting held Yesterday oI
the State Charities Aid Association
DIR. Harris brought forward some ol
the most remarkable statistics which
have ever been obtained in the sci
ence Of criminal reform. While
reading of the efforts of the Prison
Association the attention of the Doc
tor was called to county on the
Upper Hudson, where there was a
remarkable proportion OF crime and
poverty to the whole population. The
county contained but one town and
only small villages, with a popula-
ton Of some 10000; yet the number
Of panpers in its aims houses was
$50, or about one in ten, not reckon
ing considerable number assisted
by outdoor relief. This proportion
is probably greater than that Of Lon
don or Paris; but Of this we cannot
be certain, owing to the defective
method everywhere adopted in the
statistics of pauperism of enumerat-
ing names as persons. 1t is certain,
however, that the proportion Of pau
pers and criminals in the country
was alarmingly great. The atten-
ton of the doctor was attracted to
certain names which everywhere APP
peared in the criminal and poorhouse
records OF the county, aud he was
led to follow up the traces of certain
families. These again seemed TO be
connected. and he was induced to
search still further the genoalogies
Of these families. The results will
remain as permanent aud most start
ling facts in the history of crime and
its consequences.
1t should be understood By our
readers that ordinarily it is extreme
ly difficult to trace the decent Of a
criminals family In cities, such
families become broken up, and their
members are scattered everywhere in
villages, though their lines of decent
may be followed, yet the retribu,ivc
laws Of providence usually carry the
effects Of crime only "to the third or
fourth generation" and then the
race comes to an end through physi-
cal and moral degeneration, the final
members being commonly idiots, i'm
beetles, lunatics, and, in some eoun-
tries, cretiaS.
1t happened, however, i'll this
country that the physical vigor of the
particular family traced preserved
some Of its members for their evil
destiny, and enabled the investiga-
tor to trace them during six genera
tions of wickedness and misery.
Some seventy years ago a young
girl named Margaret was left
alrift in one of these villages lit
does not appear whether through the
crime or misfortune of others. There
was no aims house in the place, but
she was a subject of outdoor relief,
probably receiving occasionally food
and clothing from the officials, but
never educated, and never kindly
sheltered in a home. She became
the mother Of long race Of crimi-
nails and panpers, and her progeny
has cursed the country every since.
The county records show 200 Of her
defendants who have been criminals.
In one single generation Of her un-
happy life there We're twenty chill
dren; oil these, three died-m infancy
and seventeen survived to maturity.
OF the seventecn,y nine served in the
State prisons tor high crimes an ag-
gregate term Of fifty years, while the
Others were frequent inmates of jails
and penitentiaries and alms-houses.
OF the 800 defendants, through
six generations, from this unhappy
girl Sho was left on the village
streets and abandoned in her child
hooA, great number have been
idiots, lmbeciles, drunkardS, lnnatics,
paupers and prostitutes; bat the
more vigorous are on record as GRIM
inals. The neglected little child has
thus cost the county authorities, III
the effects she has transmitted, hun
dreds Of thousands Of dollars iu the
expenses and care of criminals and
paupers, besides the untold damages
she has inflicted on property aud
public morals. When we think of
the multitude of wretched beings
she has left upon the earth, Of the
suffering, depreciation, ignorance aud
crime that one child has transmitted,
OF the evil she has caused to thou
sands Of innocent families, and the
loss to ihe community, we can all
ieebly appreciate the Importance to
the pubic Of he care aad education
oi' single pauper child Ne,r York
7r,aos, Dceetabsr, II.