Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-10-01
A Gencalogy Of Crime.

Inc interesting iactS nrSt stated IN thes,
columns in regard to Margaret, the moth
er of criminals" have attracted the atten
ton of the United States Commissioner o.
Education, who has made careful investi.
CATION Of them. From the information fur
nished to the bureau BY the member of the
Prison Association. Mr.. Dugdale. who frs!
unravelled the genealogy Of this guilty
family. it appears that his attention was
originally called to them by discovering the
following interesting band of relatives in
the Ulster County Jail The oldest, man
fifty-fve years Of age, b Saiting trial for re-
ceivine stolen goods ; his daughter. aged
eighteen. subsequently arrested as prosti-
tute) held as q witness against him her
uncle, aged forty-two, for burglary in the
first degree the illegitimate daughter of
the latter's wife. aged twelve years, upon
which child he had attempted violence, and
who was awaiting sentence for yagrancy and
two brothers aged nineteen and fourteen.
accused OF an assault with intent to kill.
they having pushed child over a cliff and
nearly killed him by u fall. These were
all blood relatives, and, on carefully tracing
back their genealogy, proved to be the
descendants, among numerous Others, OF
one unfortunate little vagrant and her sis
ters. The ancestral source of this line of
paupers and criminals is described as - the
torest-covered margin OF five lakes, so
rocky as to be in some parts inaccessible
in Ulster county. Here colony of rural
royers and vagrants lived, crowded in small
log or stone houses. all ages and sexes, rela-
tions and strangers living and sleeping to-
gether IN the same room, much rs do our
shanty or tenement population in some por-
tons OF this city. No privacy was possible,
md fsxT.. ~
occupations of these people were fishing,
shooting, fighting. and stealing. Owing to
their outdoor life, they grew up, unlike
our criminal population. very wirY and ro-
bust, and they were enabled to continue for
six generations their genealogy of crime
The attention of the benevolent was fire.
quently drawn to the ragged little vagrant,
Margaret and her miserable sisters. The
kind-hearted here and there gave them
bread or supplied them with clothing in the
winter. But the majority of persons did
not consider themselves responsible for the
wretched condition OF this little waif, and
made no efforts 10 reform or educate her or
her sisters. She grew up, a. hundreds of
such children are growing up through the
State, without known parents tfor in all
pr0ba bility she or her sisters were ille giti-
mate children), without friends or educa-
ton, or being reached by any religious in
iuence- The vagrant girl grew up to
wicked womanhood. and died shortly after
lS25. aged, it is believed. about sixty. five
years. The family line of her and her sis
ters has been carefully searched, and S3i
persons are distinctly traced but it is be-
lieved that the full number Of descendants
is at least | 200. The number whose for
tunes are most clearly known amount 10
709-327 males and 3l9 females; remainder
unknown. OF these. l06 were illegitimate.
l64 prostitutes, II keepers of houses OF ILL.,
fame. l42 receiving outdoor relief, "a pau
pers IN alms-hOuses, and 70 were criminals.
The number of indictable offences commit
ted by them Is lis the number of years
imprisonment they have suffered, ll6 the
number OF years individual relief, 734
And Of the whole 709. only - ever acquired
any property, and of these ; lost what they
gained.
When it is remembered that these figures
are all derived from the public records, and
that they only express probably fraction
of the ofenses really committed by this un-
happy family, the picture becomes truly
appalling. In examining more closely the
ofienseS of this guilty stock, it will be found
that among the females the especial crime
theft and violence The former would arise
naturally from the promiscuous habits OF
living OF the families. In our own House
of Refuge there have been six children from
three families in the NIfh generation from
Msrgaret-counting herself as the first.
Fifty per cent. of all her direct female de-
scendants became prostitutes, and of the
whole stock. from the age OF twelve upward,
fifty per cent. are found TO be Of disreputa-
BILE character Murder or attempts 10
murder appear among the males in every
generation except the sixth, where the
children are not older than seven years.
Forgery is found but once on their records.
Theft appears everywhere. As Mr. Dag
dale well observes. the same general condl-
tiOn- of parentsge and training produce
prostitution in the one sex and theft IN the
other The tendency of crime Is in the di-
rection of least resistance Each sex with
out moral training chooses the easiest way
Of making a living. The trait at the toun-
datlon OF the true criminal i ;" the lack OF
the power of continuous effort. Early
want of training and early examples, as
well as inheritance, produce this IN both
sexes, and each shows the result IN analo-
gous forms. IL is 10 be hoped that this ter
rible lesson in the inheritance OF crime fur
nished by the New York Prison Associa-
ton. will be carefully studied by all our
village and city authorities and the super
intenlents of our aims houses. A little
care and expense now may turn genealo-
gy Of guilt into family line Of virtue and
industry N. Y. Times.