The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-06-05
The Influence of Ancestry.

In this country VIC are taught by the
Declaration of American Independence
that all people are born equal. There
never was greater Misrepresentation
put in one sentence than in thatsentence
which implies that we are all born equal.
You may as we'll say that flowers are
born equal, or trees are born equal, or an
imals are born equal. Why does one
horse cost 500, and another horse cost
$4,000? Why does one sheep cost $40,
and another sheep cost $500? Difference
in blood. We all are wise enough to
recognize the difference Of blood in
horses, in cattle, in sheep, but we are not
wise enough to make allowance for diff
ference in human blood. Now, l demand,
by the law of eternal fairness, that you
be more lenient in your criticism of those
who were born wrong, in whose ancestral
line there was a hangman's knot, or who
came from q tree, the fruit of which for
centuries has been gnarled and worm
eaten. DR.. Harris, a reformer, gave some
marvellous statistics in his story of what
be called Margaret, the Mother Of
Criminals" Ninety years ago she lived
in village in upper New York State.
She was not only poor, but she was not
we'll provided for. There were no aims
houses there. The public, however,
somewhat looked after her, but chiefly
scoffed at her and derided her and push
ed her further down in her crimes. That
was ninety years ago. There has been
622 persons in that ancestral line, 200 of
them criminals. In one branch of that
family there we're twenty, and nine OF
them have been in State prisons, and
nearly all of the others have turned out
badly. It is estimated that that family
cost the county and State 100000, to
say nothing of the property they destroy
ed. Are you not willing, as sensible
people, to acknowledge that it is fear
full disaster to be born in such an ances-
tral line +? Does it not mako great
difference whether one descends from
Margaret, the mother of criminals, or
from some mother in Israel? whetheryou
are the son of Ahab or tue son of
Joshua2 It is very different thing to
swim with the current from what it is to
swim against the current, as some of you
have, no doubt, found in your Summer
recreation. If a man finds himself in
an ancestral current where there is good
blood flowing smoothly from generation
to generation, it is not very great credit
to him if he turn out good and honest
and pure and upright and noble. He
could scarcely help it. But suppose he
is born in an ancestral line, in heredi'
tary line, where the influences have been
bad and there have been coming down
over a moral declivity, if the man sur
render to the influences he will 60 down
under the overmastering gravitation un.
less some supernatural aid be afforded
him. Now, such person deserves not
your excoriation, but your pity. Do not
sit with the lip curled in scorn, and with
an assumed air of angelic innocence
looking upon such moral precipitation
You had better get down on your knees
and first pray Almighty God for their
rescue, and next thank the Lord that you
haye not been thrown under the wheels
of that Juggernaut.-Dr. 7almage IN
Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine for June