The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-10

I eight children are deaf and dumb.
went inside and shook hands with one
OF the speaking children, Mrs. Hill
George West is a tall. strongly bait,
/ poruy looking man Of 10 with snow
white hair and rudy face He has blue
eyes ana wears spscracIes We sat down
az a table, 1 with pencil In hand, and il
ala not take me lOag 70 discover that he
is extremely intelligent, has a wonderful
memory, and Is absolutely hungry for ex-
/ planation OF the cause Of The very unusu-
al state Of affairs which exists in his own
family and throughout the entire neigh
I borhood.
MI. Vests knowledge does not extend
back more than a Few carnations. The
nrst persons OF whom he knows IS hav-
ing had deaf children are Benjamin May
new and his wife Lydia. who we're married
at the END Of the last century
Martha's Vineyard is peopled mostly by
AlayheWs who occasionally let in an out
sloer under pledge or good behavior and
due regard to their supremacy.
Edgartown, the first inhabited portion Of
me island, was founded by a Mayhem,
Gov Thomas Mayhem. in 1872 He had
crown grant Of the island and settled there
I Us missionary TO the Indians. Many of
the homes in the island have a litho-
sraphed family tree of the Mayhews
hung up on their barlor walls. showing
the qualifications and early intermarriages
Of this sturdy stock
Inc early Mayhews were entirely unaf-
hlcted and devoted themselves to estab-
hshlhs indian schools, teaching the Indian
siils 70 spin etc. But Benjamin Mayhem.
their descendant, who nourished at the
emo OF the last century. had eleven chill
ufeh' Tour OF whom were congenitally
dear and dumb. Mr.. West told me that
ms own wife's grandfather was a second
cousin OF this Benjamin Mayhem
Skipping over period Of some forty
years, the starting record Of deafness and
uumoness took up its thread with the mar
riage of this George West to Diadena Til
ton, who was deaf and dumb. Of their
elght children five were congenitally deaf
ana dumb. OF this same George Vests
thlrty-three grandchildren and great
| grandchildren ten have been congenitally
dear and dumb and two more or less fee
Die MINDED. The trees Of other families
We're also given me, showing a total of
thirty-six deaf and dumb people in a COM
munity of l46 souls all told. Mr. West
knew no reason why the original Benia-
min Mayhem and his Wife Lydia, who
were sturdy and entirely unaffected per-
sons, should have had this alarming ratio
Of deaf and dumb children. But from the
original records of the settlement in the
county clerks Office it appears that two of
the first settlers were deaf mutes. Their
descendants for 250 years have perpetual
ted the faint
Can Ike example be found anywhere
else in the world?
how by descent and intermarriage the
aHliction passed from family to family in
the early years is not worked out statis-
tlcally, but since the time of the deaf
benjamin Mayhem 1t is reasonably clear
benjamin Mayhem, second, the deaf and
dumb son Of the eighteenth century Ben
Jamin referred TO above, married one Han
nah Smith of the state Of Maine, also a
dear and dumb woman. Both Of their sons
were congenially deaf and dumb Benia-
min Mayhem third, the elder Of these
sons, married finely formed, handsome
woman named Hattie West, and all Of their
three children were strong and sound
| saw their daughter Cora and talked with
her She is an intelligent and lovely girl
OF perhaps 49, with the purest kind of a
classical face
In George Vests own family the record
is a peculiarly interest ting one His wife,
/ Dladema Iilton, from a branch of the
Mayhem family, was a deaf mute, and his
naive explanation of why so many of her
children showed the same anliction was
that she had attended funeral one day
and spent all the time watching one Sally
smith, who was deaf and dumb The
! fact that Mr.. Vests second fourth. ana
seventh child had full possession of an
their senses, and that his third, nth.
sixth and eighth were deaf and dumb
puzzled him exceedingly. He told me that
he thought the afiliction was Catching
just like diptheria aud smallpox.
He further said that of his own eight
/ children the five that were deaf and dumb
/ resembled him in complexion and general
1 appearance, and the three who were per-
/ fectly sound and healthy looked like his
/ wife, she being the afflicted and he the IN
| afflicted member Of the firm. And it was
only necessary for me to glance at the
| grown-up children seated around me that
| Mr.. West had given me the exact truth.
! This illustrates a very curious phase of
| natures laws. The deaf and dumb chill
! dren resemble the hearing husband, and
| the hearing children the deaf and dumb
wife.
Vests sixth child, daughter, Diadema,
| who was deaf and dumb, married Freeman
| Smith, a deaf and dumb man. Their only
| daughter was not only deaf and dumb. but
! died at an early age. Vests seventh child.
! Sophronisba, hearing woman, married
/ Grafton Hillman, hearing man. and their
| only child died in infancy from a general
lack of vitality
Putting the facts together this is the
| way they strike me: Chilmark is a com
! munity, two of whose first settlers were
! deaf and dumb, and their descendants
! alarming extent. This has happened
! purely as an atavistic occurrence. I can
/ not discover that any of the instances of
! inter-marriage have been nearer than
| third or fourth cousins. 1t cannot, there
! fore, be said that results in the shane of
! deterioration of an originally sturdy
/ stock which invariably follow the mar
| riage of close relatives, have been fac
/ tors in this case.
Chilmark Is an unusually healthy place.
Its inhabitants are TALL well formed and
| sturdy, and live to an old age. If they
die at so they are thought to die young.
Lovey, fourth child of the original Ben
| jamin MAYHEM, is still living at the ripe
| age of 81 years An age of 100 is. I
might say almost frequent in this neigh
borhood. Had the original stock been
any less sturdy or the environment anv
less healthy and lfe-giving, the tyne
would inevitably have deteriorated
Idiots would have been much more num-
erous. and many more collateral
branches would have "petered out" in
children too poorly equipped with vital
energy to live for any length of time
Squibnocket people used to be whalers
sailing in New Bedford bottoms. but now
adays. as one old sea captain put it.
there amt much fish to sell, but enough