Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1940-12-22
The Town
Made Famous Blu
Extra Toes

~ there's nothing new under the sun" DR. Spencer
+ snedecor of Hackensack New Jersey, is ready
TO prove they wrong because he has found of
l2-toed people living within 20 miles of New York City,
Just about fashionable Suffern New
York.
These people who have extra fingers as well as toes
belong what has often called Lost colony" the
Jackson Whites who live the Ramapo Mountains of
northwest Bergen County in New Jersey where
adjoins New York State Their racial origin mixture
of English Hessan and Indian with two or three other
nationalities in lesser degree.
During the Revolution English captain whose
name was Jackson brought white English
men and some West Indian Negresses camp followers
for the Hessan soldiers who garrisoned New
When the over these women together with
of the Hessan mercenarie left New York for the Ramapo
Mountains which also safe retreat for remnants of
Indian tribes and for slaves Then this strange
mixture of humanity withdrew almost completely from all
contact with civilization for about $50 years.
This present generation of Jackson Whites"
planned DR. Snedecor who has been deyng the
tory of these people together with DR. William X Harry
lis really the first into contact with civli-
cation for century and half In all that time they
have been living entirely alone, in closed community
and they very shy and suspicious. They called
the Jackson Whites because of the English captain
who brought them
And they have closely intermarried. They live
very low subsistence level glarng vita
min deficiencies have very bad housing facilities poor
clothing and absence what call the comfortable
aspects of modern life and practically education what
soever."
AS a result the Jackson Whites have developed
strange phenomenon that scientists call polydactysm,
having too many fingers many syndacty
hsm, or having two fingers two more toes
grown together in webbed sort of way. In family
o these Jackson Whites DR. Snedecor found
out OF nine children had extra fingers and toes and that
this could be traced back four generations to their great
grandparents.
DR. snedecor went to the homes of these Jackson
Whites with public health nurse who had previously
gained their confidence Otherwise they would receive
any strangers at all The doctor wanted to help the chill
removing their dgits and he finally per-
suaded some parents permit children
To hOSDi in aCk for cal
From his observations DR. Snedecor found that the
Characteristic of having extra fingers and passed
from generation to the next by both the father
mother He found that in the second and third
about SO per the children afflicted
the fourth generation the percentage
that in family of nine children had this
abnormality The great-grandather of this family
be part Indian British and Hessan and had lived
great old age while the grandmother died SO years
Dr. Snedecor the hands and feet with their extra
dgits and webbing presented interesting problems
surgery. The simplest of this abnormay when
finger toe is attached TO the base of either
the little finger or the little toe else to the thumb
the big Shipping off such extra member is easy
the doctor
But when the finger becomes involved with the
functonng of the hands feet-hke being in place
where hurts when shake somebody's hand when
a shoe is put be taken removal
hitching back the tendons Of the part
The of the children had to be improved because
they could not get spay otherwise
explained DR.. Snedecor. When it to the problem
which big TO remove, If there big
each foot that the development was in
the outside and removed the extra big
transplanted the endons those Of the other big
Sometimes Il was necessary 10 place the toe IA
plaster cast even in two or three casts in gradual
stages After months time and found that the
not altogether normal but when the children
put shoes which they had never before their
kept fairly good and comfortable position
for webbed feet Dr. snedecor said that they do not
matter much because shoes be anyway But
webhed finger it's different
requires splitting and skin grating While the results
have been 100 per cent satisfactory far of
after the operation these fingers sometimes show
their afterwards and do develop gracefully