The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness. Henry Herbert Goddard
H. GODDARD.
Vineland, N.J., September, 1912.
THE KALLIKAK FAMILY
A STUDY IN THE HEREDITY OF FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS
CHAPTER I
THE STORY OF DEBORAH
One bright October day, fourteen years ago, there came to the Training School at Vineland, a little eight-year-old girl. She had been born in an almshouse. Her mother had afterwards married, not the father of this child, but the prospective father of another child, and later had divorced him and married another man, who was also the father of some of her children. She had been led to do this through the efforts of well-meaning people who felt that it was a great misfortune for a child to be born into the world illegitimately. From their standpoint the argument was good, because the mother with four or five younger children was unable to provide adequately for this little girl, whom both husbands refused to support.
On the plea that the child did not get along well at school and might possibly be feeble-minded, she gained admission to the Training School, there to begin a career which has been interesting and valuable to the Institution, and which has led to an investigation that cannot fail to prove of great social import.
The following are extracts from her history since she came to the Institution:—
From Admission Blanks, Nov. ’97.—Average size and weight. No peculiarity in form or size of head. Staring expression. Jerking movement in walking. No bodily deformity. Mouth shut. Washes and dresses herself, except fastening clothes. Understands commands. Not very obedient. Knows a few letters. Cannot read nor count. Knows all the colors. Not fond of music. Power of memory poor. Listens well. Looks steadily. Good imitator. Can use a needle. Can carry wood and fill a kettle. Can throw a ball, but cannot catch. Sees and hears well. Right-handed. Excitable but not nervous. Not affectionate and quite noisy. Careless in dress. Active. Obstinate and destructive. Does not mind slapping and scolding. Grandmother somewhat deficient. Grandfather periodical drunkard and mentally deficient. Been to school. No results.
From Institution Reports:—
Jan. ’99.—Conduct better. Counts 1–10 and 10–1. Knows at sight and can write from memory “see,” “me,” “ran,” “man,” “rat,” “can.” Weaves difficult mat in steps of 1 and 3, but requires much assistance.
Feb. ’99.—Counts 1–30; writes 1–15. Orderly. Folds neatly.
March, ’99.—Draws circle and square. Writes 1–29. Combines simple numbers.
April, ’99.—Conduct quite bad—impudent and growing worse. Transferred from Seguin Cottage to Wilbur for a while. Seems some better.
School. Dec. ’00. Disobedient. Graceful. Good in drill. Can copy. Knows a number of words. Writes them from memory. Reads a little. Adds with objects. Counts and knows value of numbers. Does all ladder and pole drills nicely. Good in entertainment work. Memorizes quickly. Can always be relied upon for either speaking or singing. Marches well. A good captain. Knows “Halt,” “Right,” and “Left Face” and “Forward March.” Always in step.
Music. Knows different notes. Plays “Jesus, Lover of my Soul” nicely. Plays scale of C and F on cornet.
May, ’01.—Plays scales of C and F and first two exercises in “Beginners’ Band Book” on cornet. She plays by ear. She has not learned to read the notes of these two scales, simply because she will not put her mind to it. She has played hymns in simple time, but the fingering has had to be written for her.
School. Excellent worker in gardening class. Has just completed a very good diagram of our garden to show at Annual Meeting.
Cottage. Helps make beds and waits on table, is quick with her work, but is very noisy.
Oct. ’01.—Has nearly finished outlining a pillow sham. Can do very good work when she tries.
English. Does better in number work than in any other branch. Her mind wanders a great deal. In the midst of a lesson, that she has apparently paid a great deal of attention to, she will ask a question that has no bearing on the lesson at all. Is slow to learn.
Nov. ’01.—Is very good in number work, especially in addition. Can add 25 and 15. Spells a few words, such as “wind,” “blows,” “flowers.” Writes fairly well from copy if she tries. Her attention is very hard to keep. Is restless in class. Likes to be first in everything. The one thing she does best in school is to add numbers with pegs. Knows about fifteen words, such as “cat,” “fan,” “run,” “man.” She could learn more in school if she would pay attention, but her mind seems away off from the subject in discussion. Could play scale of C and F on cornet and would play some by ear if she could have kept up her lessons. Was taken out on account of sore throat.
Nov. ’04.—Understands how to make bead chains. Has made four. Knows how to use a sewing machine. Has made a shirtwaist. Uses tape measure accurately. Can play on cornet four hard band pieces and three solos, also reads at sight easy songs and hymns. Band pieces are: “Attention, March!” “Quick Step Sterling,” “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” and “Star-spangled Banner.” Solos are: “America,” “Old Black Joe,” and “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” Conduct at school, fair.
Deborah at the Sewing Machine.
Deborah as Waitress.
Jan. ’07.—Took the part of Mrs. Doe in “Fun in a Photograph Gallery.”
Feb. ’08.—Can write a fairly good story, but spells very few words. Has little idea of the use of capitals. It is difficult for her to separate her sentences. Drawing, painting, coloring, and any kind of hand work she does quite nicely. In clay modeling, her idea of form is quite good. Is much improved in conduct. Does not act so wild in class.
In wood-carving class, she starts a thing she wants to do very enthusiastically, but if it takes her very long, her interest flags and she has to be spurred on by the thought of the result when well done. This year she has made a carved book rest with mission ends and is now working on a shirtwaist box with mortise and tenon joints and lap joints. The top will be paneled. She can do most of her own marking when shown how.
Has made a great improvement in “Band” during the last year. Can get a better tone on the cornet and more volume. Reads by note all music that she plays. Plays second cornet parts to about twenty-five pieces.
Jan. ’09.—Has embroidered the front of a shirtwaist and the front gore of a skirt. She has shown a great amount of patience, perseverance, and judgment in her work this year, has been anxious to do her work, and has been a good girl. In wood carving she is doing much more careful work than last year.
Has made a large “Skolcroft” chair with only a little help in putting it into clamps. Did her own measuring and carved the wood. She filled the wood herself before staining. This she had never done before.
June, ’09.—Made the suit which she had embroidered earlier in the year, using the machine in making it. Helped F. B. put her chair together and really acted as a teacher in showing her how to upholster it. Will be a helper in wood-carving class this summer.
Took important part in the Christmas play of 1908 and was a “Fan Girl” in the Japanese play given Annual Day, 1909.