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Collection: Pedigrees of Inmates at the Vermont School for Feebleminded Children, 1925

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Pedigree 31 - Female

Though her birth year is recorded as 1909, this female inmate had allegedly committed bigamy and adultery prior to her institutionalization in 1922. The information listed under "Additional History" reveals eugenicists' tendency to conflate sexual…

Pedigree 32 - Male

This pedigree describes a boy who was first committed to the Vermont Industrial School before being transferred to the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children when he was roughly 12 yeas old. The eugenic social worker who completed the…

Pedigree 33 - Female

This female inmate was committed to the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children with a diagnosis of "Insane. Dementia Praecox. Paranoid Type" in 1919. The "Assigned cause" of her illness is "Fell at the age of ten and injured her spine.…

Pedigree 34 - Female

This pedigree describes a young woman who was committed to the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children when she was 18. Her background, as reported, appears dire. Of her father, the social worker wrote, "Deserted three times. Sex offender…

Pedigree 35 - Female

This adolescent girl was committed to the Vermont State School for Feeble-Minded Children with a "Delinquency Record" of "Streetwalker. Illegitimate Child." Both of her parents are described as "Booze Fiends" and "Sex Offenders." Her father is…

Pedigree 36 - Male

This brief pedigree of describes a boy who was committed to the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children when he was 12 years old. Orphaned by his father, who died on a town poor farm, his "Habits" are listed as "Masturbates and is…

Pedigree 37 - Female

This pedigree describes a girl who was committed to the Vermont State School in 1922 when she was 16; she was later discharged. Her "defect" is listed as "Prostitute," and under "Additional Information," the social worker states that she later moved…

Pedigree 38 - Female

This brief pedigree describes a girl who was committed to the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children when she was 8 years old. She had previously run away from home. The assigned cause of her deficiency was "Drank fly poison at the age of…

Pedigree 39 - Male

While most male inmates entered the Vermont State School for Feebleminded Children at a younger age than their female counterparts in the 1920s, this man was 25 when he was transferred to Brandon from the Vermont State Hospital, where he had been…

Pedigree 40 - Female

This pedigree describes an adult woman with a traumatic history who was committed to the Vermont State School in 1925. Of her father, the social worker writes, "Insane. Violent temper. Abusive . . . People afraid of him. Points gun at them." Of the…

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