Eugenics was inevitably entangled in many aspects of American social and political life, and particularly in setting and supporting national policy with regard to immigration and the treatment of ethnic and racial minorities. The ERO Records reflect the eugenical fascination with identifying race-based traits and with locating clear lines of demarcation between the races in terms of behavior, intelligence, and physical characteristics. Race is a particularly clear factor in several files in the Trait Files Series I (documenting the inheritance of purportedly discrete genetic characteristics): "Jamaica anthropometry" (Box 4), "Race suicide and childlessness" (Box 7), "Twins, Negro" (Box 13), "Skin color," "Spotted skin," and "Mulattoes" (Box 26), "Finger prints - Jamaica schoolchildren" and "Woolly hair" (Box 27) and several files under the heading "Race," "Race crossing," and "Negro" (Box 61, 62, 64). The Fitter Family Studies (Series VI) displays an equal concern for racial demarcation, and include some correspondence with the Race Betterment Foundation.
This note is currently under review for revision.
This collection contains materials which relate to the history of genetics.
Cite as: Eugenics Record Office Records, American Philosophical Society.
The Eugenics Record Office Papers were donated by the Charles Fremont Dight Institute for the Promotion of Human Genetics at the University of Minnesota in 1992 (Accession #1992-1401ms). An addition to the collection was made in January of 1993 (Accession #1993-55ms).
Jan S. Ballard and Miriam B. Spectre
The following is a list of the series names as they are currently described in the collection at the American Philosophical Society; as they were described by the Dight Institute; and as they are described in "The Records of the Eugenics Records Office, A Resource for Genealogists" by Thomas H. Roderick, V. Elving Anderson, Robert Charles Anderson, Roger D. Joslyn, and Wayne T. Morris.
The Eugenics Record Office Papers (1670-1964) contain trait schedules, newspaper clippings, manuscript essays, pedigree charts, article abstracts, reprints, magazine articles, bibliographies, photographs, hair samples, postcard pictures, card files, and some correspondence which document the projects of the Eugenics Record Office during the thirty-four years of its operation. These items are also included on 518 reels of microfilm, which are listed at the end of this guide to the collection.
The papers (382 boxes; 330.5 lin. feet) are divided into thirteen series:
The Eugenics Record Office was founded in 1910 and in 1920 merged with the Station for Experimental Evolution to become the Department of Genetics at the Carnegie Institution, in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, directed by Charles Benedict Davenport. The E.R.O. was a repository for genetic data on human traits. The Carnegie Institution stopped funding the E.R.O. in 1939, but the Office was active until 1944. The records were then transferred to the Charles Fremont Dight Institute for the Promotion of Human Genetics at the University of Minnesota. When the Dight closed in 1991, the genealogical material was filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and given to the Center for Human Genetics; the non-genealogical material was not filmed and was given to the American Philosophical Society Library. A further history of the Eugenics Record Office can be found in the article in Appendix A, "The Records of the Eugenics Record Office, A Resource for Genealogists" by Thomas H. Roderick, Elving Anderson, Robert Charles Anderson, Roger D. Joslyn, and Wayne T. Morris, published in the
Contains materials on single traits, or unit characteristics, considered either heritable in themselves or linked with inheritable traits. Each unit characteristic was assigned and filed by a specific trait ("A") number according to the classification scheme listed in
The nature of the unit characteristics themselves is broad, ranging from the temperament of people in various professions to hair color to diseases. Likewise, the nature of materials range from abstracts of medical journal articles to postcards depicting photographs of Coney Island Dreamland Circus Sideshows. Over a hundred files concern studies of twins. The Dight Institute added ten files on Huntington's Chorea, which postdate the work of the Eugenics Record Office.
Native American Images Note : Black and white photographs of White Cuna Indians, North American Chiefs, and photomechanical prints of Mexican and Alaskan natives. Twenty-three silver gelatin prints from the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnography of formal, front and side, portraits of Pueblo, Algonquin, Apache, and Sioux men. Taken by an unknown photographer from 1870-1912, individuals are clothed in period dress with some traditional feather, braid, and earring ornamentation. Thirty-seven black and white 3 ΒΌ" square silver gelatin photographs of the White Indians of Panama. As detailed in the World's Work article "Blond Indians of the Darien Jungle", Richard Olgesby Marsh photographed the natives in their village in 1924. Some photomechanical prints of Aztecs, Caribs, and Eskimos from such works as Harper's Monthly, New York Times, and World's Work, dating from 1908-1933. Primarily in folders A:9770-#1, A:9861.
"Key to the present system. Institution reporting."
New Jersey State Village of Epileptics heredity chart.
unspecified
unspecified
Boys body build study, Figure 1.
Boys body build study, Figure 2.
Boys body build study, Figure 3.
Contains 24 pages of data lists pertaining to height.
A:052. Race Suicide and Childlessness, 1895-1921
"Race Suicide Declared Impossible," article on Alexander Graham Bell's views on race suicide and immigration restriction.
A:072. Stillbirths, 1906
unspecified
unspecified
Family affected by albinism.
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
A:942. Sterilization
A:94348. Ovariotomy Sterilization
A:96. Puerperal State, 1922
A:97 #1. Immigration
A:974 x 5. Caucasian x Mongolian
unspecified
unspecified
The Tribe of Ishmael
Bird Chief
Kangi-sha-pa or Black Crow
Honii-wotoma or Wolf Robe
A:9770 #2. Shinnecock Indians, 1933
unspecified
Cuna children
Cuna family
Photos of Albino Indians of Panama.
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
unspecified
contains trait schedules, newspaper clippings, photographs, hair samples, postcard pictures, and some correspondence about specific traits. Like materials in Series I, items are organized according to the trait numbers listed in
This series contains 13 card file boxes. (See series description.)
Indexes of Record of Family Traits (RFT) schedules and Family-Tree Folder (FTF) schedules. Cards in Box #1 cross-index the names of individuals who completed RFT schedules and whose surnames differ from the family name. Each card contains both surnames and includes an alpha-numeric code that was assigned to the family name, e.g., Hea-26 for Heard. (See description of Series IV.) Cards are arranged alphabetically by the surname located in the left-hand corner. Box #2 is an alphabetically arranged card catalog of the names and addresses of people who submitted FTF schedules. The cards include cross-references to schedules filed by specific trait ("A") numbers in Series I. Also included at the back of this box are similar indexes that are cross-referenced to the marriage ("M") file and to the family Traits ("D") file, which are on microfilm. For further information on interpreting the index cards and their letter codes, see Appendix A.
This series contains 2 card file boxes. (See series description.)
Card catalog of the names and addresses of people who submitted Record of Family Traits schedules to the Eugenics Record Office. Each family was given an alpha-numeric code (for example, Hea-26 for Heard), and the cards are filed by these codes. The catalog covers the alphabet from A to S; the alphabet from T to Z is missing. Some cards contain cross-references (using codes) to other families.
One folder of originals and three folders of photocopies of completed Record of Family Traits schedules. These schedules record information about several generations of families, including names, birthplaces, birthdates, illnesses, and special abilities.
This is a sample of the records that were transferred to the Center for Human Genetics in Bar Harbor, Maine when the APS received the non-genealogical material. The APS acquired the rest of the records in 2014. The original "genealogical" material had been kept at Bar Harbor by Thomas H. Roderick, who worked at the Center for Human Genetics. After Dr. Roderick died, the records were shipped by Mrs. Roderick, with he help of Marlene Hubbard, who also works at the Center.
Fitter Families Examinations given in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1925 to 1927. These folders are filed by state. This series also includes some clippings about eugenics in law; two folders of Individual Analysis Cards for the years 1917-1936 (filed alphabetically by last name); some correspondence with the Eugenics Registry at the Race Betterment Foundation; and biographical reports and eugenics information for many individuals, some of them potential field workers for the Eugenics Record Office (filed alphabetically by last name at the end of this series). For some further information about Fitter Family Studies, see the card file located in Series VII.
Eugenics in Law
unspecified
unspecified
Nineteen page, blank examination form with some annotation.
unspecified
unspecified
"Selected List of 500 Best Family Records"
The original Eugenics Record Office Records included two boxes of selected Field Worker Files. In 2014, the APS acquired approximately 49 linear feet of additional Field Worker Files from Mrs. Thomas Roderick and the Center for Human Genetics in Bar Harbor, Maine. As the files in the original collection had been sampled from this larger portion, they were integrated into the 2014 accession during processing in 2019.
Prior to 2019, the first two boxes of this series consisted of a sample of material taken from the files that were transferred to the Center for Human Genetics in Bar Harbor, Maine. The sample included photocopies of biographical sketches and pedigrees that were taken by field workers of the Eugenics Record Office, with some original documents. Seventeen field workers were represented in the sample, filed by field worker number. These numbers are given in a list filed under "Numbers of Eugenics Record Office Field Workers." Also in this series are notes from a field workers meeting in 1915 and a notebook that contains suggestions for the field workers about methods of keeping notes. The card file (1911-1926) in this series gives a record of each field worker by number and by name, as well as by subject and geographical location covered. The card file also includes some entries containing information on Fitter Family Studies.
The bulk of these records were transferred to the Center for Human Genetics in Bar Harbor, Maine when the APS received the non-genealogical material. The APS acquired the rest of the records in 2014. The original "genealogical" material had been kept at Bar Harbor by Thomas H. Roderick, who worked at the Center for Human Genetics. After Dr. Roderick died, the records, which had been kept in his garage, were shipped by Mrs. Roderick, with the help of Marlene Hubbard, who also works at the Center. The bulk of the series is from the 2014 accession, and the two boxes of sample files have been integrated with the rest of the material in the series, while maintaining the integrity of the sampled folders.
This series is currently being processed. For further information, or to use the collection, please contact the Manuscripts Curator.
"Meeting of the Field Workers"
"Research Department. Suggestions"
S.C. Devitt, #2, Folder #1
S.C. Devitt, #2, Folder #2
A.B. Eaton #4
E.P. Moore, #7
E.B. Muncey, #15
M.T. Curial, #23
V.P. Robinson, #26
Fannie George, #41
Ethel H. Thayer, #48
Mabel C. Huschka, #57
Edith M. Douglas, #64
Whittier School, #94
Files compiled by 29 volunteer field workers, who did not receive training from the Eugenics Record Office as the other field workers did. The files contain biographical reports, pedigrees, and lineages done by volunteers for families in the locale of each volunteer. The folders are filed numerically by the volunteer number of each person. The files for some volunteers are missing (10, 24, 25, 26). There are also items for which no volunteer numbers were given. These folders have been filed alphabetically after the volunteer numbers and include miscellaneous trait files, a model chart ("Rational or Artificial Selection (Model)"), and baby books and daily logs for members of the Cory family.
Letter from Bernice Reed to C. B. Davenport on studying a "low grade moral family."
Pedigree charts, the majority of which are oversized and in fragile condition. Most charts are detailed pedigrees and/or genealogies of specific families, including such prominent individuals as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and J.S. Bach. This series also includes more general materials used in various E.R.O. studies, e.g., a map of Quicksand, Kentucky; and physical development records of infants in Washington, D.C.
-See also Oversized
-See also Oversized
Pedigree of Tribe of Ishmael.
-See also Document Box
-See also Document Box
Material that seems to have been collected by Harry H. Laughlin on the topic of blindness. There are two folders of correspondence between Laughlin and Lucien Howe (filed under Laughlin's name) from 1915 to 1928; materials for Howe's
unspecified
"Eugenics, like a tree, Eugenics draws its materials from many sources"
unspecified
unspecified
-See also Ser.X, Box #5, Tuberculosis Card File
Kallikak family pedigree.
Includes pam. of Supreme Court decision on case of Carrie Buck, 1926
H.H. Laughlin and Lucien Howe Correspondence, Folder 1, 1915-1921
H.H. Laughlin and Lucien Howe Correspondence, Folder 2, 1922-1928
Extensive abstracts, pedigree charts, and annotated bibliographies of European and American medical journal articles that were used in the publication of
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Davenport correspondence
Contains Earle-Laughlin correspondence
"Midget schedules" from 1934, filed alphabetically by last name. The data was compiled from midgets who were assembled from around the world to work in the "Midget Village" at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933 and in 1934. The "midget schedules" include measurements and trait descriptions. Also in this series are files of clippings, correspondence, notes, and photographs concerning the Midget Village, including an oversized photograph of the midgets who worked there. There is one card file containing bibliographical citations about midgets, as well as traits for individual midgets.
-See also Ser.XII, Reichert, Gilbert
unspecified
-See Oversized "X." See also Ser.XII, Notes
-See also Oversized "X," Ser.XII, "Midget Village, Chicago"
Midgets at Luna Park, Coney Island, New York.
Folder read "Cantna, Leila"
Folder read "Newman, Jeannette"
Folder read "Quigley, Mrs. Jennie"
unspecified
Coney Island Giant
Folder read "Stoeffler, Amelia"
Cards that are filed by trait number (from
The following is a list of the 518 microfilm reels contained in this collection. For a more detailed description of each reel, see Appendix C.