ID# 848:
Arthur Sweetzer letter and family history to C. Davenport (?), about tall stature
Date:
1928
Pages: (1|2|3|4|5)
Source:
American Philosophical Society, ERO, MSC77,Ser I,box 77

Arthur Sweetzer letter and family history to C. Davenport (?), about tall stature

Regaining the Family Height (A true eugenic experiment) By [obs type] My ancestors were of the good old Yankee type who emigrated from England to New Hampshire in 1650. The men were all over six feet in height and of that stocky, wiry build, who so successfully fought against the British in 1776 and later in the American Revolution. The women were all robust, healthy, and capable - making ideal wives and mothers for each succeeding generation. The chief occupation of my ancestors - for the first two hundred years - after coming from England was along the line of agriculture and poultry. The women all had fine flower gardens - which they personally cared for in addition to their household duties. This left them in excellent physical condition and they were free from the ailments so common to many women of the present day. Both my grandfathers and all their brothers went to High School - thereby acquiring a higher education than any of their forefathers. With this higher education came the ambition to seek other lines of livelihood than that of their fathers and they became - salesmen, manufacturers and bankers, -- starting their respective careers right after school. Soon they joined several clubs - which were more social than athletic and within a few years their muscles became soft and their stomachs acquired an aldermanic paunch. All of them married small women of the "petite" type and their children, when grown to manhood and womanhood - averaged six inches less in height than their fathers. My own father was a typical "mother's boy" -- even being taught at home - rather than going to school. All forms of athletic activity were considered vulgar and commonplace. At the age of twenty-two, he married my mother - who was a small woman, of Italian extraction, whose height barely reached four feet and ten inches. My brother and myself - the only offsprings of this union - only attained a height of [lined out text]five[end lined text] four feet and [lined out text]four[end lined text]five inches. We were forced to go through college to satisfy the family pride of having the only sons of their name to graduate from Harvard. My brother followed social pursuits while I was athletically inclined, not for the mere exercise, but rather taking a keen enjoyment in winning various events. While so engaged, I noticed that it was inevitably the tall, rangy type of men who were given the most consideration, by the athletic coaches and that the small fellows had to be exceptionally good to JUN 22 1928

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