Consanguineous Marriages in the American PopulationArner, George B. Louis (George Byron Louis)
Science
Consanguineous Marriages in the American Population
Arner, George B. Louis (George Byron Louis)
Consanguinity -- United States
It would seem that the number of the married deaf reported as having
deaf children is much too small, especially since Dr. Fay[89] produces
statistics of 4471 marriages of the deaf of which 300 produced deaf
offspring. Counting only the 3,078 marriages of which information in
regard to offspring was available these figures show an average of a
little less than one such marriage in ten as productive of deaf
offspring. The total number of children of these marriages was 6,782,
of which 588 were deaf. These 3,078 marriages represented 5,199 deaf
married persons as compared with the 31,334 reported in the Twelfth
Census, or about one sixth. Increasing the 300 families who had deaf
children in the same ratio we have 1800 as compared with the 437
reported by the census. But as it was inevitable that Dr. Fay's cases
should be selected somewhat, he has probably collected records of more
than one sixth of all the cases where deaf children were born of deaf
parents. But we can hardly believe that he found three-fourths of such
cases. The true number therefore must be considerably greater than
437, but less than 1800.[90]
[Footnote 89: _Marriages of the Deaf in America_, chap. v.]
[Footnote 90: Of the 17 children of first cousins reported on my
circulars as either totally or partially deaf, 9 are known to have had
deaf ancestors.]
Dr. Fay found that 31 out of the 4,471 marriages of the deaf were
consanguineous, but he expresses the belief that the actual number
and percentage of consanguineous marriages of the deaf are larger. The
following table which combines several of Dr. Fay's tables sets forth
the main results of his work. In each instance one or both parties to
the marriage were deaf. The totals include only those of whom
information as to the offspring was available.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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