Juke Micronics

The Jukes family, a well-known "hill family" from New York, was extensively studied during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These studies were part of a larger series of family studies, such as the Kallikaks, the Zeros, and the Nams, which were often used to support the concept of eugenics. However, the original study conducted by Richard L. Dugdale focused more on the impact of the environment on criminality, disease, and poverty. One notable figure, Elisha Harris, a doctor and former president of the American Public Health Association, published reports describing Margaret, a resident of Upstate New York, as the "mother of criminals." He went on to label her children as "a race of criminals, paupers, and harlots." In 1874, sociologist Richard L. Dugdale, who was a member of the executive committee of the Prison Association of New York and a colleague of Harris, was assigned to visit jails in upstate New York. During his visit to a jail in Ulster County, he discovered six members of the same "Juke" family (a pseudonym), although they were using different family names. Further investigation revealed that out of 29 male "immediate blood relations," 17 had been arrested and 15 had been convicted of crimes. Dugdale extensively studied the records of inmates in the 13 county jails of New York State, as well as poorhouses and courts, in order to trace the ancestry of the New York hill family and understand the factors contributing to their criminal behavior. His book claimed that Max, a frontiersman and descendant of early Dutch settlers, born between 1720 and 1740, was the ancestor of over 76 convicted criminals, 18 brothel-keepers, 120 prostitutes, more than 200 relief recipients, and two cases of "feeble-mindedness."