Vivian BUCK

Vivian Buck was adopted by the Dobbs family, who had also raised Vivian's mother, Carrie for a time. Under the name "Vivian Alice Elaine Dobbs", she attended the Venable Public Elementary School of Charlottesville for four terms, from September 1930 until May 1932, a month before her death at age eight of "enteric colitis". Stephen Jay Gould wrote:

She was an [average student], neither particularly outstanding nor much troubled. In those days before grade inflation, when C mean "good, 81-87" (as defined on her report card) rather than barely scraping by, Vivian Dobbs received A's and B's for deportment and C's for all academic subjects but mathematics (which was always difficult for her, and where she scored D) during her first term in Grade 1A, from September 1930 to January 1931. She improved during her second term in 1B, meriting an A in deportment, C in mathematics, and B in all other academic subjects; she was on the honor roll in April 1931. Promoted to 2A, she had trouble during the fall term of 1931, failing mathematics and spelling but receiving A in deportment, B in reading, and C in writing and English. She was "retained in 2A" for the next term -- or "left back" as we used to say, and scarcely a sign of imbecility as I remember all my buddies who suffered a similar fate. In any case, she again did well in her final term, with B in deportment, reading, and spelling, and C in writing, English, and mathematics during her last month in school. This offspring of "lewd and immoral" women excelled in deportment and performed adequately, although not brilliantly, in her academic subjects.

By all accounts Vivian was of average intelligence, far from feeblemindedness. Sadly, Vivian died at age eight of due to enteric colitis, an intestinal disease.