Remnants of Identity: Tracing Ancestry in the 19th-Century Rush Medical College Anatomical Collection

This research examines a 19th-century skeletal collection (Rush Medical College Collection) housed at the Field Museum of Natural History to explore whether the original documents designating the recorded “race” of each individual can be corroborated using a modern statistical program (FORDISC 3.1), since how museum workers would have known the ‘race’ of the individuals cannot be determined. The Rush Medical College Collection reflects society’s attitudes towards our nation's most vulnerable individuals, even after death. This research allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the potential effects of marginalization and disenfranchisement in 19th-century Chicago.