She hopes DNA testing will enable them to find their birth parents. The illegal adoptions that were allegedly arranged by Dr. Hicks were not discovered until after his death. The story has been featured in many TV specials, including on TLCs, Taken At Birth, which originally aired in 2019. I was warned about ever asking those questions again, this man said I know who you are, please let it alone. Now fast forward 50 years, memories are skewed, you feel differently now, maybe you wish things were different. We just were not there and will never know his thoughts. He buried them for her (such a nice guy) and gave her a birth certificate stating they were stillborn. I did do a DNA test with no response. Genealogy for Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. I think, at first, it was under the table, and then he had seen there was money involved. i am from polk county tenn we are trying to find if our brother danny is still alive we have learned 3 dead babies in my family it is interesting. When mothers came in to the clinic and expressed hesitancy about carrying their pregnancies to term, the doctor would persuade them to have their babies. I have my ancestory DNA done and would love to try to match some names with my DNA relatives. Dr Hicks quickly hushed the nurse and gave my grandma something to make her sleep. That seems to be a repetitive theme amongst the living relatives. Thank you! Oh well for them, I was raised in those mountains and Im not afraid of them. In addition, he did serve time in jail in Tennessee for illegally dispensing narcotics in the 1940s. People, accessed 17 September 2019. The story broke across the U.S. in 1997 when an Akron woman named Jane Blasio learned that her parents bought her from a clinic in Georgia. He was inducing them around 30 weeks handing out 4lb babies to people. These women often came away from faraway places. But lets be honest, no one is going to admit that they willingly sold their baby. Narratively, accessed 17 September 2019. Its time the truth came to light. No matter where they grew upmost often in the industrial cities of Ohiotheir birth certificates said they were born in the Hicks Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia. Perhaps your dad was referring to the equipment used to save preemies. I so agree with you. Why am I rehashing this. My Grandma has been gone several years now, but she told us numerous times that in 1952 when she gave birth to my aunt that she remembers having two babies and the nurse telling her she had a boy. I dont know the truth, the people involved back THEN know. Bloomington, Pickett, Tennessee, United States, Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks & Chass Copeland, marriage record, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9119259, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-06-mn-10123-story.html, https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/23/us/town-secret-is-uncovered-in-birth-quest.html, https://www.distractify.com/p/dr-hicks-taken-at-birth, https://narratively.com/babies-for-sale-the-secret-adoptions-that-haunt-one-georgia-town/, https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a29403041/who-is-dr-thomas-j-hicks/, https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/black-market-babies-reunited-after-more-than-50-years/, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hicks-babies-trying-to-find-their-roots-decades-later/, https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/investigations/decades-old-secret-adoptions-solved-by-modern-dna-for-akron-area-families/95-597582808, https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2014/jun/22/seeking-family-links/250410/, https://globintel.com/usa/dr-thomas-hicks-wiki-taken-at-birth/, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSZD-WWR, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGFJ-W52, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ6P-BJM, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNX9-1PS, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN5X-3HV, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPQ5-SW1, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4ZJ-HRF, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JRRC-NPT, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:McCaysville%2C_Georgia, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. They can arrange a meeting if a match shows up and both sides want to meet. I believe that he provided a valuable service, giving women an alternative, giving a baby a chance at life, giving a couple a chance to be parents. Maybe hes out there and will search for you. Thankful for the granddaughter who went beyond what most would have to get answers. I have hicks show up in my DNA results. Mama never got over this. That son adopted Sallie, who was featured in the show. we are not in the dna data bases but i would be glad to give my dna to find out what happened just point me in the right direction i will be watching tlc hicks babies. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. More than 200 babies, known as the Hicks Babies, were sold by Hicks through a back window of the Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia during the 1950s and 1960s. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. Until Mother's Day 1997, when his adoptions were exposed. Dr Thomas Hicks Family Tree With Complete Detail, Goler Clan Family Tree Check All Members List. In 2014, around 30 suspected Hicks Babies traveled to Tennessee to undergo DNA testing. The adoptive parents paid $1,000 for the baby, and Hicks would provide housing for the mothers for several months at his farm, a hotel, his apartments or a telephone company building, according to Appalachian History. Many of the Hicks babies were able to do DNA testing as part of the TV show. Dr. Hicks was married and had two kids a son and a daughter. Wow! What he was doing in a lot of cases is absolutely wrong because of stuff like this. Many came forward after their adoptive families said they were from the Hicks clinic. One of those babies he delivered in Tennessee was my oldest brother who was supposedly still born. The judge discovered records showing an unusual number of women visiting Hicks clinic. We Delivering you Souvenirs from China;Our site is Specialized in Selling Chinese Special Versions of Stamps, Currency (Coins / Paper), also Selling Souvenirs From the Most Famous Chinese Tourist Sites www.ChinaCoinz.com Part of NTD E-Commerce Co. LTD www.ChinaCoinz.com Part of NTD E-Commerce Co. LTD,. Just watched the documentary. The son, Gillam Thomas Hicks, and his family will be featured in next week's column. $1000 was not a tremendous amount of money when you think about the birth mothers room and board for one month (they had no money, they paid nothing) prior to the birth, plus 24 hr a day Nursing care. I recommend that you test with AncestryDNA and 23andMe, then consider transferring the raw data file into some of the other databases if you dont have luck at the first two. Has your family done any dna tests like 23andme or ancestry? but i can't find me any where an i don't know if the people that raised. Theyre an invaluable resource for parentage searches. Who is Parent 1 or Parent 2 on Ancestry DNA? The truth about the adoptions came to light in 1997, more than two decades after his death, as some of the Hicks Babies began seeking out their biological parents. | Birch on Trellis Framework by Mediavine, Family Tree Building Basics for Beginners Book, Use DNA to Trace Your Mexican Family Tree Book, Example of Family Tree DNA Family Finder Results, were discovered more than two decades after Dr. Hicks death. Estimated reading time: 5 minutes From 1951 to 1965 Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks began to quietly offer babies for adoption from his Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, GA. She worked with TLCs Long Lost Family to locate biological family members. The illegal adoptions stopped in 1964 when Hicks . Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was posthumously accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. How would you feel if you found out a child your told was dead is actually alive I wish Hicks was alive to stand trial for what he did, he had no right. The townspeople believed he encouraged pregnant women who came to him to carry their babies to term instead. His death occurred in 1972, long before any of the children that had been adopted illegally through Dr. Hicks clinic had discovered the truth about their origins. Are there any unresolved feelings or unanswered questions you're still working to unravel? It is in Gods hands. She always thought she had a boy out there somewhere. They should at least be thankful that they werent aborted. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks died at age 83 on March 5, 1972, after a battle with leukemia. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade. He was her first born and she said she heard him cry yet Dr Hicks told her he was still born. what he did was very wrong and im very sorry for all those kids and parents. TLC's Taken at Birth, which first aired in 2019, is a three-part . They may not even know theyre adopted. One thousand dollars in 1955 would be nearly $10,000 today. The story is told on Taken at Birth. But advocates hope it will someday happen. Her initial search was unsuccessful, so she contacted a Georgia probate attorney. The Dr Hicks who ran the black-market adoptions had a son who became a dentist. Several of the Hicks Babies found the mausoleum was vandalized when they paid a visit in 2018. Geni requires JavaScript! If it was a black-market clinic, there probably arent any records of the transaction. "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGFJ-W52: accessed 10 April 2021), Thomas J Hicks in household of D Fleming Hicks, Civil District 10, Sullivan, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 162, sheet 7B, family 136, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9119259/thomas-jugarthy-hicks, See: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:McCaysville%2C_Georgia Copyright 2023 The DNA Geek Ascension WordPress theme by, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal, Babies For Sale: The Secret Adoptions That Haunt One Georgia Town, Hicks Baby Adoptee Sold by Georgia Doctor 50 Years Ago Reunites With Birth Mother, Brother, Busted not for selling babies, but for the abortion clinic, 23andMe Introduces the Automated Family Tree , The Hicks Babies The DNA Geek | Ups and Downs of Family History V2.0, https://thednageek.com/how-to-transfer-your-ancestrydna-test-to-other-databases/, Book Review: I Know Who You Are, by Barbara Rae-Venter, Up Your DNA Game With New Courses in 2023, Verogen Increases Costs for Law Enforcement Again, A Board of Certification for Investigative Genetic Genealogy Is Announced. i never thought it was real when i was little either. These babies were born between 3.5 and 4.75 lbs.. very unfavorable!! However, many people are able to discover closer relatives, like aunts and uncles or even half-siblings, through DNA testing. Ive heard that many times in my life by a lot of people. These werent all women seeking abortions, a number of these women were seeking medical care for themselves and their unborn babies only to be robbed of that precious life. Many people who fell victim to the Hicks baby market hope these DNA tests will help them find closure. #TakenAtBirth, a 3-night special event, begins TONIGHT at 9/8c. On the documentary the officer in the second episode claimed he gave a relative of his a shot and she died 30min later. The source for today's story was the book The Hicks Family Tree; The Magnificent Journey of Our Branch of the Hicks Family Tree, 1455 to 2011, and The Families That Made a Difference, written by Gale Hicks Thompson and Bob G. Hicks. His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. She did NOT go to him for an abortion, she went to deliver MY BROTHER. They did have several that admitted they went in for an abortion Im sure the guy was no saint, but i think he was saving these babies. Exactly! She did tell me she heard her baby cry and Dr Hicks told her he was still born. Blasio knew she was adopted at a young age. I still dont know, one of the Hicks Babies, Melinda, told the publication. As a matter of fact she grieved the rest of her life for her first born she thought had died! Are you in all of the DNA databases? During the years that he ran his clinic, the town was at its population peak of between 1,800-2,000 residents. And, even though it was illegal, many women thought they were having an abortion. New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal. Instructions for how to transfer the raw data file to MyHeritage and FTDNA are here: https://thednageek.com/how-to-transfer-your-ancestrydna-test-to-other-databases/. The reason I am writing is this. I can attest to the fact that some of the mothers were married (yes, to the biological fathers) at the time their infants were sold. What we have now is the mothers side of the story. DNA ancestry testing offers a way for people interested in family history (genealogy) to, Our Verdict: My reports from GPS Origins arent nearly as comprehensive as the ones, FamilyTreeDNA has tons of features and information that you wont get with most of, There are plenty of cheap DNA tests you can purchase if you want to, The offerings from each DNA testing service vary wildly, so it can be difficult. What Was the Immigration Process at Ellis Island Like? She is a brave woman who helped a lot of people find answers. These babies were born between weighing only 3.5 and 4.75 lbs.. ALL very unfavorable conditions!!!! I think he was a good man. Dr Hicks ran a clinic in McCaysville, Georgia, from about 1945 to 1965. What he provided were lies to young mothers and fathers who wanted their babies ! in Psychology and enjoys writing about health and wellness. Barbara, the very same thing happened to my Mother. I dont know. Thank you. I sincerely hope more can make connections before its too late. Blasio says that 50 of the 200+ children have been identified and located. It wouldve been 1964. Clearly, you have never lost a child. The extra mouths to feed were simply too expensive. Within a decade, he was not only performing illegal abortions but selling newborns on the black market. The primary purpose of this post is to explain how those children who were adopted through the Hicks Clinic have been able to use their DNA to discover close relatives, and sometimes, the identities of their biological parents. But what does anyone think was normally done with illegally aborted babies during that time I can tell you, they were likely disposed of in with the garbage. If hes alive, hopefully hell see the TV show and decide to test. I dont trust my own memories, let alone 50 year old memories. As far as they know the first baby that was adopted out was a twin. Does it say where he was born or the name of the doctor? Janice, I am from Polk County Tennessee as well and Dr Hicks delivered my oldest brother before they ran him out of Tennessee. Sims Family Tree View These Best Collection, Mishima Family Tree Find Best Design For You. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Im sure there are also many, many Hicks babies out there that have no idea they are Hicks babies. I hope all the people that are involved will find what ever it is they are looking for. At-home DNA testing wasnt available until recently. In the mid-1940s, Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks opened the Hicks Community Clinic in the small town of McCaysville, Georgia, mere steps from the Tennessee state line. Powered by. I Just dont understand how anyone could possibly think what he did was right or just or in any way good at all!! A fake birth certificate was produced, listing the adoptive parents as the parents of the child. Now, they are using the power of DNA to reunite with their biological families. How many women died themselves never knowing that they had a child or children out there and how many children, now adults, will never know their biological parents because its just too late and most of them have passed? Selling 200 babies in illegal adoptions at $1000 each could have made a person very wealthy in 1950, though his exact motivations may never be known. Many are hoping DNA will link them to their birth families, and some of them have found biological parents, siblings and parents through DNA, according to WKYC. When they opened it up there was great excitement. Doctor Hicks was NO saint and we recognize his dysfunction, the pain he caused many, and have learned to bear it, she wrote. Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! There was no reason not to dig up his grave. He induced birth prematurely to make money. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. In other cases, he said their babies were stillborn and died before or during delivery. More than 200 babies, known as the Hicks Babies, were sold by Hicks through a back window of the Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia during the 1950s and 1960s. Please! My decision is there was something very wrong going on. I cannot imagine being one of these babies. [But] I dont think it initially started that way., SAD STORYwith a happy ending for a brother & sister, John & Cindy were just 2 of more than 200 newborns sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks, a doctor in Georgia who was selling babies out of the back door of his clinic in the 50s & 60s. At least 200 babies had their identities stolen. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Blasio blew the whistle back in the 1990s. The news captivated many outside McCaysville. Melinda, of the Hicks Babies, I have a missing, supposedly deceased infant sister, born in supposedly michigan in 1967, 1968 or 1969. He states that he chased the car down the road from where hicks office was to try and get me before they took off in 1954. He deserved to be paid for his time and services as well after all, this was time he could have spent seeing other patients, and medical equipment and supplies are not cheap. Her name is Alana honey boo boo if you dont know who she is you can google her.