Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade. THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION 06 March 1972Dr. Babies were handed out to them through the door or window. Charles C. Duncan officiating. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. NOTE: Dr. Hicks son, Lynn, Jr would also follow in the footsteps of his father & g-father and become a doctor, his daughter Debra died in 1971 from cancer and his daughter, Tamsen became an RN. What Dr Hicks did was illegal. From 1951 to 1965 Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks began to quietly offer babies for adoption from his Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, GA. in todays market he did make money, he also induced those women into early labor to push those babies out putting the babies and mothers in jeopardy(I wonder how many died). It may be that I never find my brother but maybe I could find his children. He died - apparently of leukemia - at the age of 83 on March 5, 1972. They look exactly alike. TAKEN AT BIRTH How Dr. Hicks sold over 200 children on the black market in small-town Georgia Violeta Idyll June 14, 2021 True Crime In the 1950s and 60s a small-town Georgia family doctor. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Dr. Hicks was considered a cornerstone in the Copperhill-McCaysville community where he served as the town doctor. One of the Hicks Babies, a name for those who were sold by Hicks, was present when officials opened the mausoleum in their search. So no, I cant completely vilify as I just dont know. Sorry! This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. I dont know. The judge discovered records showing an unusual number of women visiting Hicks clinic. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. What he did has no merit. Thankful for the granddaughter who went beyond what most would have to get answers. Many had no idea they were adopted until well into adulthood. He told women their babies had died when they hadnt. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9119259/thomas-jugarthy-hicks. "Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNX9-1PS: 4 December 2014), Thos J Hicks and Chassie Copeland, 07 Jun 1917; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: 2008); citing p. 222, Polk, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee. They should at least be thankful that they werent aborted. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Women came to give birth, and were told their babies were stillborn! cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Bruen, Matthew Steven. He advertised on phone booths, bus stations and bridges. Dr Harshi Dhingra is a licensed medical doctor with a specialization in Pathology. If there was no demand for the service, Hicks would not have been doing it. Hicks, a family physician who performed illegal abortions in the 50s and 60s in McCaysville, Ga. gc. Those who were adopted have few places to turn to track down their origins. I wondering how far the rabbit hole goes with him. How is the river any worse, I ask you? Within a decade, he was not only performing illegal abortions but selling newborns on the black market. Some birth mothers knew they were placing a baby for adoption, some thought they had an abortion, and some were told their infants died. Could you imagine carrying your baby a whole pregnancy having a nursery all set up and you go to the hospital deliver your baby and be lied to that your baby died smh Im speechless. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. So many of the women were told their babies had died. Doris Abernathy, who knew Hicks and his wife personally, told the media outlet he was a good, but imperfect man. "They were instructed to come downcome through the front door, pick the baby up and leave through the back door and, and go home immediately," Dawson said. I submitted my DNA in hopes that I might find my brother or some of his family. So far, there are no positive DNA matches between babies and parents from the database. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Selling babies wasn't Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks' primary business in McCaysville. He surrendered his Georgia medical license to halt his prosecution.2. And the $1k sounds about like what my Dad was sold for. As far as they know the first baby that was adopted out was a twin. 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. Such an evil man to cause such heart ache! You really have no idea what you are talking about! It is in Gods hands. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, a doctor was selling babies from his small town abortion clinic in the heart of McCaysville, Georgia. She grieved for him her entire life! Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. Hicks faced legal trouble for illegal abortions, but not for the illegal adoptions. Stapleton, who now lives in Long Beach, Calif., with his longtime girlfriend, was reunited with a half sister, with whom he shares a father. What people dont realize is Doc Hicks started his practice in Tennessee. No one with half a brain can even think that is good. Those who likely knew what happened may have died as well. This browser does not support getting your location. She carried him to full term and went to Dr Hicks to deliver her baby! Im disgusted that someone would think that this is ok. 2016. I dont trust my own memories, let alone 50 year old memories. Oops, something didn't work. Year should not be greater than current year. It includes a handout, plenty of time for questions and discussion, and access to the recording for 2 weeks. But those he left behind have differing opinions on his actions. The corrupt doctor's misdeeds didn't end at illegitimate adoptions; he also. 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. He and Mrs. Hicks were so kind to so many people. We have set your language to Dr. Thomas Hicks died more than two decades before the black market baby adoptions came to light, but the doctor was not buried with his secrets. Taken at Birth TrueStory https://t.co/E14faD7AFT pic.twitter.com/cXOtajC4yQ, Sugar Mummy (@findsugarmummy) October 9, 2019. Hicks would not have been doing it. Using DNA, door-to-door interrogations, and a mausoleum search, Taken at Birth continues the quest to reunite the Hicks Babies with their biological families. Many people who fell victim to the Hicks baby market hope these DNA tests will help them find closure. Well he and Alannas birth father very similar. He delivered many babies in Tennessee before they ran him out of the state. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. I hope youre able to solve your case soon. She was 6 years old when her adoptive father sat her down about it. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Thats a totally twisted way of thinking!!! There was a problem getting your location. He was in denial, says Stapleton. Hicks didnt oversee legal adoptions. I will find out who my mother was and why my dad was killed. One week later, he sold the newborn for $1000. Now, they are using the power of DNA to reunite with their biological families. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. All in all, I cannot condemn him. She said she heard her baby cry then Doc Hicks told her he was still born. His Dr. Jekyll persona as the congenial and friendly county doctor also included the performing of illegal abortions when young couples made a mistake and did not want to have a child or get married. She had particular qualms with the notion of black market babies.. Failed to report flower. Numerous Google sites display heart wrenching stories about this unfortunate period in both small towns' histories. As for Hicks, Stapleton knows the story isnt cut and dried. The television program Nightline spoke with several people who have found out theywere Hicks Babies and assisted them to provide DNA samples with the genealogy website Ancestry.com. The television program Nightline spoke with several people who have found out they. A three-part documentary, Taken at Birth, follows the story of Dr. Thomas Hicks who illegally arranged black market adoptions for nearly 200 babies, known as "Hicks Babies," in the '50s and '60s. A Skilled and Talented Physician, He Lived, Served and Died for Others. At least 49 of the babies were sold to parents in the Akron, Ohio area. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. There was no reason not to dig up his grave. Weve updated the security on the site. The late Georgia doctor, Dr. Thomas Hicks had quiet a great earning considering his career as a successful doctor and also through his illegal activities. Anyways the family is from Georgia and they film there as well. Maybe hes out there and will search for you. 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. As I say, not perfect, but a good man, Doris Abernathy told WKYC. We can tell ourselves stories, and they become our truths. If he does, youll want to be in whichever database he decides to use. According to the neonatalogist interviewed in the show many other babies must have died. New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal. During the documentary they interviewed a dr that runs a NICU and he said absolutely many of these babies died from there extremely low birth weight and the adoptive parents would have had no choice but to just discard them. Funeral Notices, Death Notices and Obituaries for Australia. He performed illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade. Get Directions. https://thednageek.com/dna-tests. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. My parents were a young married couple and very much wanted their baby! Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. And he offered another service: selling unwanted infants on the black market, with no court hearings, no records and no questions. He did a lot for this town, she said. Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! Thus, the legacy of Dr. Thomas Hicks remains an unanswered mystery of many residents in the dual border towns of Copperhill-McCaysville. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. As I watched this documentary it made me think of the story my mother told many timesas her grandmother told hershe (my mother) was born in Oliver Springs TN.. (a little over two hours from McCaysville GA) A Dr Stone dilivered her and told her mother that she didnt make it meanwhile shes lying on a cart covered up with a sheet outside the room when her grandmother realizes shes there picked her up blew into her mouth then spanked her bottom and she started crying. I used AncestryDNA to solve all of the Hicks cases I worked on. Wow! My mother/father picked me up from a nurse in a hotel in 1967. He also has a granddaughter who is sympathetic to the efforts of the Hicks Babies. Hicks surrendered his medical license in 1964 for performing an illegal abortion. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. What we have now is the mothers side of the story. These folks deserve to know where they came from! I owe my life to him, but he has also been the cause of so much pain and suffering. He died at age 83 in 1972 of leukemia, according to Appalachian History. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. She noted to the TV station many of them went to good homes and led successful lives. Finch-Cochran Funeral Home 1478 Blue Ridge Dr. Blue Ridge, GA. 30513 Mailing Address P.O. In other cases, he said their babies were stillborn and died before or during delivery. He died in 1972 at age 83, which was 25 years before the shocking story of his black market baby ring came to light. According to ABC News, he also reportedly lied to some of his patients, telling them their baby had died and then selling the newborn from the back steps of his clinic. Bloomington, Pickett County, Tennessee, USA. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Dr. Hicks, who passed away at the age of 83, was born in 1888 in Picket County, Tennessee. She travels to McCaysville and enlists TLCs Long Lost Family hosts Chris Jacobs and Lisa Joyner to help investigate. You can see for yourself google him. Failed to report flower. He let loose some real chaos into this world.. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. 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). My heart aches for your mother and your whole family. He was a good man, a good-hearted man. what he did was very wrong and im very sorry for all those kids and parents. Besides his charitable practices, he performed unauthorized abortions. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks is the "bad guy" featured in a three-part docuseries titled Taken At Birth. My husband and I said the same thing while watching this show! His wife and son both passed away, and his daughter lives in North Carolina, according to Appalachian History. In the small town of McCaysville, Ga., Dr. When she ask Dr Hicks about it he told her it was the medication making her think that. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Try again later. So telling the one mother her twin boys were stillborn is acceptable to you. Powered by, Dr. Thomas Hicks, The Doctor Who Sold More Than 200 Babies: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. The poverty here in the Copper Basin of southeast Tennessee and far north Georgia, which includes the town of McCaysville, often meant that pregnant women couldnt ask a relative or friend to help raise their children. TLC is following her and five other Hicks Babies as they reunite with their birth families. Survivors include a son, Dr. Thomas J. Hicks of Atlanta; daughter Mrs. Reid L. Brown of Chattanooga, Tenn., and sisters Mrs. J.W. He ran the Hicks Community Clinic and offered his services to poor copper mining families. Then you missed the entirety of the story. We will never know the hell they have suffered. Just horrible! It sickens me to see any one make what he did look OKAY! Just recently I have been confirmed to be the last of the Hicks babies. I kept yelling at the tv he saved your freaking life!!!! However, he was found guilty of illegally selling narcotic pain killers and income tax invasion and severed time in federal prison. The Dr Hicks who ran the black-market adoptions had a son who became a dentist. What years was he operating in TN, and where? or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Unless you were one of the babies there is no way you could know what its like to have this to happen to you. He buried them for her (such a nice guy) and gave her a birth certificate stating they were stillborn. The illegal adoptions came to an end in 1964, when Hicks was caught performing illegal abortions. This is a story of a doctor who saved lives?? With the judges help, she learned that the clinic sold babies while they were still open. One of the Hicks Babies, Melinda Dawson, told CBS that her adoptive parents paid $1,000 for her in 1962. Thank goodness your grandmother was there and knew what to do. was there more than one Dr. Hicks mentioned in the Taken AT Birth documentary or just one? The email does not appear to be a valid email address. You dont want to vilify him? His family did not live like they had money in fact most of his money appeared to be put right back into the town of McKaysville into businesses which kept folks employed and kept the town thriving. for $1,000 from the black-market Hicks Clinic in McCaysville, Ga. "My parents were told they had 12 hours to get the baby, and they were instructed to . You have chosen this person to be their own family member. He was a graduate of Tusculum College, Carson-Newman College and Emory University Medical School. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Bragg, Rick. I was waiting for one mother to come on and say that they were told that their baby had died, but nope. One thousand dollars in 1955 would be nearly $10,000 today. You made your decision. Thomas Hicks was born on October 18, 1888 and received his medical degree from the Emory University, Atlanta, in 1917. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Adopting families from out of town often drove up to the door. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. He also has a living granddaughter named Sally Sompayrac. Dr. Hicks created fake birth certificates and listed the adoptive parents as biological parents. 656 F&AM. Hicks lied, blatantly, to some of these women, hell probably 90% of them. She did NOT go to him for an abortion, she went to deliver MY BROTHER. Do you have your fathers original birth certificate? i never thought it was real when i was little either. . Share this memorial using social media sites or email. John and Cyndy were just two of more than 200 newborns sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks, a doctor in McCaysville, Ga., who was selling babies out of the back door of his clinic in the 1950s and 60s. His name would have been Von Gordon Prince. Powered by. Jane Blasio is the youngest of the known Hicks Babies. If shes still alive and knows shes adopted, she may be looking for you using DNA. Theyre an invaluable resource for parentage searches. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks died at age 83 on March 5, 1972, after a battle with leukemia. John and Cyndy were just two of more than 200 newborns sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks, a doctor in McCaysville, Ga., who was selling babies out of the back door of his clinic in the 1950s and '60s. The doctor persuaded some of the women who came to him for abortions to carry their pregnancies to term, and then sold the infants to couples for $800 to $1,000. If there was no demand for the service. They were not, and he sold those babies. You have several options when it comes to learning about your DNA, KnowYourDNA is the best source for finding all things related to DNA. I know this first hand because of how it deeply hurt my mother for many, many years! Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. 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. If they went there to have abortions and he told them what they wanted to hear, saved the lives of their babies and put them into the arms of loving parents, that makes him a hero in my eyes. In the 1950s and early 1960s, more than 200 newborn babies were illegally sold or given away through a clinic run by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks in the small town of McCaysville, Georgia. We dont know anything about the adults he has seen. To date, no one knows the exact number of babies he stole and sold on the black market. I sincerely hope more can make connections before its too late. If he was truly compassionate and a good man he would not have lied to the mothers and told them they delivered a stillborn baby or that the baby died. Thanks for your help! I have hicks show up in my DNA results. audrie rose garagiola death, stevie awards fake,
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dr hicks mccaysville ga obituary