Chang, Juju, Jasmine Brown, Geoff Martz and Lauren Effron. Hicks gave up his medical license in 1964 after he was indicted on charges of .css-1e1wdvt{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#0A5C80;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-1e1wdvt:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:#0A5C80;}performing an illegal abortion. Have The Hicks Babies Been Reunited With Their Birth Parents Or Birth Families? Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? One of the Hicks Babies, Melinda Dawson, told CBS that her adoptive parents paid $1,000 for her in 1962. Holy smokes! The world is full of possibilities, and you are amazing! The so-called Hicks Babies had falsified birth certificates, and Dr Hicks kept no records tying them to their biological families. Are you nuts? Town Secret Is Uncovered In Birth Quest. The shocking truth broke in 1997 after several Hicks Babies began to uncover the dark secret of their backstories. Her decade-long search for her birth parents led to the exposure of Hicks' illegal babies. Is like $10,000. My mother was soooo lucky compared to all of the hudreds of babies Hicks Babies. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, a doctor was selling babies from his small town abortion clinic in the heart of McCaysville, Georgia. Visitation Friday, September 6, 2013 from 4-8 pm and Funeral Services Saturday, September 7, 2013 at 11:00 am at Finch . You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Many of those from Hicks small town defended his actions. Women came to have abortions and he told them it was a successful procedure, only to take that premature baby and sell it to someone. I found on Findagrave.com. Survivors include a son, Dr. Thomas J. Hicks of Atlanta; daughter Mrs. Reid L. Brown of Chattanooga, Tenn., and sisters Mrs. J.W. saying the baby was stillborn could have been nothing more than a cover story for them. Our filters are much different than the ones from that period of time. He was married to a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. After watching this documentary I can see how he got away with it for so long. Babies came to the mountains with him and babies left the mountains with him. Now, more than half a century later, TLCs upcoming special Taken At Birth will reveal untold stories about the Hicks Babies and their ongoing search for their biological families. Babies were handed out to them through the door or window. [Jane] has been fighting for me and for all of us for years, says Stapleton, who retired from the Army a few years ago. He was born October 18, 1888. We just were not there and will never know his thoughts. His forged birth certificates did not list biological parents. Blasio says that 50 of the 200+ children have been identified and located. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. If so, login to add it. This practice was tolerated by the community and he normally was allegedly paid about $100 to perform the illegal practice. Just recently I have been confirmed to be the last of the Hicks babies. Could you imagine the survival rate back then for babies 3lb or 4lbs. [But] I dont think it initially started that way.. Besides his charitable practices, he performed unauthorized abortions. His wife was a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. One of those babies he delivered in Tennessee was my oldest brother who was supposedly still born. Verify and try again. What he did was awful feel so bad for those mothers and children. 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. You got a problem with that? To push the boundaries of DNA science. My husband and I said the same thing while watching this show! Hicks' wife and son had already passed away. How is the river any worse, I ask you? My Dad was a black-market baby in 1941 in Akron OH. Please reset your password. Learn more about merges. Women came to give birth, and were told their babies were stillborn! It was a horrible thing he did to my parents and the rest of us when he stole my oldest brother! There was no reason not to dig up his grave. HIS BIO FAMILY DIDNT FIND OUT ABT HIM UNTIL 60 YEARS LATER AND TOO LATE BECAUAE HIS MOTHER WAS I ALREADY DEAD. Otherwise he wouldnt have needed to lie about them being stillborn. Taken at Birth airs Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 from 9-11 p.m. Thanks, 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. He also delivered the babies early, between 31 & 34 wks causing them to have low birthweight and health issues. In 2014, Ancestry.com and ABC News helped the Hicks Babies conduct DNA tests on themselves and members of the McCaysville community. 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. 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. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? In all, hundreds of babies were born and illegally sold out of Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, Ga., in the early 1950s to mid 1960s, their real identities completely erased. Dr. Hicks is horrible. Dr Hicks didnt keep records of the births and adoptions, so the only way to find your brother, if hes still alive, would be if he decided to look for you using DNA. I would be afraid to change anything.. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. These include the nurse, the secretary who signed the false documents, Hicks lawyer, and the sheriff who investigated Hicks illegal abortion clinic. Just keeping an RN on duty, even in the 1950s -60s, was a big expense. Facebook Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Numerous Google sites display heart wrenching stories about this unfortunate period in both small towns' histories. Oh well for them, I was raised in those mountains and Im not afraid of them. 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. i come from to sides of a family that are both messed up. 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Stapleton, who now lives in Long Beach, Calif., with his longtime girlfriend, was reunited with a half sister, with whom he shares a father. John Stapleton and his sister Cyndy were both sold on a black market as babies. He was wrong and he did wrong so did the mayor and chief of police. They adored Dr Hicks and were fiercely protective of his reputation and legacy. For $100, Hicks performed illegal abortions. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Please try again later. 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. Within a decade, he was not only performing illegal abortions but selling newborns on the black market. He buried them for her (such a nice guy) and gave her a birth certificate stating they were stillborn. THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION 06 March 1972 Dr. Thomas Hicks McCAYSVILLE, Ga. - Services for Dr. Thomas J. Hicks, Sr., 83, of McCaysville will be at 2 p.m. Monday in Finch's Chapel here, burial in Crestlawn Cemetery in Copperhill, Tenn. Dr. Hicks, who operated Hicks' Clinic from around 1945 until he retired in 1965, died of leukemia Sunday. John Stapleton and his biological half sister Atress Davis, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Dear Abby: My girlfriend cheated on me, she says I should be more confident, Dear Abby: My daughter's fiance had secret children, Dear Abby: My brother refuses to visit our 100-year-old mom, Were conjoined twins but only one of us has a boyfriend. Mama never got over this. Thank you. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Hicks faced legal trouble for illegal abortions, but not for the illegal adoptions. Would love to have help, Im mr.hicks grate grate grand daughter sadly, hes from my moms side of the family. John Stapleton, another one of the Hicks Babies, told the New York Post he did not think that Hicks started in black market adoptions for profit. My decision is there was something very wrong going on. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. He lied to many and told them their babies died! Please! All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. They theorized he was buried next to the mausoleum, instead of inside of it, so his body was not disturbed, according to the article. However, it was eventually revealed that the health professional would sell the babies for $800 to $1,000 and provide the "parents" with a forged birth certificate. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The documentary originally aired in 2019 on TLC, but has since migrated to Hulu. The McCaysville group is connected to Dr. Thomas Hicks, the town doctor and a popular, church-going man, revered by locals for his generosity. If there was no demand for the service, Hicks would not have been doing it. Perhaps your dad was referring to the equipment used to save preemies. Dr. Hicks was considered a cornerstone in the Copperhill-McCaysville community where he served as the town doctor. I Just dont understand how anyone could possibly think what he did was right or just or in any way good at all!! Just watched the documentary. Instead, he illegally sold the babies for approximately $800 to $1,000 each.1. Hicks died from leukemia, according to Appalachian History. My Mama and Daddy were very young yet very poor when this evil man told my Mama her first born son, my oldest brother was dead. Many of the Hicks babies were able to do DNA testing as part of the TV show. She never got over it. READ NEXT: Jane Blasio, The Hicks Baby Who Broke the Black Market Baby Adoption Case: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Dr. Thomas Hicks: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. My mother grieved for her baby the rest if her life! I understand the concept of not being able to conceive and being grateful to receive a child but that was not a win/win situation by any stretch of the imagination. Cock being laughed at each time someone ask his name. Would be so amazing to find out he was alone but I doubt it. I never knew anyone so generous. Narratively, accessed 17 September 2019. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. You can see for yourself google him. L.C. Thank goodness your grandmother was there and knew what to do. 2022. Drag images here or select from your computer for Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks Sr. memorial. I am only human.. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ6P-BJM: 23 February 2021), Thos J Hicks, 1917-1918. It has the capacity to compare over 700,000 DNA matches using the latest advanced technology. Some matches were successful, others were not. The same lecture is offered twiceNovember 1 and 2, 2022to accommodate schedules and time zones. I dont know. I may have a couple brothers out there. He induced birth prematurely to make money. The Hicks babies were babies sold by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks to different families. Funeral Notices, Death Notices and Obituaries for Australia. There were cases where Hicks talked women out of abortion. Rev. One week later, he sold the newborn for $1000. My thoughts exactly. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade. Honestly, I am grateful for the life I have had. This is a story of a doctor who saved lives?? https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9119311/walter-lynn-hicks. What years was he operating in TN, and where? You are right, Dr Hicks was an evil man. I used AncestryDNA to solve all of the Hicks cases I worked on. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. She carried him to full term and went to Dr Hicks to deliver her baby! Have you taken a DNA test yourself? Today, these babies are referred to as "Hicks babies.". I am helping a relative looking for his birth parents or siblings. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Obituaries . In the early 1950s, Hicks reportedly began advertising illegal abortion and adoption services on phone booths, bus stations, and bridges. On another point, Ive heard it said that Dr. Hicks disposed of aborted babies in the river. 0 cemeteries found in Polk County, Tennessee, USA. When they opened it up there was great excitement. Many people who fell victim to the Hicks baby market hope these DNA tests will help them find closure. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. He knows he lucked out by landing with his loving parents, the late Jean and Robert Stapleton. If hes alive, hopefully hell see the TV show and decide to test. The illegal adoptions came to an end in 1964, when Hicks was caught performing illegal abortions. At least 200 babies had their identities stolen. My heart aches for your mother and your whole family. Many of the Hicks babies also began searching for their biological families. We dont know anything about the adults he has seen. Dr. Hicks would then sell the babies for $800 to $1,000 each and would provide a forged birth certificate with the adoptive parents on the documents. Im going to play a little devils advocate. Stories of young girls dying from botched abortions in the early 50s still exist in the living memories of those from the region. Obituaries; Classifieds. You made your decision. I think, at first, it was under the table, and then he had seen there was money involved. Make sure that the file is a photo. Blasio knew she was adopted at a young age. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Required fields are marked *. Verify and try again. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. Several of the Hicks Babies found the mausoleum was vandalized when they paid a visit in 2018. You saw it. Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! 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.