Not a mother who wanted to give her baby up for adoption, but a mother who trusted her doctor? Did your mother give birth in Akron or in McCaysville? Despite the illegality of the abortions, Hicks would advertise the service at phone booths, bus stations and bridges, according to Appalachian History. Are you for real?? CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. She named him Von Gordon. I will find out who my mother was and why my dad was killed. We will never know the hell they have suffered. It includes a handout, plenty of time for questions and discussion, and access to the recording for 2 weeks. He was her first born and she said she heard him cry yet Dr Hicks told her he was still born. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. I think he was a good man. https://thednageek.com/dna-tests. He lied to many and told them their babies died! You got a problem with that? Dr. Hicks, who passed away at the age of 83, was born in 1888 in Picket County, Tennessee. Has your family done any dna tests like 23andme or ancestry? Husband of Chassie Hicks She hopes DNA testing will enable them to find their birth parents. I hope your brother decides to test someday. Im going to play a little devils advocate. My heart breaks for your mama and for your whole family. Thank you! So no, I cant completely vilify as I just dont know. 2015. A New York Times profile of Blasio appeared in 1997, which was around the. Evil does not begin to describe this man. Yes. TLC My parents were young and married and wanted their first son! Tune in to #TakenAtBirth, a 3-night special event, starting TONIGHT at 9/8c. I came from a messed up family, too. Facebook In this post, learn who the Hicks Babies are, how they got their name, and how some of them are using DNA to discover their biological origins. If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, please join in the discussion below. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Several of the Hicks Babies found the mausoleum was vandalized when they paid a visit in 2018. can you imagine waking up one day to find out accidently that you were adopted and come to find out through this show or other means that your wife is your sister or first cousin? Many of those from Hicks small town defended his actions. John Stapleton, another one of the Hicks Babies, said he did not think Hicks started in the business for profit. And he was more than happy to perform abortions. Dr. Hicks obviously cannot give his side of the story. Before Doctor Hicks opened his practice in Georgia he was just across the state line in Polk County Tennessee in the 1930s. v. Wade legalized abortions. So yes he should be vilified! Starting in 1955 and running through the early 1960s, Hicks offered secretive abortions and adoptions here. But lets be honest, no one is going to admit that they willingly sold their baby. I Just dont understand how anyone could possibly think what he did was right or just or in any way good at all!! 2016. His forged birth certificates did not list biological parents. His birth certificate when he ent into the service was different than the one his parents had, so all I know its June 19 or 20, 1941. i never thought it was real when i was little either. Dr. Hicks died of leukemia in 1972 at the age of 83. You have several options when it comes to learning about your DNA, KnowYourDNA is the best source for finding all things related to DNA. Taken at Birth: The Hicks Clinic Stolen Babies - A&E True Crime His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. Nor did he put women in touch with legal adoption providers. If it wasnt Hicks, there was someone doing the same thing during the war years adopting babies out to Akron. There were mothers who were told their babies died. Babies were handed out to them through the door or window. In these cases, Hicks would forge a birth certificate and give the baby to adoptive parents in secret from his Georgia clinic. These babies were later sold to adoptive families. However, only four of his siblings survived to adulthood. There are stories that even suggest that some mothers were told that their babies did not survive at birth. Dr. Hicks served as a town doctor in McCaysville, Ga., and was known for performing abortions, which were illegal at the time. Sompayrac believes her grandfathers actions helped the birth mothers in need and gave the babies life. He delivered many babies in Tennessee before they ran him out of the state. He also has a granddaughter who is sympathetic to the efforts of the Hicks Babies. is anything else your are looking? Leave a message for others who see this profile. The charges didnt mention that he sold babies or had them illegally adopted. The story has been featured in many TV specials, including on TLCs, Taken At Birth, which originally aired in 2019. And youve had children with them??? The news captivated many outside McCaysville. I owe my life to him, but he has also been the cause of so much pain and suffering. Categories Searching for Biological Family. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. View Ancestry DNA Matches By Ancestor With ThruLines. Appalachian History, accessed 17 September 2019. i am interested in the hicks babies i supposely had a brother who died in the early 1950s i would like to know if he is still alive, DNA geek, I have been advised by a man named Bill Miller from Cleveland Ohio that I was a Hicks baby but cannot find out if this is true. My thoughts exactly. My decision is there was something very wrong going on. She grieved her the rest of her life for her first born son. He was a good man, a good-hearted man. Some of those in his town defend his actions, according to Narratively, saying he was providing a service. He took HUGE risks for essentially very little in return, in fact he did lose his medical license in 1964 for performing an abortion. That $1000. I would love to be able to find him or maybe some of his family. 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. He died in 1972 and it took three decades before Hicks' actions were brought to light. In the documentary they have a positive match for Dr Hicks fathering one of the babies. I have hicks show up in my DNA results. The extra mouths to feed were simply too expensive. [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. Geni requires JavaScript! I know abortion was illegal at the time, and then I think he was running into people who couldnt afford adoptions, he told the New York Post. I know your heart aches. Youve got poor, pregnant, unmarried women, who then need to come up with a story for their friends and/or families as to why there is no newborn . I wondering how far the rabbit hole goes with him. pic.twitter.com/77eyWNLdHM. There were cases where Hicks talked women out of abortion. Those few cases were a woman gave birth knowing she did not want the baby, and Dr. Hicks found someone wanting to adopt, are far and few between! They can arrange a meeting if a match shows up and both sides want to meet. 1910 - Civil District 10, Sullivan, Tennessee, USA, Lucy E Hicks, Carrie E Hicks, Laura A Hicks, David Fleming Hicks, Mary Louise Hicks (born Holt), Thomas Jugarthy Hicks Jr, Walter Lynn Hicks, Margaret Mary Brown (born Hicks), est Hicks, Lucy Elizabeth Ketron (born Hicks), John William Hicks, Hicks, Carrie Ellen Dickson (born Hicks), Anna Laura Bradley (born Hicks), Samuel Ernest Hicks, Lucy Elizabeth Ketron, John William Hicks, Unknown Hicks, Carrie Ellen Dickson, Anna Laura Bradley (born Hicks), Samuel Earnest Hicks, Lucy Elizabeth Hicks, John William Hicks, Unknown Hicks, Carrie Ellen Dickson (born Hicks), Annie Laurie Hicks, Lucy E Hicks, Carrie Ellen Hicks, Anna Laura Wisdom Bradley (born Hicks), Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Walter Lynn Hicks, Margaret Brown (born Hicks), Mary Edith Rogers Davis, Thomas J Jr Hicks, W Lynn Hicks, Margaret Hicks, Bloomingdale, Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States, Copperhill, Polk County, Tennessee, United States, Crestlawn, Polk County, Tennessee, United States. Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. He was born in April 1964 Sumner County TN from what he knows. Expand. 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. Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks Sr Born 18 Oct 1888 in Bloomington, Pickett, Tennessee, United States Ancestors Son of David Fleming Hicks and [mother unknown] [sibling (s) unknown] Husband of Chass (Copeland) Hicks married 7 Jun 1917 in Polk, Tennessee, USA Father of Thomas Jugarthy Hicks Jr Died 5 Mar 1972 at age 83 in Tennessee, United States She was 6 years old when her adoptive father sat her down about it. Mama said they ran him out of Tennessee not long after that because he was killing so many babies. You people have no idea how many states/commonwealths this Hicks was in., he was known in the mountains of Pa as Hickscock. 4. Autosomal DNA tests, such as Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, My Heritage, and Family Tree DNA, offer extensive DNA match lists. The Hicks Babies - The DNA Geek How Did People Find Out About the Hicks Babies? about dr thomas hicks family tree please comment if we missed anything here, please let us know. He induced labor and delivered low birth weight babies that were in danger of dying. Thank goodness your grandmother was there and knew what to do. She always thought she had a boy out there somewhere. Dr. Thomas Hicks' Death: How Did the Doctor Die? | Heavy.com New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal. 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. The cost is the same for you. He lost his medical license in 1964, but he faced no jail time for the illegal abortions. As a result, he could not provide information that would help the babies find their parents or the other way around. Mama named my brother Von Gordon. Blasio blew the whistle back in the 1990s. Dr. Thomas Hicks. He surrendered his Georgia medical license to halt his prosecution.2. My name is Judy Swafford Walker. Login to find your connection. I am from Tennessee before Dr Hicks moved across the state line to McCaysville Ga. It would give me great peace to know I found him or his family for my sweet Mama. He told some of the biological mothers that they had undergone an abortion. He was wrong and he did wrong so did the mayor and chief of police. There is living proof, with dna, of one man, who along with his twin brother, was reported dead and buried by Dr. Hicks. Both of Dr. Hicks parents were born in Tennessee. Perhaps your dad was referring to the equipment used to save preemies. When she ask Dr Hicks about it he told her it was the medication making her think that. Learn how three Hicks babies were able to find biological family using DNA. They should at least be thankful that they werent aborted. Since you cant know which one in advance, your most cost-effective strategy is to test with AncestryDNA and 23andMe and then transfer the raw data file into the other databases for free. Genealogy for Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. saying the baby was stillborn could have been nothing more than a cover story for them. The birth certificates Ive seen were in the 6-7 lb range. She has a B.S. Until Mother's Day 1997, when his adoptions were exposed. If hes alive, hopefully hell see the TV show and decide to test. Interesting. Blasio confirmed with the county birth records that she was likely one of the hundreds of babies sold between 1950 and 1965.2. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Hicks was providing a service, Ken Rush, director of the Ducktown Basin Museum, told Narratively. Hicks was performing abortions long before Roe. He gave them good care. My husband and I said the same thing while watching this show! The Hicks babies seemed to have mixed feelings about his actions from the Narratively profile. Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. My Dad was a black-market baby in 1941 in Akron OH. 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. 2019. My Mama and Dad were married and biological parents to my brother. Are there any unresolved feelings or unanswered questions you're still working to unravel? His work remained buried as well. Doctor Hicks was NO saint and we recognize his dysfunction, the pain he caused many, and have learned to bear it, she wrote. So many of the women were told their babies had died. Thomas Hicks was a well-respected doctor in the small town of McCaysville, Georgia. Maybe hes out there and will search for you. My dad moved us to New Mexico when I was in my early teens but I have a brother who stayed in Michigan. Father of Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Jr; Dr Walter Lynn Hicks and Private Adopting families from out of town often drove up to the door. Most biological mothers disappeared after giving birth to their babies. As far as they know the first baby that was adopted out was a twin. I mean no disrespect towards anyone. If you fully watched the documentary you would know that almost all the babies were 4lbs at birth weight or even SMALLER and he was doing this to hurry along the money. To give Sallie an answer. It is unknown whether Hicks paid the biological mothers for the babies. I dont know the truth, the people involved back THEN know. Geni requires JavaScript! Use your brain, IF good old dr hicks was such a good doctor then why did he need to tell the women that their baby died?? I only wish Mama had lived long enough to know her baby is most likely alive. 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. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. You made your decision. Yes he had a choice he just made the wrong one for greed!! Dr Thomas Hicks Family Tree With Complete Detail, Goler Clan Family Tree Check All Members List. These folks deserve to know where they came from! Babies For Sale: The Secret Adoptions That Haunt One Georgia Town Hicks beliefs did not fully mesh with abortions, and he would sometimes convince women that he would handle adoptions if they carried the babies to term, according to WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio.