She was 23. I am from Tennessee before Dr Hicks moved across the state line to McCaysville Ga. Im disgusted that someone would think that this is ok. In 2014, around 30 suspected Hicks Babies traveled to Tennessee to undergo DNA testing. Dr Thomas Hicks Family Tree With Complete Detail, Goler Clan Family Tree Check All Members List. In 1964, the town sheriff arrested Hicks for performing illegal abortions. Have The Hicks Babies Been Reunited With Their Birth Parents Or Birth Families? now that im older and i actually understand what happened i think its horrible. Furthermore, over 200 babies! Dr. Thomas Hicks' Death: How Did the Doctor Die? | Heavy.com Father of Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Jr; Dr Walter Lynn Hicks and Private Some on here commented that the bio moms were likely unwed and didnt want the babies. Aside from families that might eventually tell their adult children, the only hope Hicks babies have of finding their biological relatives is DNA tracking. His forged birth certificates did not list biological parents. I came from a messed up family, too. 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. These lists include people who are genetically related to us. She never got over it. Buying or selling A CHILDTHERE IS EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Dr Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was posthumously accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. Just horrible! 'Taken At Birth': Dr. Thomas J. Hicks & Stolen Babies [2021 Update] 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. He induced labor and delivered low birth weight babies that were in danger of dying. She named him Von Gordon. All in all, I cannot condemn him. I owe my life to him, but he has also been the cause of so much pain and suffering. Ideas for Getting Responses from DNA Matches. But not all of the babies have been reunited. We dont know anything about the adults he has seen. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. Just one grandparent can lead you to many Such an evil man to cause such heart ache! Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. View Ancestry DNA Matches By Ancestor With ThruLines. (@Angel5Christine) October 8, 2019. It was a horrible thing he did to my parents and the rest of us when he stole my oldest brother! 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. I realize Dr. Hicks is not here to defend himself or answer questions, but I cannot imagine how you can defend him after what you heard. I am the youngest of seven siblings. #TakenAtBirth, a 3-night special event, begins Wednesday at 9/8c. Husband of Chass Chassie Hicks Could you imagine the survival rate back then for babies 3lb or 4lbs. My Mama and Daddy were young parents and though they were very poor they both wanted their first born with all their heart! The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. About 15 of the 200+ babies have been reunited with their biological parents. Babies For Sale: The Secret Adoptions That Haunt One Georgia Town In these cases, Hicks would forge a birth certificate and give the baby to adoptive parents in secret from his Georgia clinic. Blasio went on to help dozens of Hicks babies so they could track down their birth parents and relatives. Those who are among the babies that were adopted through the Hicks Clinic can take DNA tests to help discover who their biological parents might have been. "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. She did not go to him for an abortion or to give her baby away. Cock being laughed at each time someone ask his name. Those who were passed through the window as babies to adoptive parents have stopped by to see where their lives changed direction so early in life. Our filters are much different than the ones from that period of time. That seems to be a repetitive theme amongst the living relatives. Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. survivors include his mother, diann loftice barker of mckinney; stepfather, don barker of mckinney; three brothers: billy loftice of princeton, ron and jasen loftice both of mckinney; two sisters: lisa murphy of culleoka, artie stone of princeton . Leave a message for others who see this profile. I may have a couple brothers out there. He delivered many babies in Tennessee before they ran him out of the state. Dr Harshi Dhingra is a licensed medical doctor with a specialization in Pathology. You arent responsible for their sins. She grieved her the rest of her life for her first born son. You saw it. He may have done it to avoid suspicion and keep the transactions discreet. All of Dr. Hicks grandparents were born in Tennessee, as were many of his great-grandparents. My YDNA indicates I am not Hicks. Have you checked the adoption registries to see if hes looking for his biological family? What is the Levant DNA Region on Ancestry. about dr thomas hicks family tree please comment if we missed anything here, please let us know. He induced birth prematurely to make money. THIS POOR WOMAN THOUGHT HER TWIN BOYS HAD DIED. You are absolutely correct in your assumption. While its true that some of the adults who were adopted as babies are using DNA to discover their biological origins, it is not because they suspect a biological connection to the Hicks family. His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. Many of those from Hicks small town defended his actions. It is unknown whether Hicks paid the biological mothers for the babies. There are always three sides to any story: One side, the other side, and the truth (which is usually somewhere in between). 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. https://thednageek.com/dna-tests. 50 Years After Being Stolen and Sold, Baby Reunited with Birth Mother In next week's column, this family's lineage will be continued with the family and history of Samuel Hicks (2). 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. Thank you. Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) - Genealogy Genealogy for Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! This is how those who were adopted can identify the parents or grandparents of their biological parents. Those who likely knew what happened may have died as well. But many aspects of his clinic remain a mystery to this day. Clearly, you have never lost a child. I kept yelling at the tv he saved your freaking life!!!! is anything else your are looking? Tlc Presents the Untold Story Behind the "Hicks Babies" Black Market Is like $10,000. Thomas, or Dr. Hicks, was one of six children. Wow! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186644/Adopted-woman-51-SO Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr worked as Physician. And he was more than happy to perform abortions. Thank you. I have a great sample of relatives going back many generations. Mama named my brother Von Gordon. Estimates show Hicks sold about 200 babies from the 1940s to the 1960s.3. Mama said they ran him out of Tennessee not long after that because he was killing so many babies. Babies For Sale: The Secret Adoptions That Haunt One Georgia Town. What we have now is the mothers side of the story. What years was he operating in TN, and where? These babies were born between weighing only 3.5 and 4.75 lbs.. ALL very unfavorable conditions!!!! She is a member of a Facebook groups which joins the Hicks babies. Surnames in his family tree include Thomas, Fitch, Green, Waddell, and Johnson. As a matter of fact she grieved the rest of her life for her first born she thought had died! He was never formally charged with arranging these illegal adoptions, and for this reason, he never went to jail or faced legal consequences for his actions. Are you in all of the DNA databases? He was protecting himself due to his many illegitimacies & looking out for his own financial interest!!! 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. He sold at least one more baby after he was shut down. I am currently fixing to do my own dna test. These types of adoptions can cause extra hurt for families, since they were financial incentives, coercion is often a factor, documents dont exist to help adoptees locate their biological families, and lies are often told to protect the adults involved in the illegal adoption. My Dad was a black-market baby in 1941 in Akron OH. Perhaps your dad was referring to the equipment used to save preemies. When they opened it up there was great excitement. A New York Times profile of Blasio appeared in 1997, which was around the. Hicks didnt oversee legal adoptions. Natalie. my sister some how never got the gene or blood of him. It wouldve been 1964. I dont know the truth, the people involved back THEN know. Jane Blasio, who broke the story of the Hicks Babies and leads investigative efforts, wrote her thoughts about Hicks on her website. So far, there are no positive DNA matches between babies and parents from the database. So many of the women were told their babies had died. I think, at first, it was under the table, and then he had seen there was money involved. What if, you are a scared young woman, 16 or 17 or even 19, pregnant in rural GA or TN, shame ridden as some would have felt, just wanting this to be taken care of. These babies were later sold to adoptive families. Why am I rehashing this. As a result, he could not provide information that would help the babies find their parents or the other way around. Both of Dr. Hicks parents were born in Tennessee. It may have started with good intentions, but these babies deserve the truth and they deserve it now. What Happened to Dr. Thomas Hicks? 'Taken at Birth' True Story When she woke she only had one baby. The Hicks babies were babies sold by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks to different families. My oldest would have been born in Akron in 1960. According to the neonatalogist interviewed in the show many other babies must have died. In the small town, the. Blasio and 200 others were taken from their mothers at birth in the 1950s and '60s and sold illegally on the black market out the back door of a clinic run by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks. As far as they know the first baby that was adopted out was a twin. As I say, not perfect, but a good man, Doris Abernathy told WKYC. 'Taken at Birth' lead Jane Blasio Q&A: Akron woman blew - Cleveland If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. If it wasnt Hicks, there was someone doing the same thing during the war years adopting babies out to Akron. 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. She said she heard her baby cry then Doc Hicks told her he was still born. I cannot imagine being one of these babies. How Did People Find Out About the Hicks Babies? Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade. Hicks was the beloved town doctor in the tiny mountain town of McCaysville, but women came from miles around to seek his services. It is possible that deaths like these convinced Dr. Hicks that something needed to be done.. To give Sallie an answer. If there was no demand for the service, Hicks would not have been doing it. I was waiting for one mother to come on and say that they were told that their baby had died, but nope. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal. He died at age 83 in 1972 of leukemia, according to Appalachian History. The son, Gillam Thomas Hicks, and his family will be featured in next week's column. He lost his medical license in 1964, but he faced no jail time for the illegal abortions. According to ABC News, Dr. Hicks convinced a few of these young moms to keep the babies and put them up in a hotel in town until they gave birth. How Did Hicks Black Market Babies Business Work? Holy smokes! She always thought she had a boy out there somewhere. Have you heard the story of Dr. Hicks? What's additionally staggering is it's believed that more than 200 infants, known as the "Hicks Babies," were victims of the doctor's scheme during the '50s and '60s. Both of Dr. Hicks' parents were born in Tennessee. The story of the "Hicks Babies" broke almost 20 years ago when a researcher discovered that between 1950 and 1965, a Dr. Thomas Hicks of McCaysville, Georgia, sold babies he delivered in his clinic to couples looking to adopt children. He was protecting himself & looking out for his own financial interest!!! Geni requires JavaScript! Hicks ancestor immigrated from England to Plymouth Colony in 1621 Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was posthumously accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. Thank you for visiting dr thomas hicks family tree page. She hopes DNA testing will enable them to find their birth parents. My mother was soooo lucky compared to all of the hudreds of babies Hicks Babies. He sold those babies for a profit. What Does It Mean If You Have 1% Native American DNA? I grew up with this story from my grandfather when i was little. Hicks' wife and son had already passed away. But lets be honest, no one is going to admit that they willingly sold their baby. 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. One thousand dollars in 1955 would be nearly $10,000 today. HE WAS A HORRIBLE MAN, JUST HORRIBLE!!! The so-called Hicks Babies had falsified birth certificates, and Dr Hicks kept no records tying them to their biological families. 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. 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. How HEARTLESS can someone be then to tell a parent their childTHEIR CHILD died just so he could profit? You are right, Dr Hicks was an evil man. Mama never got over this. Unfortunately, Hicks kept no records of the birth mothers. His forged birth certificates did not list biological parents. It would give me great peace to know I found him or his family for my sweet Mama. 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?? "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. 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. In a small town filled with economical hardships, Hicks saw a need among pregnant women, although abortions conflicted with his faith, according to Narratively. Dr Hicks ran a clinic in McCaysville, Georgia, from about 1945 to 1965. Dr Thomas Jugarthy "Tommy" Hicks Jr. - Find a Grave More than 200 babies, known as the "Hicks Babies," were. She noted to the TV station many of them went to good homes and led successful lives. $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. It may be that I never find my brother but maybe I could find his children. And he was stealing babies telling mothers that they delivered a still born. Have you taken a DNA test? I know your heart aches. Ray, you bring up an excellent reason why everyone has the right to know who their biological family is. He was her first born and she said she heard him cry yet Dr Hicks told her he was still born. Learn how your comment data is processed. Investigators opened the mausoleum, searching for records of the illegal adoptions, but found it was empty. Before Doctor Hicks opened his practice in Georgia he was just across the state line in Polk County Tennessee in the 1930s. Remember that these women had no where else to go, no one to turn to. You have several options when it comes to learning about your DNA, KnowYourDNA is the best source for finding all things related to DNA. Barbara, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Hicks Babies Update (2023) All You Need to Know - KnowYourDNA 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. 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. Her decade-long search for her birth parents led to the exposure of Hicks' illegal babies. 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. The story has been featured in many TV specials, including on TLCs, Taken At Birth, which originally aired in 2019.