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. Some on here commented that the bio moms were likely unwed and didnt want the babies. At least 200 babies had their identities stolen. 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. How Many Babies Did Thomas Hicks Put Up For Adoption? 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. Dr. Thomas Hicks died of leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Same ears, chin/jaw line, nose, and eyes. Who was Thomas J. Hicks? Hed encourage them to put their babies up for adoption instead. His wife and son have both passed away. He ran the Hicks Community Clinic and offered his services to poor copper mining families. But advocates hope it will someday happen. 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. That is not correct. 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, So telling a mother that her baby died at birth while he sold it out his back door was fine with you? If he does, youll want to be in whichever database he decides to use. He was married to a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. 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. It can sometimes be more difficult to pinpoint the exact identify of someones biological parents without closer cousins, such as first cousins. So no, I cant completely vilify as I just dont know. Most people whose recent ancestors were born in the United States will find that their DNA match lists include people who are related to them at a distance of 2nd-3rd cousins. She was 23. Hopefully he got his comeuppance. [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. Dr Harshi Dhingra is a licensed medical doctor with a specialization in Pathology. Why am I rehashing this. The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. 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. 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. What years was he operating in TN, and where? I cannot imagine being one of these babies. I know your heart aches. Read our best DNA test page to find the best one for you. v. Wade legalized abortions. She was 6 years old when her adoptive father sat her down about it. Who Is Dr. Thomas J. Hicks? - The True Story Behind Taken At Birth 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. Dr. Hicks did lose his medical license in 1964 due to an infraction unrelated to the illegal adoptions. 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. I agree totally with you.This all sounds awful. So telling the one mother her twin boys were stillborn is acceptable to you. Yes he had a choice he just made the wrong one for greed!! Brother of Lucy Elizabeth Ketron; John Willie Hicks; Samuel Earnest Hicks; Infant Daughter Hicks and Carrie Ellen Dickson. now that im older and i actually understand what happened i think its horrible. More than 200 babies, known as the "Hicks Babies," were. She said the whole time she was having the babies that there was a very nice dressed lady sitting in the room across the hall from her. He induced labor and delivered low birth weight babies that were in danger of dying. We can tell ourselves stories, and they become our truths. With the judges help, she learned that the clinic sold babies while they were still open. "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. 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. She did NOT go to him for an abortion, she went to deliver MY BROTHER. It wouldve been 1964. His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. So that he could make money. 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. "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 The man that is Dr.Hicks first stolen, one of the twins. Thank you for visiting dr thomas hicks family tree page. Dr. Thomas Hicks' Death: How Did the Doctor Die? | Heavy.com This lecture will be retired after this offering, so dont miss out! He was born in April 1964 Sumner County TN from what he knows. Just recently I have been confirmed to be the last of the Hicks babies. The reason I am writing is this. The birth certificates Ive seen were in the 6-7 lb range. That son adopted Sallie, who was featured in the show. A fake birth certificate was produced, listing the adoptive parents as the parents of the child. There is no evidence that any of the babies that were adopted through the actions of Dr. Hicks are related to him. Mama had seven more babies after that(Im the youngest)she never stopped grieving for her oldest son. John Stapleton, another one of the Hicks Babies, said he did not think Hicks started in the business for profit. PS Ancestry DNA is a crook. Still, she defends her late grandfathers actions. 'Taken at Birth' lead Jane Blasio Q&A: Akron woman blew - Cleveland what he did was very wrong and im very sorry for all those kids and parents. I think that you did well with pointing out that this is not on and well done. It was Mother's Day of 1997 when Reymann saw a story in the Akron Beacon Journal featuring the story of Jane Blasio who had discovered she had been illegally sold as an infant for $1,000 from a clinic run by Dr. Thomas Hicks in McCaysville, Ga. some three decades earlier. 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. If you have any questions about something that you read in this post, please join in the discussion below. 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. There are stories that even suggest that some mothers were told that their babies did not survive at birth. Curiously, Dr. Thomas J. Hicks is not buried in a mausoleum that bears his name, but beside it. Thank you for visiting dr thomas hicks family tree page. Several of the Hicks Babies found the mausoleum was vandalized when they paid a visit in 2018. I can empathize because of some similarities, but I cannot fully understand. Their lower-priced test is fine for your purposes. If shes still alive and knows shes adopted, she may be looking for you using DNA. Thomas is 21 degrees from Jennifer Aniston, 20 degrees from Drew Barrymore, 22 degrees from Candice Bergen, 26 degrees from Alexandre Dumas, 17 degrees from Carrie Fisher, 32 degrees from Whitney Houston, 20 degrees from Hayley Mills, 20 degrees from Liza Minnelli, 20 degrees from Lisa Presley, 21 degrees from Kiefer Sutherland, 17 degrees from Bill Veeck and 22 degrees from Brian Nash on our single family tree. The cost is the same for you. 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. How HEARTLESS can someone be then to tell a parent their childTHEIR CHILD died just so he could profit? Occupation: Dentist Spouse: Sallie Cobb Johnson Adopted children: Thomas J. III and Sallie Cobb Hicks Son of Chassie Copeland and Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks Sr. who performed illegal late term abortions, sold infants on the black market and is the subject of the TLC documentary Taken At Birth.. She was present when authorities opened the mausoleum. His clinic, the Hicks Clinic, was in operation between about 1945-1965. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Instead, he illegally sold the babies for approximately $800 to $1,000 each.1. Just keeping an RN on duty, even in the 1950s -60s, was a big expense. Thankful for the granddaughter who went beyond what most would have to get answers. He let loose some real chaos into this world.. Hicks was performing abortions long before Roe. The illegal adoptions came to an end in 1964, when Hicks was caught performing illegal abortions. I dont know. Dr Hicks quickly hushed the nurse and gave my grandma something to make her sleep. Ideas for Getting Responses from DNA Matches. Wow! Doctor Hicks was NO saint and we recognize his dysfunction, the pain he caused many, and have learned to bear it, she wrote. Taken at Birth TrueStory https://t.co/E14faD7AFT pic.twitter.com/cXOtajC4yQ, Sugar Mummy (@findsugarmummy) October 9, 2019. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSZD-WWR: accessed 10 April 2021), Thos J Hicks in household of D Flem Hicks, Civil District 10, Sullivan, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 110, sheet 7A, family 118 was there more than one Dr. Hicks mentioned in the Taken AT Birth documentary or just one? If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. 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. 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. In the small town, the. Evil does not begin to describe this man. My name is Judy Swafford Walker. What an awful tragedy. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186644/Adopted-woman-51-SO Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr worked as Physician. In 1964, the town sheriff arrested Hicks for performing illegal abortions. They may not even know theyre adopted. 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. He sold at least one more baby after he was shut down. My mother remarried in 1969 in GA, I cannot locate any information about her daughter except a clipping cutout from the obituaries in michigan, NO GRAVE, BIRTH OR DEATH RECORDS can be found, can you help, The connections of Georgia and Michigan and Ohio seemed odd, we desperately desire to locate her, Do you know where she was born (which clinic or hospital)? I did see it just yesterday. Dr Hicks induced some babies early, and they would have been put in incubators had then been born that early today. Now fast forward 50 years, memories are skewed, you feel differently now, maybe you wish things were different. 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, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. #TakenAtBirth, a 3-night special event, begins TONIGHT at 9/8c. She grieved her the rest of her life for her first born son. Jane needs to get a DNA test and compare it to Doris Abernathy, the town historian. My heart aches for your mother and your whole family. Does it say where he was born or the name of the doctor? To date, seven of the biological mothers have come forward. I have my ancestory DNA done and would love to try to match some names with my DNA relatives. He was buried in Crestlawn Cemetery in Polk County, Tennessee. Categories Searching for Biological Family. Dr thomas hicks family tree That $1000. I mean no disrespect towards anyone. In 2014, around 30 suspected Hicks Babies traveled to Tennessee to undergo DNA testing. As a result, he could not provide information that would help the babies find their parents or the other way around.4. What Does It Mean If You Have 1% Native American DNA? thank you so much for the information danny has 5 sisters and 1 brother looking for him, Should anyone believe or just want to be a part of the DNA registry for The Nicks Babies..please visit us on our webpage (Hicks Adoptees), Thank You We could be related. Hicks ancestor immigrated from England to Plymouth Colony in 1621 You are right, Dr Hicks was an evil man. I am happy to offer a dna sample if possible. They were all corrupt! Some theorized Hicks was buried beside his mausoleum because of concern the grave would be vandalized. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. These include the nurse, the secretary who signed the false documents, Hicks lawyer, and the sheriff who investigated Hicks illegal abortion clinic. The series tells the story of a man that stole over 200 babies and sold them on the black market. Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. He delivered many babies in Tennessee before they ran him out of the state. I was waiting for one mother to come on and say that they were told that their baby had died, but nope. Women who wanted abortions would be talked into keeping the pregnancy so he could sell the baby once it arrived. 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. she weighed a little over 4lbs I wonder if theres any connection between those doctors. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks in MyHeritage family trees (Sompayrac Web Site) Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr in 1940 United States Federal Census Thomas Hicks in U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) view all Immediate Family Chassie Hicks wife Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Jr son Dr Walter Lynn Hicks son Private child Mary Louise Hicks mother These babies were born between weighing only 3.5 and 4.75 lbs.. ALL very unfavorable conditions!!!! I have so many thoughts racing through my mind. In next week's column, this family's lineage will be continued with the family and history of Samuel Hicks (2). Geni requires JavaScript! This is a different story than what I expected! She had particular qualms with the notion of black market babies.. Would love to have help, Im mr.hicks grate grate grand daughter sadly, hes from my moms side of the family. They were not, and he sold those babies. After years of wondering about her birth family, will Diane finally have closure? 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. Ive heard the same story over and over, that the mother heard her baby cry but was told it was stillborn. Jane Blasio, who broke the story of the Hicks Babies and leads investigative efforts, wrote her thoughts about Hicks on her website. Estimates show Hicks sold about 200 babies from the 1940s to the 1960s.3. What Happened To Dr. Hicks And His Associates? All of Dr. Hicks grandparents were born in Tennessee, as were many of his great-grandparents. Just watched the documentary. Aug 05, 2015 at 7:11 pm. 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. Some babies were that small but not all of them. Some birth mothers knew they were placing a baby for adoption, some thought they had an abortion, and some were told their infants died. He induced births, told mothers their babies died and sold them! In a small town filled with economical hardships, Hicks saw a need among pregnant women, although abortions conflicted with his faith, according to Narratively. I would love to be able to find him or maybe some of his family. 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. 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. pic.twitter.com/aTH43ks3Co. 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. The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. Dr. Hicks created fake birth certificates and listed the adoptive parents as biological parents. Cristine Santander is a content writer for KnowYourDNA. Yes. Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, the man behind the Hicks Babies, ran a small clinic in the tiny town of McCaysville, Georgia. Even though Dr. Hicks is not suspected to be biologically related to any of the Hicks Babies, some people might find his ancestry and family tree to be of interest. Some birth mothers knew they were placing a baby for adoption, some thought they had an abortion, and some were told their . Yes, thats a horrible thought. What people dont realize is Doc Hicks started his practice in Tennessee. saying the baby was stillborn could have been nothing more than a cover story for them. I am the youngest of seven siblings. You really have no idea what you are talking about! Both of Dr. Hicks parents were born in Tennessee. You saw it. The story is told on Taken at Birth. 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). When Dr. Hicks began his illicit practice, abortions were illegal in the United States, Phil Trexler wrote in the article. My Mama and Dad were married and biological parents to my brother. 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. 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. This is the process by which it was alleged to have worked: The doctor would advertise adoption services and prenatal care, in addition to care related to the termination of pregnancies, in the local community and surrounding areas. How the hell would YOU feel? He sold those babies for a profit. Her decade-long search for her birth parents led to the exposure of Hicks' illegal babies. The sentiments were echoed in other news stories. A sick, twisted & greedy man. But honestly, my suggestion would be for them to live for today. No one with half a brain can even think that is good.