The biological mothers of these individuals were persuaded to give their babies up for adoption and they were allegedly sold to their adoptive parents through the Hicks Clinic, owned by Dr. Hicks. TLC Read our best DNA test page to find the best one for you. She was 23. You can follow their life-changing stories in a three-night series, Taken at Birth, airing October 9th-11th, 2019, on TLC and some streaming platforms. 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. Many of those from Hicks small town defended his actions. Many of the Hicks babies also began searching for their biological families. 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 told women their babies had died when they hadnt. (@Angel5Christine) October 8, 2019. Most biological mothers disappeared after giving birth to their babies. How Many Babies Did Thomas Hicks Put Up For Adoption? Ive heard that many times in my life by a lot of people. i never thought it was real when i was little either. Well he and Alannas birth father very similar. He was married and had three children. I submitted my DNA in hopes that I might find my brother or some of his family. 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. Some of those in his town defend his actions, according to Narratively, saying he was providing a service. Prior to that, he was practicing just across the state line in Copperhill, Tennessee, and could well have been selling babies then. If shes still alive and knows shes adopted, she may be looking for you using DNA. Powered by. What Happened To Dr. Hicks And His Associates? How can this man NOT be vilified?! 2015. 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. So telling a mother that her baby died at birth while he sold it out his back door was fine with you? A New York Times profile of Blasio appeared in 1997, which was around the. Hicks didnt oversee legal adoptions. Table, Dave. Dr. Thomas Hicks died of leukemia, a type of blood cancer. 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. You made your decision. Dr. Thomas Hicks family tree 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. Then you missed the entirety of the story. There is absolutely NO defense for that.He treated these babies like they were nothing more than a puppy mill money making machine. I Just dont understand how anyone could possibly think what he did was right or just or in any way good at all!! Eventually, in 1964, he was caught performing an abortion and was summarily stripped of his medical license. Busted not for selling babies, but for the abortion clinic. The world is full of possibilities, and you are amazing! https://thednageek.com/dna-tests. He sold at least one more baby after he was shut down. His wife and son have both passed away. Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. AND IN ALL ACTUALITY HICKS LIED TO HER TO GET HER TWIN BOYS AND MADE OVER 2000 OFF OF HER PAIN. Now fast forward 50 years, memories are skewed, you feel differently now, maybe you wish things were different. Hicks faced legal trouble for illegal abortions, but not for the illegal adoptions. He was married and had two children, a son and a daughter. Are you nuts? Thats a totally twisted way of thinking!!! The second would have been no later than 1962. I wondering how far the rabbit hole goes with him. What years was he operating in TN, and where? The charges didnt mention that he sold babies or had them illegally adopted. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks died at age 83 on March 5, 1972, after a battle with leukemia. The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. my sister some how never got the gene or blood of him. What Happened to Dr. Thomas Hicks? Starting in 1955 and running through the early 1960s, Hicks offered secretive abortions and adoptions here. My Mama and Dad were married and biological parents to my brother. Hicks was forced to give up his medical license in 1964 after being charged with performing illegal abortions, and he died in 1972 at the age of 83. In 2020 a 4lb baby as a very good chance of not making it even with amazing NICUs in todays age. The illegal adoptions came to an end in 1964, when Hicks was caught performing illegal abortions. Moves to NE Ohio and then to Michigan from 1868 to this day. I have my ancestory DNA done and would love to try to match some names with my DNA relatives. This is how those who were adopted can identify the parents or grandparents of their biological parents. How Did People Find Out About the Hicks Babies? 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. 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. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, a doctor was selling babies from his small town abortion clinic in the heart of McCaysville, Georgia. The cost is the same for you. If it was a black-market clinic, there probably arent any records of the transaction. A legacy linked to illegal adoptions in rural North Georgia, Woman illegally sold to couple by doctor as newborn speaks out with new book: 'story isn't just about me'. He wasnt going around knocking girls up and holding them hostage in his apartment until they delivered their babies so he could sell them.. His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. They were not, and he sold those babies. So that he could make money. Blasio confirmed with the county birth records that she was likely one of the hundreds of babies sold between 1950 and 1965.2. They adored Dr Hicks and were fiercely protective of his reputation and legacy. I would love to be able to find him or maybe some of his family. 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. And then the consistent low birth weights are concerning. She did not go to him for an abortion or to give her baby away. Hicks was performing abortions long before Roe. Our filters are much different than the ones from that period of time. Thank you. This man was worse than the plague! At-home DNA testing wasnt available until recently. Absolutely horrifying!!!!! The motives of Hicks actions are unclear. How HEARTLESS can someone be then to tell a parent their childTHEIR CHILD died just so he could profit? This is how this group of babies, who are now all grown up, came to be called Hicks Babies. Her name is Alana honey boo boo if you dont know who she is you can google her. Barbara, the very same thing happened to my Mother. Dr. Hicks did lose his medical license in 1964 due to an infraction unrelated to the illegal adoptions. Taken at Birth TrueStory https://t.co/E14faD7AFT pic.twitter.com/cXOtajC4yQ, Sugar Mummy (@findsugarmummy) October 9, 2019. Not to mention the fact that some of these birth mothers thought their babies DIED! Aside from giving the adopted daughter her answer. To date, no one knows the exact number of babies he stole and sold on . He died in 1972 and it took three decades before Hicks' actions were brought to light. I have a great sample of relatives going back many generations. These include the nurse, the secretary who signed the false documents, Hicks lawyer, and the sheriff who investigated Hicks illegal abortion clinic. She named him Von Gordon. Who was Thomas J. Hicks? I am the youngest of seven siblings. When mothers came in to the clinic and expressed hesitancy about carrying their pregnancies to term, the doctor would persuade them to have their babies. Hicks was the beloved town doctor in the tiny mountain town of McCaysville, but women came from miles around to seek his services. Several in the town told the outlet the story was sensationalized. Theres a documentary on the Hicks Babies that Im assuming you havent seen. I have had two of my children die. These babies were born between weighing only 3.5 and 4.75 lbs.. ALL very unfavorable conditions!!!! Thank you. The sentiments were echoed in other news stories. According to the neonatalogist interviewed in the show many other babies must have died. Exactly! The Hicks babies were babies sold by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks to different families. Have you heard the story of Dr. Hicks? Blasio went on to help dozens of Hicks babies so they could track down their birth parents and relatives. Blasio also created a confidential registry to help Hicks babies find their parents and siblings. Women came to give birth, and were told their babies were stillborn! 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. With the judges help, she learned that the clinic sold babies while they were still open. And, even though it was illegal, many women thought they were having an abortion. He deserved to be paid for his time and services as well after all, this was time he could have spent seeing other patients, and medical equipment and supplies are not cheap. That is when my older brother was born and my mother was told he was still born even though she told me she heard her baby cry. If hes alive, hopefully hell see the TV show and decide to test. I hope your brother decides to test someday. Some on here commented that the bio moms were likely unwed and didnt want the babies. HE WAS A HORRIBLE MAN, JUST HORRIBLE!!! Same ears, chin/jaw line, nose, and eyes. McCaysville, which is located in the southern Appalachian Mountains right on the Georgia border with Tennessee, was shocked to hear that their beloved town doctor, Dr. Hicks, was accused of arranging illegal adoptions, and even selling babies, for parents wanting to adopt. In the small town, the. Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was posthumously accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. Have you checked the adoption registries to see if hes looking for his biological family? Many are still trying to find their biological relatives. 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. So yes he should be vilified! He delivered many babies in Tennessee before they ran him out of the state. My dad moved us to New Mexico when I was in my early teens but I have a brother who stayed in Michigan. To protect their privacy, I have chosen not to mention any of the individuals who were adopted by name in this article. Just keeping an RN on duty, even in the 1950s -60s, was a big expense. "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 News, TLC Shows. My name is Judy Swafford Walker. The Hicks babies seemed to have mixed feelings about his actions from the Narratively profile. Dr. Hicks was married and had two children, a son and a daughter. If he does, youll want to be in whichever database he decides to use. First of all, it was a small town clinic and back then it was not unheard of for any woman in a small town to go to a clinic to deliver their baby so to say hes some kind of hero for what he did is beyond disgusting. Are there any unresolved feelings or unanswered questions you're still working to unravel? He buried them for her (such a nice guy) and gave her a birth certificate stating they were stillborn. All of the babies were children of mothers who were persuaded to give up their children for adoption, and were not biological children of Dr. Hicks. Besides his charitable practices, he performed unauthorized abortions. My oldest would have been born in Akron in 1960. Appalachian History says his daughter is still alive and living in North Carolina. Thank you! The birth certificates Ive seen were in the 6-7 lb range. pic.twitter.com/aTH43ks3Co. To date, seven of the biological mothers have come forward. Clickherefor more information. Taken at Birth: The Hicks Clinic Stolen Babies, Best Food Sensitivity Test To Take At Home (2023), The Best DNA Tests (for Health, Ancestry, and Ethnicity), Best At-Home Allergy & Intolerance Tests (2023), We Took The Viome Gut Test Heres Our Verdict. I was warned about ever asking those questions again, this man said I know who you are, please let it alone. He ran the Hicks Community Clinic and offered his services to poor copper mining families. Blasio blew the whistle back in the 1990s. Thomas Hicks was a well-respected doctor in the small town of McCaysville, Georgia. You got a problem with that? He is the man behind the babies who are now called the Hicks Babies. I dont know the truth, the people involved back THEN 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. I hope youre able to solve your case soon. In other cases, he said their babies were stillborn and died before or during delivery. The townspeople believed he encouraged pregnant women who came to him to carry their babies to term instead. 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). 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! If you havent been there, you cannot possibly imagine what that is like. She was 6 years old when her adoptive father sat her down about it. 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. Try DNA ancestry.comI found my biological father this waybest way to find out if you have family is through DNA, Take a ancestry dna That is the test they are using. Those who were adopted have few places to turn to track down their origins. Estimates show Hicks sold about 200 babies from the 1940s to the 1960s.3. 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. Maybe hes out there and will search for you. I grew up with this story from my grandfather when i was little. 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. I was born in 1967. In the 1950s and 60s a small-town Georgia family doctor illegally sold hundreds of babies from the back door of his practice. This was rural Appalachia in the 50s and 60s, a lot of poor families. Time is running out. To give Sallie an answer. And he was stealing babies telling mothers that they delivered a still born. Jane needs to get a DNA test and compare it to Doris Abernathy, the town historian. It is unknown whether Hicks paid the biological mothers for the babies. I agree that in those cases he did the right thing, but everything else he did was just horrible! Just horrible! He was married to a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. That seems to be a repetitive theme amongst the living relatives. They look exactly alike. Despite the obstacles, the investigative team - with the blessing and cooperation of the Hicks Babies community - works tirelessly to try and bring answers to the families impacted by Dr. Hicks' actions, from conventional DNA searches and door-to-door interrogations, to a mausoleum search. Oh well for them, I was raised in those mountains and Im not afraid of them. So telling the one mother her twin boys were stillborn is acceptable to you. I used AncestryDNA to solve all of the Hicks cases I worked on. Dr. Hicks was married and had two kids a son and a daughter. It was a horrible thing he did to my parents and the rest of us when he stole my oldest brother! My parents were young and married and wanted their first son! The son, Gillam Thomas Hicks, and his family will be featured in next week's column. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I have so many thoughts racing through my mind. I do hope your brother survived and is out there somewhere. They should at least be thankful that they werent aborted. I hope all the people that are involved will find what ever it is they are looking for. Mama named my brother Von Gordon. Hopefully he got his comeuppance. Chang, Juju, Jasmine Brown, Geoff Martz and Lauren Effron. His parents were David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Holt. Today, these babies are referred to as "Hicks babies.". Dr. Hicks created fake birth certificates and listed the adoptive parents as biological parents. They can arrange a meeting if a match shows up and both sides want to meet. Could you imagine the survival rate back then for babies 3lb or 4lbs. Blasio says that 50 of the 200+ children have been identified and located. It is suspected that many of them did and there is rumor that perhaps he disposed of those little bodies in the river. was there more than one Dr. Hicks mentioned in the Taken AT Birth documentary or just one? That $1000. His wife was a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. 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)? Did your mother give birth in Akron or in McCaysville? It may be that I never find my brother but maybe I could find his children. What Was the Immigration Process at Ellis Island Like? What Does It Mean If You Have 1% Native American DNA? The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN5X-3HV: 3 February 2021), Thomas J Hicks, 1920. Ignorance is a terrible thing smh!!!! The extra mouths to feed were simply too expensive. I am currently fixing to do my own dna test. People, accessed 17 September 2019. Dr. Hicks died of leukemia in 1972 at the age of 83. You should be ashamed of yourself because you have no idea of the pain he caused many families! Jane Blasio, The Hicks Baby Who Broke the Black Market Baby Adoption Case: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. PS Ancestry DNA is a crook. Ray, you bring up an excellent reason why everyone has the right to know who their biological family is. I do truly feel for the Hicks babies for not knowing; I know that must be hard. Dr. Thomas Hicks was a small-town Georgia doctor who was posthumously accused of selling hundreds of babies in illegal adoptions. Were it not for him encouraging these women to have their babies, these children would have never been given a chance at life. The pain these mothers felt I could never imagine and not to mention how many of these babies died from being delivered wayyyy too prematurely. Aug 05, 2015 at 7:11 pm. He took HUGE risks for essentially very little in return, in fact he did lose his medical license in 1964 for performing an abortion. I had a brother who was given up for adoption by his mother in Tennessee. Hicks may not have been in Georgia during that time, but if he was in TN that might be a lead. Their lower-priced test is fine for your purposes. 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. Mama never got over this. I think that you did well with pointing out that this is not on and well done. Uncover your ancestry, paternity, and health risks for peace of mind, Get affordable medical tests that you can privately take at home, Test your gut bacteria and learn ways to restore its balance, Discover healthy diets and apps that can help you lose weight, Lose weight without sacrificing your nutrition and health, Straighten your teeth at home and see visible results in months. but i can't find me any where an i don't know if the people that raised. 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. 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. View Ancestry DNA Matches By Ancestor With ThruLines. These lists include people who are genetically related to us. 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 But advocates hope it will someday happen. Furthermore, over 200 babies! I am by no means defending Dr Hicks black-market adoption practices, but its important to remember that, even today, people die from asthma attacks. 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. Dr. Thomas Hicks. If he is out there and looking he may have tried the dna route. By learning about the family trees of their 2nd-3rd cousins, they can identify groups of DNA matches who are related to each other through the same common ancestor. I am honored to be part of the behind-the-scenes team of passionate and compassionate people who helped some of them in their journeys. Would love to have help, Im mr.hicks grate grate grand daughter sadly, hes from my moms side of the family. Clearly, you have never lost a child. As a result, he could not provide information that would help the babies find their parents or the other way around. His work remained buried as well. she weighed a little over 4lbs I wonder if theres any connection between those doctors. The Dr Hicks who ran the black-market adoptions had a son who became a dentist. I Just dont understand how anyone could possibly think what he did was right or just or in any way good at all!! I can promise you this, if theres a hell, he is in the front row seat! Blasio knew she was adopted at a young age. One twin has not been found yet but the one that was found was adopted into a horrible family and had a really sad childhood. The six-part, three-night special revisits the case of Dr. Thomas J. Hicks, who sold or gave away more than 200 infants from the '40s to the '60s By Jeff Truesdell Published on October 8, 2019 10: . Hi, the category is just Category:McCaysville, Georgia. It can sometimes be more difficult to pinpoint the exact identify of someones biological parents without closer cousins, such as first cousins. He is buried in Crest Lawn Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. Adopting families from out of town often drove up to the door. But he didn't stop the illegal adoptions. He told some of the biological mothers that they had undergone an abortion. 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. The reason I am writing is this. Dr Hicks induced some babies early, and they would have been put in incubators had then been born that early today. Some of the ads and links on this website are affiliate links which pay me a commission if you purchase through them. What he did was completely illegal, but was it less moral than aborting these babies? Dr Hicks quickly hushed the nurse and gave my grandma something to make her sleep. Oh my gosh Barbara, he also delivered the babies early, like induced at between 31 & 34 wks causing them to have low birthweight, failure to thrive and other health issues. 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. 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. Her only health problem was asthma. Sims Family Tree View These Best Collection, Mishima Family Tree Find Best Design For You. Many of those from Hicks small town defended his actions.
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