Are you in all of the DNA databases? Hicks' wife and son had already passed away. Busted not for selling babies, but for the abortion clinic. His Georgia clinic was located only a short distance away from his previous practice in Tennessee right across the border. This lecture will be retired after this offering, so dont miss out! I am wondering if any possible hicks babies that have not found relatives has DNA done? Evil does not begin to describe this man. With the judges help, she learned that the clinic sold babies while they were still open. On the documentary the officer in the second episode claimed he gave a relative of his a shot and she died 30min later. Were it not for him encouraging these women to have their babies, these children would have never been given a chance at life. But advocates hope it will someday happen. 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, 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. And then today, with abortions being legal, aborted babies are having their body parts SOLD what a repugnant thought. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPQ5-SW1: accessed 10 April 2021), A G Hicks, Copperhill, Polk, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 10, sheet 1B, line 89, family 17, "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4ZJ-HRF: 11 January 2021), Thomas J Hicks, Civil District 3, Polk, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 70-8, sheet 11B, line 42, family 207, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. The illegal adoptions that were allegedly arranged by Dr. Hicks were not discovered until after his death. i was told i was born in raymond wa. Join the search for truth. PS Ancestry DNA is a crook. 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. Mama never got over this. To have an unequivocal reference sample for any other Hicks children who want to know their origins. When she ask Dr Hicks about it he told her it was the medication making her think that. Otherwise he wouldnt have needed to lie about them being stillborn. 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. Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. Within a decade, he was not only performing illegal abortions but selling newborns on the black market. Genealogy for Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. To give Sallie an answer. Theres a documentary on the Hicks Babies that Im assuming you havent seen. 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. The son, Gillam Thomas Hicks, and his family will be featured in next week's column. How the hell would YOU feel? 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. He then relocated just across the line in McCaysville Georgia. Clickherefor more information. The cost is the same for you. What Dr Hicks did was illegal. 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. 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. 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. She is a member of a Facebook groups which joins the Hicks babies. "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. 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. My dad moved us to New Mexico when I was in my early teens but I have a brother who stayed in Michigan. Hicks lied, blatantly, to some of these women, hell probably 90% of them. 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. Appalachian History says his daughter is still alive and living in North Carolina. 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. Son of David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Hicks Dr. Hicks had a granddaughter, Sally Sompayrac, who empathizes with the plight of the Hicks babies. After years of wondering about her birth family, will Diane finally have closure? Hicks faced legal trouble for illegal abortions, but not for the illegal adoptions. Yes he had a choice he just made the wrong one for greed!! ALL OF THOSE CHILDREN WERE MESSED UP FROM THIS. THIS POOR WOMAN THOUGHT HER TWIN BOYS HAD DIED. Until Mother's Day 1997, when his adoptions were exposed. Thank you for visiting dr thomas hicks family tree page. I have hicks show up in my DNA results. He induced labor and delivered low birth weight babies that were in danger of dying. These women often came away from faraway places. This is how those who were adopted can identify the parents or grandparents of their biological parents. 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. One of those babies he delivered in Tennessee was my oldest brother who was supposedly still born. Doctor Hicks was NO saint and we recognize his dysfunction, the pain he caused many, and have learned to bear it, she wrote. Mama had seven more babies after that(Im the youngest)she never stopped grieving for her oldest son. So telling the one mother her twin boys were stillborn is acceptable to you. He is monster!! 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)? 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. Could you imagine the survival rate back then for babies 3lb or 4lbs. The same lecture is offered twiceNovember 1 and 2, 2022to accommodate schedules and time zones. He also has a living granddaughter named Sally Sompayrac. Not to mention the fact that some of these birth mothers thought their babies DIED! If it was a black-market clinic, there probably arent any records of the transaction. Babies came to the mountains with him and babies left the mountains with him. What he did was completely illegal, but was it less moral than aborting these babies? This man was worse than the plague! Prior to that, he was practicing just across the state line in Copperhill, Tennessee, and could well have been selling babies then. How can you condone that? The townspeople believed he encouraged pregnant women who came to him to carry their babies to term instead. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Brother of Lucy Elizabeth Ketron; John Willie Hicks; Samuel Earnest Hicks; Infant Daughter Hicks and Carrie Ellen Dickson. If hes alive, hopefully hell see the TV show and decide to test. Labor was induced at 31-34 weeks (based on the birth weight of the survivors). You have several options when it comes to learning about your DNA, KnowYourDNA is the best source for finding all things related to DNA. It wouldve been 1964. He was inducing them around 30 weeks handing out 4lb babies to people. 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 do truly feel for the Hicks babies for not knowing; I know that must be hard. Investigators opened the mausoleum, searching for records of the illegal adoptions, but found it was empty. Husband of Chass Chassie Hicks Dr Hicks quickly hushed the nurse and gave my grandma something to make her sleep. Several of the Hicks Babies found the mausoleum was vandalized when they paid a visit in 2018. Did your mother give birth in Akron or in McCaysville? pic.twitter.com/aTH43ks3Co. Categories Searching for Biological Family. Many had no idea they were adopted until well into adulthood. She did tell me she heard her baby cry and Dr Hicks told her he was still born. My YDNA indicates I am not Hicks. His wife was a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. The story has been featured in many TV specials, including on TLCs, Taken At Birth, which originally aired in 2019. I hope youre able to solve your case soon. I think that you did well with pointing out that this is not on and well done. 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. Shame on him and all those who covered for him and his horrific lies. After I watched your show on TLC, I took a trip up to the mountains., looked the house that was HIckscock and made a big mistake when I asked some questions. Hed ask them to put on a medical gown and lay down on a table. v. Wade legalized abortions. About 15 of the 200+ babies have been reunited with their biological parents. I have a great sample of relatives going back many generations. 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. My decision is there was something very wrong going on. You arent responsible for their sins. Father of Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Jr; Dr Walter Lynn Hicks and Private This man not only took away peoples family history, but ruined their future as well. I would love to be able to find him or maybe some of his family. How is the river any worse, I ask you? He was her first born and she said she heard him cry yet Dr Hicks told her he was still born. It can be a serious disease. Did you like this post? 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. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks died at age 83 on March 5, 1972, after a battle with leukemia. It is possible that deaths like these convinced Dr. Hicks that something needed to be done.. 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. He reportedly performed abortions, which were illegal at the time, for $100. 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. Stories of young girls dying from botched abortions in the early 50s still exist in the living memories of those from the region. Thats a totally twisted way of thinking!!! Did the births take place at the Hicks Clinic? We just were not there and will never know his thoughts. Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! Just one grandparent can lead you to many 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. It is suspected that many of them did and there is rumor that perhaps he disposed of those little bodies in the river. His work remained buried as well. This was rural Appalachia in the 50s and 60s, a lot of poor families. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. Dr Thomas Hicks Family Tree Do You Know These Top Templates? 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. Dr. Hicks died a disgrace in 1972, one year before the Roe v. Wade decision. Blasio went on to help dozens of Hicks babies so they could track down their birth parents and relatives. After watching this documentary I can see how he got away with it for so long. One thousand dollars in 1955 would be nearly $10,000 today. Some babies were that small but not all of them. Categories: Fannin County, Georgia | McCaysville, Georgia | Hicks Clinic, McCaysville, Georgia, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. I personally think he is a sociopath and I wonder if he could have been a Serial Killer as well. He also told the mothers that their babies died, gave them death certificates but then sold the baby out the back door for $1000. I submitted my DNA in hopes that I might find my brother or some of his family. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. The Dr Hicks who ran the black-market adoptions had a son who became a dentist. Looking for a DNA test that's accurate and can tell you about your health and heritage? I agree totally with you.This all sounds awful. This is accomplished through the careful study of DNA matches. 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. I am the youngest of seven siblings. 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. Exactly! Hicks may not have been in Georgia during that time, but if he was in TN that might be a lead. His wife and son have both passed away. What he was doing in a lot of cases is absolutely wrong because of stuff like this. Before Doctor Hicks opened his practice in Georgia he was just across the state line in Polk County Tennessee in the 1930s. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. $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. The illegal adoptions came to an end in 1964, when Hicks was caught performing illegal abortions. Dr. Hicks, who passed away at the age of 83, was born in 1888 in Picket County, Tennessee. Copyright 2023 The DNA Geek Ascension WordPress theme by, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), New TLC Special Taken At Birth Dives into Shocking Hicks Babies Black Market Adoption Scandal, Babies For Sale: The Secret Adoptions That Haunt One Georgia Town, Hicks Baby Adoptee Sold by Georgia Doctor 50 Years Ago Reunites With Birth Mother, Brother, Busted not for selling babies, but for the abortion clinic, 23andMe Introduces the Automated Family Tree , The Hicks Babies The DNA Geek | Ups and Downs of Family History V2.0, https://thednageek.com/how-to-transfer-your-ancestrydna-test-to-other-databases/, Book Review: I Know Who You Are, by Barbara Rae-Venter, Up Your DNA Game With New Courses in 2023, Verogen Increases Costs for Law Enforcement Again, A Board of Certification for Investigative Genetic Genealogy Is Announced. Son of David Fleming Hicks and Mary Louise Hicks She noted to the TV station many of them went to good homes and led successful lives. And, even though it was illegal, many women thought they were having an abortion. 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. 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. But many aspects of his clinic remain a mystery to this day. Dr. Hicks was married and had two kids a son and a daughter. They adored Dr Hicks and were fiercely protective of his reputation and legacy. Dr. Hicks created fake birth certificates and listed the adoptive parents as biological parents. Would love your thoughts, please comment. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. Hed do anything for anybody sometimes hed pay a price for it, she said. The Hicks Community Clinic has been closed for years, but the building still stands. Some were children of women Hicks convinced not to have abortions. He died at age 83 in 1972 of leukemia, according to Appalachian History. Do you know how that can mentally affect a woman? You saw it. Barbara, the very same thing happened to my Mother. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade. Blasio also created a confidential registry to help Hicks babies find their parents and siblings. Instructions for how to transfer the raw data file to MyHeritage and FTDNA are here: https://thednageek.com/how-to-transfer-your-ancestrydna-test-to-other-databases/. what he did was very wrong and im very sorry for all those kids and parents. You are right, Dr Hicks was an evil man. In 1964, the town sheriff arrested Hicks for performing illegal abortions. Thomas, or Dr. Hicks, was one of six children. So, what you are saying is, when my mom went to deliver my BROTHER and was told he was born dead, yet she has nightmares TO THIS DAY that she heard her baby cry for her. At least one Hicks baby submitted his DNA to Ancestry.com and found a half-sister. He was arrested for performing illegal abortions in 1964. Think about it, some of these folks could fall in love with a relative and not even know it. These closer relatives can provide important clues that can help determine exactly which child descended from the grandparents (identified through the 2nd-3rd cousins) was likely the biological mother or father. Blasio knew she was adopted at a young age. we do not know where these births occured most of our family is deceased. 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. They can arrange a meeting if a match shows up and both sides want to meet. Most biological mothers disappeared after giving birth to their babies. He was a good man, a good-hearted man. The world is full of possibilities, and you are amazing! She grieved her the rest of her life for her first born son. 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. There was no reason not to dig up his grave. 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. Hopefully he got his comeuppance. I am happy to offer a dna sample if possible. If he does, youll want to be in whichever database he decides to use. Oh well for them, I was raised in those mountains and Im not afraid of them. I still dont know, one of the Hicks Babies, Melinda, told the publication. Wow! Im sure there are also many, many Hicks babies out there that have no idea they are Hicks babies. There is living proof, with dna, of one man, who along with his twin brother, was reported dead and buried by Dr. Hicks. 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? And youve had children with them??? She always thought she had a boy out there somewhere. And then the consistent low birth weights are concerning. She never got over it. 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. Just watched the documentary. Dr. Thomas Hicks. 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: . Dr Hicks induced some babies early, and they would have been put in incubators had then been born that early today. 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. Then hed place a baby in their arms. 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 can promise you this, if theres a hell, he is in the front row seat! Shameful + Sinful + Criminal + Evil!! In the small town, the. He buried them for her (such a nice guy) and gave her a birth certificate stating they were stillborn. She named him Von Gordon. Dr Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, Sr (1888 - 1972) - geni family tree. Facebook They may not even know theyre adopted. How can this man NOT be vilified?! What Happened To Dr. Hicks And His Associates? On another point, Ive heard it said that Dr. Hicks disposed of aborted babies in the river. The method of the illegal adoptions has left many questions for those who started their lives in Hicks clinic. Her name is Alana honey boo boo if you dont know who she is you can google her. She said she heard her baby cry then Doc Hicks told her he was still born. I hope your brother decides to test someday. Curiously, Dr. Thomas J. Hicks is not buried in a mausoleum that bears his name, but beside it. It sits in a plaza in McCaysville, Georgia with a pizza shop on one end and a barbecue restaurant on the other, according to Narratively. Powered by. Dr. Hicks was a town doctor who performed illegal abortions. I think he was a good man. Babies born that early would need to remain in the hospital. Blasio first traveled to McCaysville in 1988 to search for her birth mother. Some of those in his town defend his actions, according to Narratively, saying he was providing a service. 23andMe is on sale right now, so its a good time to buy. I sincerely hope more can make connections before its too late. You really have no idea what you are talking about! 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. You can see for yourself google him. 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). I had a brother who was given up for adoption by his mother in Tennessee. Anyways the family is from Georgia and they film there as well. My Grandma has been gone several years now, but she told us numerous times that in 1952 when she gave birth to my aunt that she remembers having two babies and the nurse telling her she had a boy. Kriste Hughes is reunited with her mother, Thelma Tipton, and big brother Roger Tipton, after Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks illegally sold her to adoptive parents . However, many people are able to discover closer relatives, like aunts and uncles or even half-siblings, through DNA testing. Barbara, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Never has been black market babies, she told WKYC. The sentiments were echoed in other news stories. 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 . He was married and had three children. Sompayrac believes her grandfathers actions helped the birth mothers in need and gave the babies life.