The
story of Georgia Tann is one of intrigue, fascination, horror,
disbelief and many more words of description. It is a story of a very
influential woman who was born and raised in Hickory, Mississippi. She
achieved a position of outstanding prominence. She was very wealthy and
fraternized with the elite. Her life was one of fraternizing with the
elite. Eleanor Roosevelt sought her counsel regarding child welfare.
Pearl Buck asked her to collaborate on a book about adoption. She
received a personal invitation to President Truman's Inauguration. She
traveled in politically elite circles. And, while doing all of this,
she visited with her mother often in Hickory. The beautiful Tann home,
which is the second oldest home in Hickory, is located near Highway
503. There are residents in the home today and the home still has
visions of grandeur.
Georgia
Tann is buried in the Hickory Cemetery along with her parents, George
Clark Tann and Beulah Yates Tann, and her brother, Rob Roy Tann. It is a
very nice Tann burial plot. Standing over Georgia's grave in the
Hickory Cemetery, the average person would never know the controversy
she stirred up during her lifetime. She had one of the largest black
markets for children ever seen in the United States. From 1924 to 1950,
Georgia Tann stole, or otherwise separated, more than 5,000 children
from their families.
Louise
Bailey and I have long been interested in the Georgia Tann story and,
in 2009, conducted extensive research on her activities using both
primary and secondary sources as well as many interviews. A major
source of information came from the book The Baby Thief by
Barbara Raymond. The television movie, "Stolen Babies," was released in
1993 with Mary Tyler Moore portraying Georgia Tann. Articles on Tann's
life also have been published in Good Housekeeping magazine. The Meridian Star
did an article on Georgia Tann on March 25, 1993. Georgia Tann also
gained national media attention on television series such as "Unsolved
Mysteries" and “Probe."
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