Weekly 150: Georgia Tann

Tann employed a range of deceitful tactics to procure children, often preying on vulnerable families under the pretext of providing them with better opportunities. Many of the children taken into TCHS’s custody were born to unmarried mothers, who were coerced or deceived into relinquishing their parental rights. Tann’s ability to manipulate and exploit the vulnerabilities of these families underscored her cunning and ruthlessness.

In addition to targeting unmarried mothers, Tann also exploited the racial prejudices of the time, profiting from the sale of “desirable” white children to affluent families while relegating children of color to inferior treatment and placement. This discriminatory practice further highlights the depths of Tann’s moral bankruptcy and the extent of her exploitation.

Alma Walton and Regina Warner worked for Tann and made a trip every three weeks with four to six babies in tow: Walton to California and Warner to New York. They would rent hotel rooms where they would meet with prospective adoptive parents, most of whom were wealthy.

Under Tann’s direction, TCHS operated as a highly profitable adoption racket, catering to the demands of affluent clientele, including Hollywood celebrities, politicians, and wealthy families across the United States.

Exploiting her extensive network of contacts, Tann facilitated the illegal adoption of children to eager adoptive parents, charging exorbitant fees for her services. Each couple would pay $700 in a check made out to “Georgia Tann.”

Tann would charge prospective parents for background checks she had never pursued, air travel costs at exorbitant rates, and adoption paperwork at five times the actual cost. The state of Tennessee contributed $61,000 a year to the agency, with 31 percent of that money going toward the Memphis branch.

Profits were kept in a secret bank account under a false corporation name. It is alleged that she pocketed 80 to 90 percent of the fees from these adoptions for her personal use. She also failed to report the income to the Society’s board or the Internal Revenue Service. In a 1979 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tennessee special prosecutor Robert Taylor reported that 1,200 children were adopted out of the home between 1944 and 1950, with a few of them remaining with Tennessee families.

Tann destroyed records of the children who were processed through the TCHS. As a result, the Child Welfare League of America dropped the Society from its list of qualifying institutions in 1941. Many of the files of the children were fictionalized before being presented to the adoptive parents, which covered up the child’s circumstances before being placed.

When an adoptive parent discovered that the information on the child was incorrect, such as in cases of falsified medical histories, Tann often threatened the adoptive parents with possible legal action that would force the surrender of their children. Tann’s threats were fulfilled with the aid of Shelby County Family Court Judge Camille Kelley, who used her position of authority to sanction Tann’s tactics and activities.

Tann would identify children as being from homes that could not provide for their care, and Kelley would push the matter through her dockets. Kelley also severed custody of divorced mothers, placing the children with Tann, who then arranged for the adoption of the children into “homes better able to provide for the children’s care.” However, many of the children were placed into homes where they were used as child labor on farms, or with abusive families.

Bypassing Shelby County Probate Court, most of the adoption cases were handled in the counties of Dyer, Haywood, and Hardeman. Tann had connections with former Memphis, Tennessee, mayor E.H. “Boss” Crump, who continued to have an influential political presence until his death. He had long been known to take bribes from unlawful establishments (e.g., brothels and gambling halls), a fact which Tann used to her advantage. She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and was widely respected in the community, counting among her friends prominent families, politicians, and legislators.

While in her care, the children were mistreated by Tann, with reports of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and murder. With no housing facilities, the society held children awaiting placement in public facilities and foster homes.

In the 1930s, Memphis had the highest infant mortality rate in the nation, largely due to Tann. In 1943, a wealthy businessman donated the mansion at 1556 Poplar Avenue to the society. The offices and intake rooms were put on the bottom floor, while the nurseries were upstairs.

The all-female staff wore all-white nursing uniforms, even though they were mostly untrained and even substance abusers. The children were frequently sedated and those who were difficult to place were allowed to die of malnutrition. Tann regularly ignored doctors’ recommendations for sick children, denying them care or medicine, which often led to preventable deaths from illnesses such as diarrhea.

Some of her victims are known to be buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, other children were never accounted for, and the exact number of deceased children remains unknown, with estimates of about 500 deaths due to mistreatment.

At the time, so-called “black market” adoptions were not illegal but were considered ethically and morally wrong. Information about the child’s heritage and medical history was lost, and adoptive parents were unaware of any physical or mental illness.

The Tennessee governor of the time, Gordon Browning, launched an investigation into the society on September 11, 1950, after receiving reports that the agency was selling children for profit. Memphis attorney Robert Taylor was assigned to the case.

Two days later, the story was published in the media nationwide, including in the Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal and The New York Times. Public Welfare Commissioner J. O. McMahan accused Tann and her cohorts of receiving as much as $1 million in profits. Three months after Tann’s death, the state of Tennessee sued Tann’s estate for $500,000.

The case was settled out of court with her beneficiaries ceding two-thirds of her $82,000 estate to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The Tennessee Children’s Home Society was closed in 1950.

Tann is estimated to have stolen over 5,000 children. New York and California vowed to take action, but the children’s adoptions were never investigated, and no children were restored.

In the next edition, I will wrap up the story of Georgia Tann and her demented practices with the Tennessee Children’s Society.