The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, The Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption

"The Baby Thief" is a compelling read, but a horrific tale. However, the story of Georgia Tann is one that needs to be told for the historical significance that it embodies. Ms. Tann’s need for secrecy in adoption records was due to the shoddy, immoral and illegal practices that she used for several decades. She intentionally altered and destroyed records of children to cover up the horrendous acts that she perpetuated.

Poor families were ripped apart as some of the children or all of the children in a family were hauled away under various pretenses to be adopted. Ms. Raymond interviewed some adults who recall not only being stolen from their families, but suffering abuse at the hands of Georgia Tann or her employees. Her interviews with these adults were difficult as it was evident that many of them still carry deep scars from the crimes committed against them.

In Georgia Tann’s era, she hired people called “spotters” who would procure babies for her. Sometimes they might find a young widow with children and report back her precarious financial situation and how saleable one or more of her children might be. Poor mothers were sometimes told that their babies died at birth, when in fact, Georgia Tann stole them to be adopted.

In license with Ms. Tann were the local corrupt politicians of the time whose pockets she kept padded to insure that she could operate in any fashion that she chose. This book is painful to read for many of the details of the abuse, baby-stealing and corruption. However, for me, it was doubly painful to read because Georgia Tann was based in my home town, Memphis, Tennessee.

It is significant to note that much of the secrecy which is Georgia Tann’s legacy came about through her efforts to cover up all the outrageous acts which she committed. The question then arises, why do we still maintain secrecy in adoption? How much does secrecy in adoption still mask?

This book is a powerful piece of adoption history - hard to read, brutally honest, but a compelling read. Barbara Raymond labored over this story for sixteen years because she knew that it was significant and needed to be told. I applaud her dedication to exposing this true story of corruption in adoption at its worst. If you want to understand adoption, this book is a shameful part of its history.


Further Reading:

The Baby Thief

Tennessee Black Market Adoption Information

Georgia Tann



Photo courtesy of Barbara Bisantz Raymond