Tennessee Children's Home Society facts for kids

The Tennessee Children's Home Society was an orphanage in Tennessee. It was open during the first half of the 1900s. This organization is mostly known because of its Memphis leader, Georgia Tann. She was involved in taking children illegally and arranging adoptions that were not allowed by law. Tann passed away in 1950 before the state of Tennessee could share what it found about her actions. A TV show called 60 Minutes talked about her story in 1991. This made people interested again in Tann's illegal adoptions. She worked with Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Camille Kelley on these adoptions.

How the Society Operated

The Tennessee Children's Home Society started as a non-profit group in 1897. It received a second official permission to operate in 1913. Many groups in the community supported the Society. They believed it helped place children who had no parents or were unwanted into new homes. Georgia Tann was well-known in Memphis. Her connections helped her build a strong group of supporters. These included lawmakers, important families, and Judge Camille Kelley. Judge Kelley was the Shelby County Family Court Judge. She helped make many of the Society's adoptions official.

In 1941, the Child Welfare League of America stopped supporting the Society. This happened because they found out that Tann's group often destroyed most of its paperwork about child placements. Tann said this was okay because Tennessee adoption laws kept things private. However, the Society did not have a license from Tennessee. Its leaders claimed they had permission directly from the state government.

Georgia Tann lived a very comfortable life. The Society paid for her living costs. People thought it was strange that the head of a charity, which often struggled with money, rode in expensive cars.

As the 1940s went on, more questions arose about how the Society worked. People also wondered about its secret Board of Trustees. By 1950, families who had adopted children through the Society started speaking up. Also, families who had lost their children while they were with the Society got the state's attention. This led to an official investigation into the Society's operations.

What the State Found Out

After a state investigation in 1950, shocking facts came out. It was found that Georgia Tann had arranged thousands of adoptions in ways that were not right.

State investigators learned that the Society was a cover for a large illegal adoption system. Georgia Tann was in charge of this system. They also found messy records and hidden bank accounts. In some cases, Tann kept a lot of the money from adoption fees. She sometimes took 80 to 90 percent when children were placed outside of Tennessee. Officials also found that Judge Camille Kelley had quickly approved many adoptions. She did not follow state laws. Judge Kelley also received money from Tann for her help. Tann died in the fall of 1950. Judge Kelley announced that same year that she would stop working after 20 years. Kelley was not punished for her part in the scandal and died in 1955.

Parents who adopted children soon found out that the stories and backgrounds Tann gave them were false. Sometimes, Tann took babies from mothers who were in state care. She then hid this information from the adoptive parents.

Children who were supposed to be only temporarily cared for by the Society disappeared. They were adopted by other families, and Tann destroyed their records.

Tann worked with some local doctors. These doctors told her about mothers who were not married and had just given birth. Tann would take the newborns. She would say she was taking them for hospital care. Later, she would tell the mothers that their babies had died. She would say the bodies were buried right away to be kind.

Changes and Lasting Impact

The scandal involving Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society led to new adoption laws in Tennessee in 1951. Now, adults who believe Tann handled their adoption can look at records. This helps them find information about their adoptions.

The Tennessee Children's Home Society closed in 1950. It is important not to confuse it with the modern group called Tennessee Children's Home. This group is officially approved by the state of Tennessee. The Tennessee Children's Home today has no connection to Georgia Tann or the Society she ran.

In 1991, the TV show 60 Minutes reported on the scandal. It showed how adopted people tried to find their birth parents. It also showed birth parents looking for their grown children. The report also made people work harder to open adoption records for both birth mothers and adopted people.

Some well-known people were involved with Tann and the Society:

• The actress Joan Crawford adopted her twin daughters, Cathy and Cynthia, through the agency.
• June Allyson and her husband Dick Powell also adopted a child from the Memphis home.
• Professional wrestler Ric Flair wrote in his book that he was a victim of the Society. He said he was illegally taken from his birth mother. The first chapter of his book is called "Black Market Baby."
• Auto racer Gene Tapia also had a son who was taken by the agency.