The Awful Crimes of Georgia Tann | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

welcome to stuff you should know a. production of iHeart. Radio hey and welcome to the podcast I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Ben's here. too so this is stuff you should. know yeah big trigger warning up front. and we may issue even a second one after. breaks or. something uh this is about a a human. monster it's a story of a human monster.

who did awful things to Children um so. don't listen to it if that is a trigger. and don't let your children listen to. this yes for sure um so Chuck I'm always. on the lookout for somebody whose grave. I'd like to spit on and I've never found. anybody before to before we started. researching this yeah boy this no. getting around it if I ever make it out. to Hickory Mississippi I will definitely. go out of my way to spit on Georgia. Tan's grave because she deserves it.

yeah um we'll we we'll get to her sort. of upbringing here in a sec but just uh. very quickly Georgia Tan was a woman who. worked in in social work and she made a. long uh and Wealthy career got rich uh. by kidnapping babies uh falsifying birth. records uh stealing kids from uh. generally poor families uneducated. mothers and selling them to Rich people.

yeah she was hands down the wealthiest. social worker to ever. live yeah I'm having a hard time already. so Chuck let's set the scene a little. bit because um or like the idea of. adoption is is not that old in the. United States um for a very long time if. you were um orphaned if your parents. abandoned you um whatever LED you to. this this position where you were no.

longer under the care of a grownup you. were extraordinarily vulnerable if you. were lucky relatives might take you in. uh maybe a kindly. neighbor um but you were also very much. at risk for basically becoming. somebody's indentured servant it was. like with without without that whole. idea of that's what became of Orphans we. wouldn't have Dickens today basically. yeah for sure um there were a lot of you.

know we we've talked a lot about sort of. the the movement after. industrialization from more rural. farming communities to the city uh that. increased a lot of um kind of the rate. of Orphans in cities because in a lot of. these um poor. neighborhoods uh you had outbreaks of. chalera you had yellow fever um a lot of. these Urban um communities were. decimated killing parents leaving a lot. of children behind abandoned M uh one.

thing that happened during that period. was something called The Orphan Train uh. starting uh in 1854 for about 65 years. about 150,000 orphan kids um were. shipped from the Northwest in cities to. rural towns but again uh most of the. time it looked more like a slave trade. than like they weren't being adopted as. family members they were being kind of. auctioned off at train stations and. lineups yeah they were basically adopted. as.

as hands I wanted to say Hired Hands but. I don't think they were hired in some. cases they didn't even get room and. board like if you were fostered out if. you made it into a foster home you very. often had to work to to repay um the. family for your. care yeah so this was this was how it. was for a very long time um adoption. just did it wasn't it didn't click with. Americans in particular at least um. because kids that were in that situation.

were were viewed as like inferior. morally inferior potentially genetically. inferior um it was a very mean time so. you didn't want those kids you didn't. want to bring them into your family and. it wasn't until I think about the. 1930s that the idea of adoption as we. understand it today where um a couple or. a family want to include a a child. that's not biologically theirs into. their family that's less than a century.

old that Concept in in the United States. yeah kind of like adoption as we know it. um out of uh if you were out of wedlock. it was it's horrific to think of how we. thought of these kids and and the women. that were in that situation uh just. recently I went to Memphis and that's. where this story take place is where my. mom grew up and her family and so we. went there on a on a trip to kind of. show my daughter where grandr grew up. and her high school and all that stuff. and um at one point we were driving.

through a neighborhood and my mom was. like oh there's the old uh house for. unwed mothers and I was like wait I've. heard that term what is that and she was. like if you were pregnant out of wedlock. then uh there's a very good chance that. you like were sent to live in a house. like kind of removed yeah and you told. the neighbors that you that your. daughter went off to to stay with. relatives to help like a sick aunt or. something like that and then she would. come back 10 months later and everybody.

would move along like there was nothing. like nothing had happened but there. would be a child out there in the world. that was no longer with her yeah so. that's the sort of stage uh that we set. for when Georgia Tan came into the world. uh was born in 1891 in Mississippi. raised in Hickory Mississippi was the. daughter of Bula and George tan uh her. father was a very prominent judge um. part of his job as a judge back then.

because of the way things were was. placing kids finding homes for Orphan. kids and abandoned kids and neglected. kids and because like we said adoption. wasn't such a big thing at the time so. that was part of his job was placing. these kids sometimes in foster homes uh. sometimes with families who you know. sometimes it it was a great situation. but not always uh and sometimes just. like to the state Asylum and also the. idea of like what you think of in like. that old timy orphanage where there's.

like nuns walking around like that was a. real thing like Charities often ran. homes for children orphanages yeah um. but it wasn't any place you wanted to be. although it was I mean I suppose it was. better than the alternative in a lot of. cases but I think that you were just so. vulnerable that that's not something you. could say across the board like I'm sure. there were people kids who were better. off fending for themselves on the street. than in some of the homes that they were. put in or some of the orphanages that. they stayed in it was just nobody was.

looking out for them yeah for sure um so. in 1906 when Georgia was 15 years old uh. this is kind of how she I guess got the. idea for all this she met a couple of. Orphan kids 5-year-old and a. three-year-old uh from her father's. court and she a 15-year-old talked a. wealthy local couple into adopting them. and I guess that's when the light bulb. went off where she equated like placing.

families with people who had money and. instead of uh in a kind-hearted way um. giving these kids a home it was like I. can make some money off of this yeah. that's crazy that's a crazy thought but. that was basically The Germ of this. whole thing it's a crazy. Instinct you know yeah but it says a lot. about her I think that was very much her. Instinct and I think that's it it says. everything you need to know about her. not only did she have that thought she. ran with it yeah initially she was going.

to become an attorney and she passed the. Mississippi bar um but either her father. forbade her from following that um and. sent her off to to be schooled and um to. become a concert pianist or it was just. socially you just didn't a woman. couldn't be an attorney I'm not sure. which one was the case but either way. she didn't end up being an attorney she. also didn't end up being a concert. pianist she ended up becoming a social. worker and her first um her first gig.

was with um Mississippi I think the. state of Mississippi basically working. as a social worker visiting homes and. um very quickly stealing babies to sell. herself like right out of the gate she. basically started the the scam that she. would later become famous for yeah that. was a woman named Rose Harvey which um. you know some sources say it was like. her very first you know sort of of field.

visit um others say it was just early on. but at any rate she visited Rose Harvey. who was uh who was young um I I've seen. that she was widowed but I also saw that. um the father of her kids was forced to. sign a false document basically stating. that she was an unfit mother I think it. was her father oh it was her father. that's what I got from it yeah but it. could also be confused that they were. yeah was onyx's father but either way I.

mean it's no less reprehensible either. way but um she found Georgia Tan found. uh Onyx who was a 2-year-old uh boy. playing at the house basically walked in. and kidnapped this kid just walked out. put the baby in her car uh got her. father of the judge uh after you know a. member of her family signed that she was. an unfit mother and had the had the boy. listed as an unfit child or I'm sorry an. abandoned child and that was it uh very.

sadly Rose Harvey was even able to. muster up the money to hire an attorney. but she was Ill she had diabetes she was. not doing well she's very ill and just. stood no chance basically against that. system yeah and in particular the father. of Georgia Tan got involved and was like. this is not happening like do not let. this case go forward like he was a judge. in the 19s Mississippi like I'm pretty. sure he could he could make that happen. so yeah like you said she never had a.

chance but either because of that. particular case or another similar case. or potentially because uh Georgia Tan. was actually a um she had a lifelong. partner another woman uh who was a. childhood friend and they uh actually I. guess fell in love and spent the rest of. their lives together um that is also. possibly one of the reasons why they got. out of Mississippi but eventually I. think in the early. 1920s they left Mississippi they landed. in Texas and then ultimately ended up in.

Memphis a short time later but very. bizarrely in the interim her partner had. gotten pregnant by a a man out of. wedlock and had a son named George so. now they had a son and then um Georgia. adopted a girl named June so they they. built a little family but when you know. more about Georgia's view on kids and. adoption and how she really viewed it. it's really strange to me that she ever. did it.

yourself yeah for sure um it this is. another story too that also like a lot. of times things happen in history just. because of when they happened um she was. definitely fired from her job for doing. what she did like she may have left also. because of her her relationship but she. was fired and it was a time where like. no one knows you can just move estate. over and start over and it's not like. there's there's really no way like if. she didn't list them maybe on on a.

resume or whatever uh or you know who. knows even how it worked back then um. she would not have been able to get work. elsewhere yeah which is still a problem. today yes um with uh God that terrible. um story about the the fake doctor who. just kept practicing in different states. it was a podcast I can't remember Dr. Death I think MH but it's amazing even. with technology today that that can. still happen you know yeah and also um. one of the things that I found from. researching this is that the secrecy.

that developed at this time around. adoption that's still around today we. did a short stuff on it I think right um. that still is keeping kids in this. system vulnerable to exploitation and. predation and um including essentially. Private Sales rehoming I think is what. they call it should we take a break. let's take a break all right we'll take. a break going to go wash our mouths out. with soap we'll be right back. [Music].

[Music]. all right so Georgia Tan uh makes her. way uh to Tennessee. uh to the Tennessee Children's Home.

Society uh was where her next job was. and from 1924 to 1950 uh span of 26. years she. sold uh kidnapped and sold more than. 5,000 kids and as you said before she. made millions of dollars from what I saw. she made around a million dollars in her. time which is equivalent to something. like 11 million today um and she sold. these kids to some really high-profile.

customers a lot of them were in New York. a lot of them were in California and. some of them were stars like Joan. Crawford adopted twins from her. apparently yeah and this is um if you. saw the movie Mommy Dearest this was not. uh that girl I believe that was. Christina who was also adopted uh but. these were her her later adopted. daughters Cynthia and Kathy um but also. Lana Turner uh Dick Powell and June. Allison uh Pearl Buck the author uh and.

then in a very weird and sad twist uh a. guy that we worked with um Ric Flair the. wrestler was one of these babies yep. which is just crazy to think about and. and obviously has deep emotional trauma. but I think he he um elected to not sort. of find his biological family right yeah. his biological brother reached out to. him and he's like I don't I don't really. want to strike up a a relationship ship. here like oh man he's like what what are.

we going to talk about I think is what. he said but yeah he said that in. addition to that it like just the this. the trauma from it is still with him. obviously because he was stolen from his. family like these kids were stolen from. their families and some cases their. their parents spent the rest of their. lives looking for them but because of. the way that these adoptions were. carried out there was no paper trail. that these people could access to find. whatever happened to their kids yeah. absolutely not she made sure that.

happened um she very much was of the. mind uh like we mentioned earlier that. that like some of society viewed these. kids as less than uh she was 100% down. with that line of thinking uh she. thought that poor single mothers were. damaged goods she called them breeders. she called them cows she thought they. were genetically. inferior um she used uh marketing.

tactics she was a. fraudster uh but all of this like worked. um you you don't uh you don't adopt out. 5,000 children without working really. really hard to do that um using the most. you know in her case the most. reprehensible tactics you can imagine. yeah let's talk about her tactics real. quick shall we because I I can't wait. any longer it's. just I I just can't okay yeah yeah well.

before we get to the actual tactics of. the adoption we should say this whole. time this is going on she's running a. house of horrors in Memphis uh she's. running an orphanage there uh and. hundreds of babies are dying under her. care so that's just sort of the. background of what's going on while. she's adopting these kids out right um. and we said that adoption wasn't really. kind of a thing um in the United States. until about the 1930s and it started to. kind of spread here's the big twist.

about this whole thing the reason that. we have adoption today the way that it. is like the fact that childless couples. will go you know take a kid into their. life and like you're like you're my. family now you're our family she started. that like you can trace that almost. single-handedly back to Georgia Tan. which in a way like kind of complicates. her Legacy but really doesn't because. the stuff she did was so despicable that. even that can can be you can't even.

consider that like a mark in her favor. it just just immediately um is. overwhelmed by all the horrible stuff. she. did yeah doesn't complicate it for me at. all that would have changed anyway and. we did not need a human monster to make. it happen that's like saying well we got. Volkswagen cuz of Hitler so you. know right Hugo Boss yeah that's a great. point but yeah no she's kind of like the. opposite of where like you you really. like uh somebody 's work but you find.

out that they're a terrible person you. have to reconcile that this is like. hating the person and just you know. there was one piece of her work that was. you know worthwhile or legitimate but. yeah it doesn't doesn't do anything yeah. so her you know she would adopt kids uh. out of all ages but uh what she really. concentrated on was babies uh because. you know even today adopting a baby is. much more in um in demand and uh. especially then when adoption was just.

sort of a new thing she was sort of. selling the idea like hey you get a. blank slate here like these these babies. uh you know some of them may be from Bad. homes but you've got them right out of. the gate and you can you can mold them. into whatever you want uh and that's. when she wasn't lying about who the. parents were cuz she also did that uh. and would say things like you know there. was a one night stand basically between. a socialite and and a doctor. and it was just a big mistake and but.

they they you should see their jeans. incredible. jeans one of the other things she was. very well known for especially in. Tennessee was that every Christmas she. would take out um advertising space in. the press citar the Memphis newspaper. and it was it was like a Christmas. adoption drive a baby drive but they it. wasn't like open your home to this. wonderful child it was like um so do you. want a real live Christmas present that.

was like one of the one of the ads um. could you use a Christmas baby um and. she would like they would vow like this. is a drive we're going to we're going to. adopt off 25 to 30 kids and I think to. the people who were reading this and who. saw this every Christmas they were. taking it like it was an adoption Drive. they didn't realize and this is the. thing no one seems to have really. realized at least no one who uh had any. real power to do anything about it knew.

what what was going on that she was. making this money like this wasn't. allowed to go on in. open in open sight there was a lot of. mechan and and groundwork laid to keep. this as far out of the public eye as. possible but to let her just do it as. flagrantly as possible the general. person who was aware of her didn't know. what she was doing I should say no or or. like you said they that you know they. thought she was a hero right they didn't.

realize she was selling kids openly in. the newspaper every Christmas yes after. kidnapping them um so financially and. this one is a little hard to parse out. I've seen different things but what I. think I found the reality which was in. the state of Tennessee at the time it. was supposed to cost. $7 for an instate adoption and about 700. to 750 out of state and I saw that she.

was charging more like uh I think 80% of. her adoptions were New York and. California to wealthy families about. $5,000 instead of $700 which is close to. 90 grand today yes for sure um yeah that. was I think average was about five like. five grand or was that the the height of. the whole thing was that as much as you. would pay I'm not sure I just saw $5,000. so um. the the whole thing again it's really.

tough to to I'm not going to hammer on. this because it's just so nuts but the. through those Christmas drives through. introducing the adop the concept of. adoption it started to spread in Memphis. in Tennessee in the South and it. actually spread out of the South this. trend of adoption grew out of the south. in the 1930s and 40s again because of. Georgia Tan and then it just spread and. kept going but from the outset she was.

um she targeted wealthy customers. clients you can't really call them. anything else uh in New York and. California like I said but there doesn't. seem to be any evidence whatsoever that. any of the adopting parents knew that. their kids were anything than what she. was presenting them as which was kids. from good backgrounds uh like you said. maybe a one night stand and um the. parents had willingly given them up. that's what they thought they were. getting and that the fact that they had. to pay through the nose for them just.

meant that these kids were like that. desirable their jeans were that good and. it's a it's ironic to me because you. don't think of the South as being much. of a trend Setter but it set the trend. of adoption in the United States it. started in the South and just kind of. spread from there but out of the out of. the gate she targeted adoptive parents. wealthy ones in New York and. California yeah for sure um you know we. we already talked about the kidnapping. uh she was. uh sometimes she would drive around in a.

limousine in a neighborhood so kids. would could run out to her car that were. all excited and take them um she would. and this. was I'm having a hard time even reading. this part but she would go to new. mothers who had just given birth in the. hospital and tell them that their infant. was dead and steal the baby yeah that. was a common trick another one was she. would present um mothers who' just given. birth who might still be under the.

effects of anesthesia or something like. that with papers um and said just sign. these these are like you know standard. paperwork for having a baby and they. were actually full adoption papers so. even if you could say you stole my baby. there were cases where she could point. to paperwork that said no you signed. your kid away sorry clearly you um. you're you're crazy essentially she also. had a network of of nurses like it's she.

was in some cases present in these in. the hospital and spoke with some of the. mothers but she also had like nurses. working for her that would either trick. the mothers themselves or would just. outright steal babies from. nurseries yeah nurses and fake people. dressed as nurses yeah uh yeah I mean. it's literally not her the whole time. this is a very very big operation so you. know earlier when you said no one uh no. one in power to stop it like no one inow. that was on the Dole yeah and in.

particular there was one woman a judge. named uh Camille Kelly one of two women. judges in the south at the time who was. a progressive um and a juvenile court. judge and she was fully in Georgia Tan's. pocket fully cooperated there's a um a. writer named Barbara Raymond who wrote A. probably the most exhaustive account of. this whole horrible chapter of American. History um and she estimated that. Camille Kelly judge Kelly supplied.

Georgia Tan with about 20% of the kids. that she kidnapped so that would put it. at about thousand kids that judge Kelly. essentially handed over to Georgia Tan. to steal and sell yeah and that's like. that's things that judge Kelly was doing. as far as bending the rules sealing. adoption records signing off on false. paperwork stuff like that and fraud to. driving around herself uh there was. supposedly a a Catholic orphanage in. Memphis where uh the nuns would like.

hide the what they called the prettiest. children whenever judge Kelly pulled up. outside yeah just unbelievable it is. super super just terrible I saw an. interview with a woman who um is now. today and has been for a while trying to. connect these people to their original. biological families if they want to see. him her name is Denny glad and um she. was asked what what she would say to. Georgia Tan she said the exact same. thing I I wanted to say like like how.

how could you do this like what was your. mindset that allowed you to do this over. and over again because as bad as. kidnapping got as bad as the just the. corruption that was associated with it. and in stealing and selling babies some. of them were not adoptable so she had. them on her hands and as just looking at. these kids as products if you had a bad. product why would you sink any more. money into keeping that product around.

if it wasn't going to make you any money. and so the kids who stayed at the home. with her um they they're they were often. Mal nursed sometimes they would starve. to death they if they had any medical. issues they would go untreated they. wouldn't get medicine um they were just. left to die essentially because they. weren't worth the investment as far as. Georgia Tan was concerned and her entire. job. was to help kids like that but kids like.

that couldn't be sold so they didn't. deserve any of her time or attention or. funding yeah the um and this is a. horrific statistic but uh the death toll. at her orphanage is estimated between. five and 600 kids uh obviously most of. them uh infants and babies and this is. staggering but it was so many children. died under her care she may have. actually infect affected the infant. mortality rate in Memphis uh because in.

1932 8 years into her her stint there uh. Memphis had the highest infant uh infant. mortality rate in the country yeah I. know that's no accident so um one of the. other things too is she wasn't reporting. these deaths she reported 19 children's. death yeah the other 500 to 600 the rest. of the 500 to 600 were never reported no. one knows where they are no one knows. where they were buried they're just gone. and so I think in 2016 Memphis um raised.

a a a memorial over a mass grave that. had been discovered with I think 40 40. kids or maybe that was the 19 I think. they found a grave um with those kids in. it and they erected a memorial to those. kids and all the others who were just. lost to history and time um and it was. just a it was a terrible place to be um. but being adopted out wasn't necessarily. much better you said that the babies. were were advertised as blank slates um.

not all of the kids that were sold were. babies um and she didn't screen the the. adoptive parents so there were kids that. were extremely uh vulnerable to the idea. to uh sexual abuse and apparently they. also endured sexual abuse in the home as. well yeah and the just the the mental. damage of being ripped away from your. biological family yeah. that too so I say we take a second break.

and we must muster the will to finish. this thing yeah and uh we'll be back and. talk about some of those um pretty. high-powered people in Tennessee that. were on the Dole right after this. [Music]. [Music].

all right so um we I want to say yeah I. guess we've made it through the worst. part but it's not like anything gets. much better um we talked about how she. was uh Georgia Tan was able to get away. with this she did this from 1924 to 1950. like you said and you can't do that. without the um cooperation of. essentially the city that you're working.

in and lucky for her the mayor of um of. Memphis at the time was a guy named ed. Crump and uh if you want to know. anything all you need to know about Ed. Crump you just need to know his nickname. which was boss Crump and he was a. progressive mayor who really cared about. the city and was extraordinarily corrupt. himself yeah so there was there was boss. Crump uh and then there was this other. guy guy an attorney named Abe walau M.

who she hired as her personal attorney. and he also worked as the attorney for. the agency was also a very. influential guy and successful lobbyist. uh in between walau and Crump um she. basically got whatever she wanted um she. got records falsified she got records. sealed uh if there were laws that didn't. drive with what was going on they had. the power to get those laws changed. Crump had a lot of sway at least and.

we'll talk about this in a minute to a. at least to a certain point on the. governor's office uh and they just you. know they were all getting Kickbacks. everyone was on the Dole so they would. do whatever she wanted yeah so the. operation from what I saw essentially. went she would go to Camille Kelly the. judge that was in her pocket and say hey. these are these are things that would. make my life a lot easier as far as laws. are concerned and then judge Kelly would. go to the legislature. um Andor uh boss Crump probably both and.

say hey here at Family Court these are. some laws that are really kind of making. things unnecessarily difficult and. hurting families let's get these changed. so they would actually change laws to. help Georgia Tan steal and sell babies. more. efficiently yeah I mean and this kind of. just shows how manipulative she was uh. there is actual like letterhead from. Judge Kelly written in her hand writing. to the attorney Abe walow So like this.

was the attorney working for Georgia Tan. instead of Georgia Tan going to him she. would manipulate go around him to the. judge to get her to write the suggestion. to Abe waldow who had then Lobby in. pressure on her behalf which was really. on uh Tan's behalf so as as like um I. guess kind of alien a concept modern. adoption was at the time Tennessee had a. pretty good law on its books that dated.

back to. 1852 and there were requirements that. were sensible and smart um if you wanted. to adopt a kid from Tennessee first of. all you had to be from Tennessee the. adopted parents had to be from Tennessee. yeah I don't know about that one but. fine right right but I'm just saying if. you if you look at what Georgia Tan was. doing this was yeah that was not in step. with that at all secondly if you were um. a birth mother a judge needed to ser. certify that you were voluntarily giving.

your kid up yeah right still the case. yeah uh orphanages needed to investigate. the adoptive parents great idea and you. needed to follow up with the the kid and. make sure that that the child was being. treated well in their new adoptive home. these were the 1852 laws and if you look. at what Georgia Tan was doing out in the. open just the stuff people knew about. none of it checked any of those boxes. yeah and she you know because of that.

she got a lot of these laws changed to. suit her racket which is just. unbelievable that this was going on yeah. one of them that got me was um you. didn't need a judge to certify any. longer that the mom was voluntary. surrendering a notary public could do it. and so Georgia Tan would have one of her. employees certify the basically falsify. these records um there was another thing. that was a really important um outcome. of all of this and that is that she. lobbied for secrecy and adoption her.

whole premise was that it saved um unwed. mothers the shame and social stigma of. being known as unwed mothers publicly. having files open available to the. public showing that they had had a child. out of wedlock and um that that that was. in the in the family's best favor for. these records to be. sealed that's still what people say. today that there's like it in states.

where secrecy is still a thing in. adoption it's to protect the the. biological parents rights in case they. don't want to be found right um that. aside all of the the the is that still a. thing yeah in some states I think. California still has really strict. secrecy laws around adoption oh my God. that well I thought that was just for. old adoption records no so that's like. the current thing no no no I'm sorry I'm. sorry starting in about the 0s that it. opened up adoption became much more open.

but it didn't retroactively affect. anybody whose adoption took place before. the 80s yeah yeah okay so okay so but. those those laws are still in the book. so those people are still have their. record sealed and that includes Georgia. Tan's kids but all that aside that whole. quandry and um argument about whether. that's a legitimate way to do adoption. or not she that had nothing to do with. why she wanted to do it she wanted to do. it because once she got those records. sealed and she soon was able to do that.

as a matter of course after that law was. passed um there was no finding the kid. any longer and like you legally could. not get your hands on any records that. would lead you to your biological kid. they were just gone yeah well and uh not. more importantly but more commonly. probably uh that kid can't find their. parents yes their biological parents. that is yeah and then even if you did I. think get your hands on the records. she's so frequently monkeyed with the.

records and falsified them that they. might not even lead you to your birth. parent to begin with yeah so uh we would. love to tell you that there was a uh an. ending to this where Georgia Tan um was. um made responsible for her crimes uh. sadly that is not the case um I. mentioned earlier that Crump eventually. uh had sway over the governor's office. that was in.

1950 when um uh Governor Gordon Browning. became Governor started getting these. letters from people talking about. Georgia Tan um being blackmailed keep. silent things like that so he launched. uh Browning launched an investigation. into the OR orphanage headed by uh. Robert Taylor special Council um but. here's here's the thing is uh Georgia. Tan had uh very aggressive uterine. cancer was dying fast and Browning held.

off on making all this public until she. died on September 15th 1950 at the age. of 58 yeah which is like it really ticks. you off about Browning like why would. you extend any modicum of of courtesy to. to Georgia Tan at all but Browning's. General um motivation for this wasn't to. prosecute her it was to embarrass boss. Crump and to ER some of his political. clout cuz he was so powerful he he could.

like get governors elected like he was a. really powerful mayor um and so this. really helped like embarrass him and um. he he just became illegitimate in a lot. of people's eyes when this came out that. this was happening under his watch and. how could he possibly have not known. about it so that was one reason why he. held it back because boss Crump was. still going to be around after George. tan died luckily in my eyes a couple of. reporters um from different newspapers.

in Memphis got a hold of the story and. they broke it before she. died yeah I think um I mean just a. couple of days before she died so I like. to think that there was some great shame. visited upon her uh who knows I doubt it. because I think she felt Justified the. whole time because her whole deal was. I'm taking these babies out of these out. of these houses where these undesirables. are shouldn't be having kids to begin. with you know and so what if if I make. some money I I'm going to a lot of. trouble I just looked up boss Crump for.

the first time for some reason I didn't. look it up earlier did you see him he he. looks more like boss R. Chrome he would he looks like you would. think he would look basically so that. investigation that robbert Taylor headed. up uh led to a lawsuit from the state of. Tennessee against Georgia's estate. Georgia Tan estate um and apparently so. we said that she was in a lifelong. relationship with her partner an Atwood. um who supposedly was a a good person um.

she just happened to love a monster I. guess I don't know I don't know about I. don't know how to square that one. her I can't remember who who went to I. think her niece or something her. surviving niece went to bat for was like. no she was actually a really good person. at any rate an Atwood this is a rather. ironic twist if you ask me Georgia Tan. adopted an Atwood which was a fairly. common technique among gay couples back. in the day to ensure that your partner.

would receive your estate so Georgia Tan. the the woman who would steal babies and. sell them out for adoption popularized. adoption uh in America adopted her. partner um in her old age a couple years. before she died yeah and that was a. lawsuit that you mentioned um it wasn't. about the abuse or the kidnapping though. it was about basically the excess funds. like the victims in that case were.

parents who uh overpaid in their mind. for kids cuz like I said she was I think. the adoption fee was like $700 she was. charging up to five grand so that was. what the civil case was about um she. they sued the estate for. $500,000 uh only got a little more than. 50 Grand in the end uh so you know there. was there was never any justice for. these families basically no and some. people have actually found one another.

there was a a very famous um episode of. Unsolved Mysteries or a famous case that. came out of Unsolved Mysteries in 1990. where a woman named Alma Sipple was. watching Unsolved Mysteries as you did. in 1990 I can attest and on TV they. flashed a picture of Georgia Tan they're. talking about this case and Elma Sipple. said later that she just came out of her. chair and recognized her immediately as. the woman who had swindled her out of. her baby and um from from that from. watching that they they ended up um.

reuniting she reunited with her birth. daughter named Sandra um and then. there's a few other people who have um. worked to find their successfully find. their biological family and again Denny. glad has been really instrumental and. trying to sue Tennessee into opening up. these records in particular for Georgia. Tan's victims um so that they can find. their biological families and her uh. organization is called Tennessee's right. to know. uh Joan Crawford's daughters found their. biological family oh yeah yep those two.

girls did um and hey you made me laugh. in that last bit I got you got one laugh. out of me in this episode when you said. uh watch an Unsolved Mysteries as you do. in 1990 I can attest you like that huh. you got a chuckle I didn't think I was. going to laugh at all okay well then. this this episode's finally complete uh. if you want to watch a movie there's a. TV movie from 93 called stolen babies. little on the nose uh starring Mary. Tyler Moore she won a Emy I'm told it.

was or the reviews I read you know said. she was pretty remarkable in that role I. saw ad for it she looked pretty she did. Despicable really well sure Mary Tyler. Moore can do that she's got she's got. range and Leah Thompson was the woman. who opposed her I'm not sure if she was. based on anybody or not oh 93 Le oh yeah. I guess that was that's right in her. wheelhouse and if you're like stolen. babies that's a great band name well. you're a little late to the party. because there actually is a band called. Stillen babies of course there is so uh.

actor and um movie developer Octavius. Spencer who is wonderful uh option that. book that we were talking about who who. was the author again uh Barbara bance. Raymond and the book she wrote was baby. Thief colon un the untold story of. Georgia Tan comma The Babys seller who. corrupted adoption it's a long title uh. but I was kind of curious because. Octavius. Spencer uh I wasn't surprised I was just. like I wonder you know if she is adopted.

or has adopted like if there was just. some uh some pull um for this story for. her um personally and that is not the. case but she did uh play an adoption. case worker in a movie a few years ago. that movie which I didn't see instant. family with Rose Burn and maky mock so. um maybe just being in that role kind of. I know she that she studied and and. interviewed a lot of um adoption case. worker so that may have just sort of. pequ her interest yeah maybe so uh well.

if you want to know more about Georgia. Tan and you can stomach it there's some. stuff out there to read on the internet. um but you will probably keep running. into Barbara Raymond's book so you might. as well just read that and get it over. with uh and since I said that it's time. for listener. mail uh another Peanuts email there's. going to be three total cuz we got a lot. of great emails about the. peanuts uh but the the best one is. coming soon uh this one's pretty good.

cuz it's an actual correction on. something I said. Josh hey guys peanuts episode was. awesome grew up with the series of. peanuts and they were pretty much the. only thing I read as a child I'm so glad. you reminded me of so many little. details uh the only thing you guys said. that was wrong and and Lish here didn't. call me out but I remember saying this. uh was it Sally was the one talking. about her naturally curly hair I totally. got that wrong that was Freda. [Music]. oh really yeah Freda had the red curly.

hair and she was always going my. naturally curly hair cuz I think she I. think she was kind of crushing on. Charlie Brown which obviously wouldn't. have been Sally so I just got that all. wrong I see I got you uh anyway you guys. are great hope you do uh occasionally do. podcast into your 9s at. least uh thank you for your research. dedication and great sense of humor plus. I was born in 1971 so Chuck and I often. syn up to your memories and that is from. Lish Lish with the brain meld on Chuck.

how's that feel feels great uh well. thanks a lot Lish that was a great. peenuts uh email I can't imagine what. the the third in the trifect is going to. be if it's even better than that Chuck I. can't imagine I think you know but. unless you didn't see it I don't know if. I did or not I'm going to have to go. sort through them I'll just say the wall. oh yeah yeah okay I do know one that a. good one uh if you want to be like Lish. and get in touch with us you can send us. an email too send it off to stuff. podcast iheartradio.com.

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