The Journey of Hope: From Tragedy to Triumph

By Patricia Hope

The Journey of Hope - presents the authors struggles to uncover personal history long hidden by the Tennessee Childrens Home Society (TCHS). Beginning chapters describe why she was taken from her mother and handed over to Georgia Tann at TCHS in 1936 at the age of four.

Early memories include riding in the "big black car" that took her from Memphis to Odessa, Texas to a family that added the name Patricia and gave her a new life.

In 1987 she decides to confront her past and search for her birth parents and the truth behind her legal abduction and illegal adoption. What she discovers is both joyous and harrowing. She tells of the process of finding siblings and visiting the graves of her parents and Tann.

Her work discusses her rejuvenated commitment to God and faith and how she forgave Tann who sold children for profit and the judge that facilitated her efforts.

Crafted from personal experiences, this is a moving account that has a strong authorial voice that resonates throughout. The work is confidently written, drawing the reader into the fabric of the story. The pain and emotion is subtly woven into the richly textured narrative, making for affecting reading.

From Tragedy to Triumph explores how her devotion has guided her through the emotional process and helped her see the hope in an unfortunate situation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 23, 2003
• ISBN: 9781410719867

Patricia Hope

Patricia Hope is a first time author with no acclaim to fame except as a wife, mother and entrepreneur. During her 70 years she has lived from coast to coast including Okinawa. Home base is Hobbs, New Mexico, where at the age of 58 and single, when most folks think of retiring, she became the founder of Chapel of Hope Funeral Home, which she owned and managed before selling. She and her second husband have spent extended periods of time in Memphis, Tennessee where she also feels at "home." By telling her story, which includes her spiritual growth, she hopes that it will encourage others on their journey through life.

Book preview

The Journey of Hope-

From Tragedy to Triumph

Patricia Hope-

© 2003, 2012 by Patricia Hope-. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4107-1986-7 (e-book)

ISBN: 978-1-4107-1987-4 (Paperback)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003090687

1stBooks-rev. 02/14/2012

Dedicated

To all the children and their families whose lives were altered under the control of Georgia Tann at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, Tennessee.

Especially in memory of my birth-mother, my adoptive-mother, and the little boy that wanted a sister.

Also to all my birth and adoptive relations. None of this would have been possible without the knowledge of how each one of you have been a part of the pattern of my life.

To my adopted-daughter Kathryn. Not only do I know the joy and pain of being an adopted child, but also of being an adoptive-mother.

My companion Louis, who made the long trips with me, so I could visit the graves of my birth mother, father, grandparents, and Georgia Tann.

Acknowledgment

A special thanks to my friends Pat Dunlap and Bessie Triplett for encouraging me to write this book. Also to everyone who has suggested that I record my testimony and to Doris for doing the proof reading.

To the Search Counselor and Juvenile Officer in Memphis, a great big thanks. To the Lady in Nashville for your part in digging through old records and locating a birth-brother.

To the kind and understanding folks in Battle Creek, Michigan for all your help in locating my birth-mother’s grave. Especially to the funeral director and the staff at the nursing home for taking time to share with me about my birth-mother. .

To the special couple in Hickory, Mississippi for showing us where Georgia Tann’s grave is located, and for opening up your home and hearts to us as we prepared to continue on with our trip.

Most of all to my Heavenly Father for making all this possible. I will forever be grateful and praise Your Holy Name.

Author’s Note

Through the years, more often than I can recall, I have been told that I should write a book about my life, including the time spent at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, Tennessee. I laughed about it, joked at the idea, and procrastinated. After trying to convince myself, I couldn’t, I knew that when the time was right, I could do it, not with my ability, but in the strength of Jesus Christ.

Now the time has come, and by the power and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, I will attempt to tell my story. The main purpose is to bring praise, honor, and glory to God my Father. He was there all the way. It is my prayer this testimony will encourage and strengthen others along the way.

Before you begin reading, please close your eyes, open your heart in prayer, and ask God to reveal to you the message that He wants you to receive.

Introduction

The Tennessee Children’s Home Society, a private child placement agency, was established in Nashville in l897. The Memphis, Shelby County Branch opened in l922. Georgia Tann, the daughter of a Mississippi judge, moved to Memphis in l924 to become the first superintendent.

In l941, Georgia Tann requested and was granted a separate charter of incorporation, and the Shelby County Branch became independent of Nashville. She then had complete control over the finances and could make her own contracts and child placement decisions with no reference to Nashville. The 1930S and 1940S were flourishing years. Hundreds of children were placed in foster homes, and Georgia Tann became a national authority on child placement procedures.

Mrs. Camille Kelley was appointed to succeed her late husband at

Juvenile Court in 1920. She ruled the Juvenile Court with an ironhand and had a tendency to declare children wards of the state withunnecessary haste. It was reported, Judge Kelley pressured parents into surrendering their children and treated temporary family problems as if they were permanent ones. She had control of the Juvenile Court in the same way that Georgia Tann had control of the Children’s Home.

The first hint of trouble within the Children’s Home Society came in l941, but it was not until l950 that an investigation would begin. For years various accusations were made against Georgia Tann and the Children’s Home, but nothing was done until l948 when Sam Bates, the Probate Court Judge for Shelby County, sent a detailed letter to the Public Welfare Commissioner in Nashville, asking that a complete, thorough and unbiased investigation be made. His letter was ignored and there was no investigation. Makes one wonder just how many people were involved in this black market baby scheme. Nashville had given Georgia Tann free reign with the Children’s Home and then they looked the other way.

In l948, Gordon Browning was elected Governor of Tennesseeand in l950, he appointed Robert Taylor to investigate the scandalthat had been brewing for nearly a decade. As the Children’s Homeconspiracy began to unravel, Memphis and the world would find outwhat was really going on. Georgia Tann was never told of the investigation because of her critical illness. She died of cancer on September 15, 1950 at the age of fifty-nine.

Judge Kelley refused to let her court records be seen by the investigator. On November 9, 1950, three months after the investigation began, and within forty-eight hours after she had been requested to submit her courts files, she announced her resignation from Juvenile Court. She was never brought to trial. There may have been a gentleman’s agreement between the investigator and the city authorities that no further investigations would be made into her activities if she agreed to resign. Camille Kelley died in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1955.

In the fall of l950, after being in operation for twenty-eight years, the Tennessee Children’s Home Society was put out of business by court order. Fifty years has passed since the closing of the Children’s Home, and there is still a certain amount of mystery and public interest about it. To all of us thousands of children whose lives were altered by Georgia Tann, Judge Kelley and others involved in the operation, there will always be unanswered questions.

Note: Information pertaining to the Children’s Home and participants was taken from various articles copied from files at the public library. Personal family information was obtained from the Juvenile Court files.

Chapter 1

In The Beginning

I am Hope, a child of God, even before I was aware of Him, or His presence in my life on the journey I was to travel.

Where is the beginning? How do I go back to my beginning, when I do not have any memories of the first four and one half years of my life? I can not remember the woman who gave birth to me and was a part of my infant years. I did not know my mother’s name was Margaret until I began researching old court records in 1987.

I learned that Margaret had married a man named Charles in 1922. They were both from Michigan, but moved to Memphis, Tennessee, soon after they married. They had a son and a daughter and apparently a very stormy marriage.

Before their marriage ended in a bitter divorce, Charles took Margaret and their two children and moved them back to Michigan to be near her mother. These were very difficult years for everyone because of the Great Depression. Margaret and Charles continued to fight over the custody of their two children.

It was during this time that Margaret met Leo and they started living together. In 1932, the year of my birth, our Nation was trying to recover from the depression. Families were struggling to survive. Many had been separated, as men left their homes searching for work. Some never returned to their families and others returned, only to find their wives and children gone.

On September 21st, I was born into this state of turmoil, hatred and strife. Margaret gave birth to me in the small town of Cheboygan, Michigan, which is located in the upper northern part of the state. When living conditions were at the lowest, Margaret gave me life and named me Hope.

Even after my birth, Charles still refused to give Margaret a divorce, so she left Leo and returned to Memphis to see if she and Charles could work out the custody battle. Margaret had left Memphis with two children, now she was returning with them and a new baby named Hope, who had been fathered by another man. Coping with the depression probably seemed minor compared to what she and Charles had to deal with upon her return.

After a period of time, Margaret again left Memphis, taking us three kids with her. She returned to Michigan and went back to Leo. She and Charles were still fighting over their children and it would be some months later that their divorce was final. She was free to marry Leo and in 1936, she gave birth to their son in Detroit.

Nineteen days after giving birth, Margaret boarded a train for Memphis. She had her hands full with me, the new baby and her two older children. Her plans were to pack up the few belongings that she had left with Charles. Since she had to return to the house they had once shared together, she knew that there would be trouble between them, but there was no way she could have known how that trip would change her life and the lives of all four of her children forever.

Upon her arrival, Charles became very angry. While she was packing, he called the police and had her arrested. The police took Margaret and us to Juvenile Court, where she had to appear before Judge Kelley. The judge then ordered that the baby and I be takenfrom Margaret and turned over to the court. Her two older children were placed in the custody of their father, Charles. I never saw my birth-mother again.

Chapter 2

Taken and Placed

On November 23, 1936, at the age of four years, four months and two days, I was taken from my mother and placed in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. This seems to be when my life began.

This chapter is mostly about my mother Margaret. As I read through the court records I began to understand what happened that day, and why we were taken from her. Even though I do not remember being in the room with her, I can picture the scene in my mind.

While Margaret was packing, we played and watched her. Suddenly the police arrived and probably it was very frightening, with all the confusion and turmoil, as she was being arrested and we were all taken to the Juvenile Court Building. Margaret told the police officer that she did not know what all the trouble was about, she was only packing up what belonged to her. The records stated that Hope was very polite and shook hands with the police officer.

Later when Charles arrived to pick up their two children, he admitted to the police that the things were rightfully hers, but it was too late to help her. Charles had wanted full custody of their children and now he had them in his care. He had no interest in me or the baby.

Appearing before Judge Kelley, Margaret didn’t have a chance. The judge also had very strong ties with Georgia Tann and the Children’s Home, and she had the authority to make the final decisions. She could take children from their parents when she wanted to, and place them in the care of Georgia Tann and there wasn’t anyone to stop her.

The battle was over me. Judge Kelley tried to force Margaret into signing a paper to give me up for adoption. Margaret refused and made the statement, I will never give up my little girl, Hope. She also refused to sign any papers for me to be taken to the Children’s Home. Margaret told the judge that Leo’s sister would care for me until everything was straightened out. Judge Kelley refused to honor her request. Why the judge was unwilling to release me back to my mother is a mystery that will never be known.

After Margaret refused to sign the papers, Judge Kelley took me and the baby from her. The judge told her the court would keep us until she got her personal affairs in order and then we would be released back to her. When Margaret left that court room, I do not believe she knew that she would never see us again.

When we were placed in the Children’s Home, Georgia Tann had no intentions of releasing us back to our mother. We were children that she could sell in her black market baby business.

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TCHS director Georgia Tann (left) and Judge Camille Kelley (right) were accomplices in the unethical child adoption practices of the TCHS during the 1940s.

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The midtown house at 1556 Poplar where Hope was taken and where Georgia Tann temporarily housed young children and babies no longer stands.

Chapter 3

Courage and Determination

I will share with you the memories that I have of the Children’s Home and how they have become a testimony of God guiding the steps of a child named Hope.

The house that we were placed in was located on Poplar Street in downtown Memphis. There was a large back yard with lots of trees. I knew that I did not belong there and was going to leave. I remember taking a baby carriage, which probably