Active Search Profile Details

Debi_Norman

My Grandmother’s Adoption and the Search for her Siblings As told by Debi Norman (Aka Deborah Shea Nunnally Norman) My grandmother’s name at birth (10/8/1914) was Pearl Harriet Gotham and was later adopted by a couple from Lowell‚ Indiana. Their names were Otto and Dora Lloyd. My grandmother’s name had been changed to Iretta Pearl Lloyd. When she married‚ her new last name now became Svinning. She had married Charles Peter Svinning and they had seven children together. Dora‚ Virginia‚ Emma‚ Charles‚ Roger‚ Margaret and Michael. My mother was Margaret Gale. In 2020‚ a woman named Carol reached out to me asking if I was familiar with any adoptions in my family. I learned from Carol that my grandmother had 3 siblings and Carol’s grandmother (June) and my grandmother (Pearl/Iretta) were sisters. Unfortunately‚ we don’t know much about what happened to the other siblings. The names of the children were Marian (b.1913)‚ Pearl (b. 10/8/1914)‚ Baby Boy Gotham (b. 10/18/1916) and June (b. 3/2/1918). All born in Chicago‚ IL. Both Carol and I had already submitted our DNA along with our mothers so we could narrow down individuals that we both matched with that neither of us knew. We assumed that these must be the descendants from either Marian and/or Baby Boy Gotham. We have emailed all of them‚ but as of this writing no one has replied. I learned that Carol‘s grandmother June started looking for her siblings back in 1985. She was 67 at the time. June had spent the rest of her life‚ searching and documenting her search by writing several journals. One booklet was specifically devoted to her search for her siblings‚ her mother‚ grandmother‚ and one was devoted to the her husband and the love of her life Holland Lyons. (Just to name a few). June passed away in 2006 when she was 88 years old. Unfortunately‚ she never found out what happened to any of her siblings. In June’s search she found out that her two eldest siblings‚ Marion and Pearl (my grandmother) had been given to their father’s family to raise. Their father‚ Herman Gotham pasted away in 1916. Shortly after their birth. (Marion‚ Pearl‚ and Baby Boy Gotham’s parents were Herman Gotham and Emma Meyers. June’s father was Harry Craley). Sadly‚ Baby Boy Gotham was not named at birth and had been given away to a famous female doctor known for assisting unwed mothers. Her name was Dr. Alice Wynekoop. When June found out‚ she immediately located the doctor’s home and paid her a visit. The doctors daughter in law answered the door and Dr. Wynekoop soon appeared behind. June was immediately dismissed once the reason for her visit became known. The next day June learned from the newspaper headlines that Dr. Wynekoop had murdered her daughter-in-law. June couldn’t help but think if her visit had something to do with the daughter in laws demise. June never spoke of this to anyone. I went on to research Dr. Wynekoop and found out that she had ties with a man who worked at a hospital in Chicago. This man owned a farm located in Beulah‚ Michigan. His name was Rev. Edward L. Brooks. Apparently‚ Mr. Brooks worked in the same field as the doctor. Supposedly helping unwed mothers and their babies. Unfortunately‚ it was discovered there were multiple baby graves that had been found at this farm. I had stumbled across an article from Time magazine that was dated 1935. The article said that Dr. Wynkoop referred many of her patients to Mr. Brooks. It was interesting to learn that even John Dillinger and Mary Evelyn Frechette had an illegitimate child that ended up at the farm. The baby only lived for 3 months. Sadly‚ I can’t help but wonder if my grandmother’s brother ended up at that farm as well. Time Magazine Article “Medicine: Baby Farm” FEBRUARY 4‚ 1935 https://time.com/archive/6779447/medicine-baby-farm/