Butterbox babies was a term used to describe the infants and young children who were subjected to abuse and neglect at the Ideal Maternity Home, also known as the Butterbox Baby Home, in East Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada during the 1930s and 1940s. The home was operated by William and Lila Young, who claimed to be providing a safe and nurturing environment for pregnant women and their children. However, the reality was far from this.
The Youngs operated the home as a profit-making venture, and they did not prioritize the well-being of the mothers and children in their care. Many of the women who stayed at the home were young, unmarried, and socially marginalized, and they were often forced to give up their children for adoption. The Youngs routinely lied to these women about the condition of their children and their chances of adopting them back, and they also pressured them into signing over their parental rights.
The conditions at the Butterbox Baby Home were abysmal. The infants and young children were often malnourished and severely neglected, and they were housed in cramped, unsanitary conditions. Many of them died from malnutrition, dehydration, and other preventable causes. The Youngs also routinely lied to the authorities about the number of deaths at the home and buried the bodies in shallow graves on the property.
The abuse and neglect at the Butterbox Baby Home was only uncovered in the late 1940s, when a former employee came forward with information about the conditions at the home. The Youngs were charged with manslaughter and were eventually sentenced to life in prison. However, they only served a few years before being released on parole.
The Butterbox Baby Home scandal was a shocking and tragic reminder of the importance of protecting the most vulnerable members of society. It highlights the need for better oversight and regulation of institutions that are responsible for the care of children and the need to hold those who abuse and neglect children accountable for their actions. It is also a reminder of the importance of advocating for the rights of marginalized and disadvantaged groups, particularly women and children, who are often the victims of abuse and neglect.
Ideal Maternity Home
In the fall, a New Jersey newspaper reported that the smuggling scheme had been uncovered. The home was the source of babies for an illegal trade in infants between Canada and the United States. . The title of Bette Cahill's book, Butterbox Babies is a reference to the "butter boxes," wooden grocery crates from a local dairy used as coffins for the babies killed at the Ideal Maternity Home. From 1928 to 1945 the unlicensed Ideal Maternity Home promised both maternity care for local married couples and provided private birthing and placement of children of unwed mothers. Much attention has been given to the neglect of infants at the Home, the exorbitant fees paid by adoptive parents, and the secretive nature of the transactions. What effect did their shaky beginnings have on their later lives? The Youngs were then arraigned on 8 counts including violation of the Maternity Boarding House Act and practicing medicine without a license.
Butterbox Babies, babies murdered and buried in butterboxes as coffins, the "Ideal Maternity Home"
Much attention has been given to the neglect of infants at the Home, the exorbitant fees paid by adoptive parents, and the secretive nature of the transactions. There was no government support for unwed mothers, nor was there any community support. Now, Saia and as many as 40 other adoptees living in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Camden and Union counties are discovering their identities within the pages of a paperback book, linking them to a dark chapter in Canada's history. They put it on their letterhead! In this comprehensive book, author and Survivor Robert Hartlen has compiled the personal stories of thirty six of the adult adoptees who survived the Ideal Maternity Home. The Ideal Maternity Home was opened by Lila and William Young along Nova Scotia's south shore in February, 1928 as a health sanatorium; but it quickly became a specialized maternity service for unwed mothers. Lila Young was a trained midwife and found her skills much in demand.
'The Child Remains': The true story behind the 'Butterbox Babies' who were sold, starved to death in a maternity home
Frank Roy Davis was appointed to the Public Health portfolio, and he was introduced to problems at the Ideal Maternity Home. How many more babies died after that? Now, Saia and as many as 40 other adoptees living in the U. But then again, maybe they did. In a typical case, recalled by Shatford from April 1938, an unnamed infant lay in the Youngs tool shed for five days, covered by a box, before it was driven to Fox Point for burial. Lila and William Young made money.
Now, after three years of research and scores of interviews from coast to coast, author Bette Cahill reveals the truth about the Home, its owners, the babies who were born there, and those who died there. New Jersey officials came to his aid as they were also trying to crack down on illegal adoptions and baby smuggling. However, the heyday of the war years had ended. Up to this time the Home was permitted to operate without license 17 years. The home, scheduled for conversion into a resort hotel, burned to the ground on September 23, 1962. The home had elegant turrets and was surrounded by expansive lawns and greenery and most important to the Youngs - mortgage free.
Some adoption rejects--including children of mixed race or those with physical defects--were reportedly starved to death on a diet of water and molasses. Did they feel like "family"? By 1933 some people were taking an interest in the Home. Some babies were too sickly, or handicapped, or unattractive, or deformed to be adopted. For money of course. But Saia, now a 52-year-old social worker from Union Township, said she has always felt incomplete without knowing who she was and where she came from.
The revelations about the butter box burials came after. Their reputation was now in tatters and their baby farming empire was exposed as the heartless, mercenary operation that it was. This dark chapter in Canadian history has been documented in several books, plays and a movie. The unsanitary conditions the babies and young mothers lived in were increasingly squalid until it became dangerous for their health. William was a chiropractor and Lila was a midwife, although she advertised herself as an obstetrician. Miracles out of the horror Ideal Maternity Home survivors, once confused and saddened by the choices their mothers made, have a newfound sympathy for their sacrifice.
Butterbox Babies: Baby Sales, Baby Deaths. The Scandalous Story of the Ideal Maternity Home by Bette Cahill
Over the next few years there were many changes, some of which William did himself. But the Youngs' downfall came in 1947, after they filed a libel suit against the Montreal Standard Publishing Company for its coverage of the home, according to the Cahill book. The Liberal Party swept into office and Dr. Their little bodies were first hidden in a tool shed, then finally laid to rest in butter boxes obtained from a local grocer. In some cases, they even told the local mothers that their child had died so that they could use it for their benefit. Those were crippling prices for the 1920s. But what became of the children who were adopted? Another mother admitted she was made to lie in adoption records and indicate her baby was Jewish.
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During this period the laws in the US forbid adoption across religious backgrounds. So what happened to these biracial babies, these handicapped babies, these sick babies? In 1939 the Youngs paid off their mortgage on the Maternity Home, and then built their own home, a three story house containing nine bedrooms, three bathrooms, den, dining room, living room and kitchen. When The Maternity Boarding House Act was amended in 1940, they applied for one but were refused. She was a midwife but claimed to be an obstetrician. Other families knew they were getting non-Jewish babies but were either comfortable enough or desperate enough to take them," Balcom said.
This dark tale is from the 1930s at the Ideal Maternity Home in East Chester, Nova Scotia. She had an overwhelming presence and a great sense of power. It is said that the real number of murdered infants can never be known, the official number lays between 500 and 700 babies Lila and William murdered. Lila Young decided which babies to sacrifice in the name of cost-cutting. They opened "The Life and Health Sanitarium", later called the Ideal Maternity Home in East Chester, Nova Scotia in February 1928. What effect did their shaky beginnings have on their later lives? They are also said to have separated and created siblings and twins according to what their customers wanted.
They barely made ends meet at first with their handful of patients. In this comprehensive book, author and Survivor Robert Hartlen has compiled the personal stories of thirty six of the adult adoptees who survived the Ideal Maternity Home. Much attention has been given to the neglect of infants at the Home, the exorbitant fees paid by adoptive parents, and the secretive nature of the transactions. Over the next six years they bought new cars and land and continued to add to their assets. A group of the Survivors of the Ideal Maternity Home, now scattered throughout the U. Brochures for the home promised to shield Expectant Mothers from gossip, but every service had its price.
