From the archives: Remembering the Peacock Babies

Around 50 years ago, Reverend John Peacock, Anglican Minister of Cowansville, freely placed children who were born at the Brome-Missisquoi Perkins Hospital up for adoption. As these children grew up and wanted to know more about their birth parents, he refused to help or to provide any information. They are known as the ‘Peacock Babies’ and they have a story to be told. In the late 1960s, unwed teenage mothers were placing their newborn children up for adoption with the help of Reverend John Peacock. These placements were done privately in the Peacock home and background checks of the adoptive families did not take place. However, at the time they were considered legal and private adoptions were not something out of the ordinary. After giving birth, many of these teenage mothers only saw their child for a slim instant, some didn’t get to see their child at all, and then they were taken away. Nurses who worked at the hospital stated at the time that that it was not unusual to have a Peacock Baby in the maternity ward. As the children grew up, they wanted more information about their birth parents and the family that they came from. Mothers were also searching for information about the child they had to give up many years ago. See full story in the Aug. 20 edition of the Brome County News.