The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-03-03
MOTHER OF II, NOT
.'' MOTHER AT ALL
MRS. SOUTH ADMITS POOLING
" HUSBANDS AND OTHERS BY
ADOPTING CHILDREN.

Mrs. F. E. A. South aged fifty
two years, Of Atlanta, made folks
wag their tongue when she announc-
ed the first Of this year that she hac
given birth to triplets, all Of them
, ,ong, healthy and good sized.
The Atlanta paper recently carried
.4e following story about Mrs. South,
her triplets and her other children.
One Of most amazing stories OF
mother-love that the world has ece'
known came to light in Atlanta Fri
day morning when Mrs. F. E. A.
South. Of 20 Weyman avenue, con-
fsssed that the "triplets" supposedly
sbsrn" to her on New Years eve were
not her own, that twin girls Sbern"
% her four years ago were not her
owA; that she has reared altogether
eleven children whom even her hus-
band believed were born to her, when
In reality, they were all adopted -
ersely because Of her great desire for
babies.
Mrs. South's husband who is q
clerk IN the Fulton Grocery company
at t2s Decatur street, first laughed
when he was informed Of his wne's
confession, and then was indignant,
declaring it was an "infernal lie" If
she made such a statement, it was be-
cause some sinister influence was at
work on her." he declared.
While Mrs. South fooled her hus-
band, fooled the children themselves,
fooled the newspapers and the public,
fooled everybody but herself and the
institutions from which she procured
the babies, she had committed no
wrong in the eysof the law, and it
is to be doubted If she even commit
ed wrong from q moral standpoint.
\ For it appears her motives were
OF the highest. 81 don't like movies,
! don't like theetres, I don't like to
90 out; the greatest thing in my life
is children a. she declared. "That
is why I did it-because I love chill
dren and because I wanted to give
them the best raising I could, espsc-
tally the little nameless waits in
the maternity hospitals who haven't
q chance in the world" !
Thus Mrs. South declared that tie
reason she fooled her husband with
triplets "born" on New Years eve,
but in reality procured from Mrs. u.
r. Mitchells maternity hospital at
% Windsor street, was because tle
ladies in charge of the "cradle rdl'
at st. Pauls Methodist church, where
she has her membership, had agreed
to educate as missionaries the first
triplets born to a church member.
81 have raised all my children to
be good men and women" declared
Mrs. South, "and ! saw here chance
to have three little ones brought up
to go and teach the gospel. to he
heather"
Mrs. South said she is the daughter
of a Methodist minister, now dead,
and that her mother is dead also. She
was brought up in regilious home,
she declared, end she felt it her Guty
to train as many good children as pos
sihle, whether they were her OWL or
not. During her married lie, she has
actually had three children of her ewn,
now grown up and married.
More than ten years ago, she said
her yearning for children to take the
place of her grown up sons and dalgh-
tiers was so overpowering that she hit
upon thescheme of deceiving her nus
band with a ''fake birth" And she
succeeded in fooling him, she said.
She said the plan worked so we'll that
at annual intervals she adopted three
more. These four babies, said Mrs.
South, she got from institutions the
names of which she would lot give.
They now range in age from five to
thirteen, and live at the South home
in complete ignorance of their true
origin.
Four years ago, said Mrs. South,
she decided to have twins. She got
them from the maternity home of
Mrs. Mitchell on Windsor street, she
said. They were boys, but both later
died. So three years ago, Mrs. South
declares she got two girls from the
SFindsor street home which she palm
"A off as twins. And then, the last
Gay in December, she procured three
little girls from the home to serve
as her triplets.
Mrs. Mitchell who conducts the
home, admitted Mrs. South's state
ment regarding these sets of "trip
lets" and Twins The triplets, said
M.Aol11 -