Tennessee Adoption Record #108334

Tennessee Adoption Record: # 108334

Other Birth Family looking for Adoptee
Amber Markel

Adoptee's Info
Birth Name: Donald Horsley
Adoptive Name:
Date of Birth: 1957 (now 67 years old)
Gender: Male
Birth Location: Sevierville city, Sevier county, Tennessee USA

Birthmother's Info
Name: Bonnie (Horsley)
Born: Oct 13, 1917
Age at Adoptee's Birth: Unknown
Religion: Unknown

Birthfather's Info
Name: Unk
Born: Unknown
Age at Adoptee's Birth: Unknown
Religion: Unknown

Born at Hospital:
Birth Certificate:
Adoption Agency: Tennessee Children's Home

Additional Info
I am a member of the birth family. I'm helping my mother (adoptees neice) and by extention, his birth sisters, find their uncle/brother. Donnie was removed from Bonnie's custody after a neighbor noticed children had been left home alone for an extended period of time. Donnie and his younger sister, Brenda, and a disabled older brother, Gordon, were all 3 removed. This would have been in May, 1960. There are a few newspaper articles detailing the events. Gordon ended up in a state hospital while Donnie and Brenda went to the Tennessee Children's Home/Society. There was a family story that the two were adopted together by a local minister. Bonnie was allowed contact until she caused a scene at the church, demanding her children back. The story goes that the minister then packed the children up and moved his family elsewhere. Donnie and Brenda's sisters, Judy and Betty, are searching for their siblings. They are hoping to reconnect before they pass. There were 10 children total. Donnie and Brenda were the youngest two. It is known that they did not have the same fathers but who the men were is mostly unknown. *Other info* Brenda was struck by a vehicle in Sept, 1959. She survived having only minor injuries. Gordon was 11 when taken. He had Cerebral Palsy. Gordon and Donnie were taken to University Hospital prior to being placed in the state hospital and children's home. Donnie had a "contagious skin infection" that needed treatment. Brenda went directly to the children's home. My mother was born in 1959 and remembers going to visit Donnie and Brenda with her parents (their older brother, Bill and his wife Ruthann) at the home. Their other siblings visited with the two before they "disappeared" also. Donnie and Brenda may remember or they may not. Their older sister was named Margaret but went by the nickname Wimpy". The family wants nothing more than to know they are doing ok and to reconnect with their siblings/Uncle/Aunt. I have my dna on multiple sites to prove familial connection.


Registered: July 18, 2022