Woman Searches for Sister After Mom Sells Them at Bar 51 Years Ago

La Buca Di Marco is an Italian restaurant on the corner of Chester and Fairmount in a Southeast Baltimore neighborhood called Butchers Hill. But, 51 years ago it was known as Ken Tins, a bar that would change one woman’s life forever.

On August 29, 1967, a baby named Marion Louise Smith was born and within two weeks, she and her one-year-old sister were carried up the steps of Ken Tins – but it wasn’t for food or a drink. Instead, the new mom approached a local electrician named Kenneth Suggs who was enjoying a drink with an absolutely shocking and life-changing offer…

Marion Louise, for cash.

Concerned and scared for the baby, Suggs gave his entire paycheck to the mother and – right then and there – assumed full responsibility for Marion. He didn’t even discuss it with his wife, but that didn’t matter. Suggs immediately got up and ran home to his wife Gail, an IHOP waitress at the time, with their new child.

That same night, Marion’s older sister (whose name we don’t know) was also given away in exchange for a set of car keys to someone, Suggs believes, with the last name ‘Brackett.’

Suggs and other locals knew the mom as Indian Barbara who was always with her sidekick, Sideburn John. Although little to nothing is known about their whereabouts, it’s likely that they took off together with the cash and a car to God knows where.

Marion’s Mission

Now that Marion’s adoptive father has passed away, she is taking one his dying wishes and hoping to make it come true.

“He told me to find my people and that’s what I’m doing. I’m looking for my people.”

If you ask anyone, they would probably think a circumstance such as Marion’s is a recipe for disaster. With no biological mother or father present and your only sibling not even knowing you’re alive, Marion has every reason to be angry at the world. But, from what we know, the Suggs family seems to have given Marion everything she needed in life to get where she is today.

“… And what’s the point of being mad? It doesn’t do you any good anyway,” she said. “I was thankful for [Suggs]. He’s a blessing… He was a Superman. What a brave thing to do, very brave.”

Marion’s positive perspective has helped her graduate from Eastern and build a family in Middle River. The only thing still missing is her immediate family, whom she hopes all the recent media coverage helps her find.

“DNA, Ancestry, My Heritage, My Family Tree… I’ve connected with my birth father. I think I found my birth mother, but she doesn’t want to acknowledge it… I would think [my sister] is still in the Maryland area. If not, maybe West Virginia, but I would hope to be able to connect with her and, you know, get to meet her. She’s probably the only person in the world that knows how I feel about the whole situation.”

Although this story got off to a rough start, it just goes to show how important parental and/or role models can be in our lives. They can make or break our ability to succeed in life and, thankfully, Marion has been able to succeed. Now, all we can do is hope the circulation of this story helps in Marion Louise’s journey to becoming reunited with her family.