The Butter Box Babies

This home went on carrying out these practices for 20 years. After it was over and Lila and William were prosecuted it was found that the babies that weren’t wanted would be starved to death and placed in a butter box ( a box that groceries were delivered in and originally made to hold quarts of fresh milk) and buried without as even as much as a service. These were the babies that were deemed unmarketable. All these babies received while they waited to die were water and molasses which on a diet such as this the baby would die in less than two weeks.

The bodies of these innocent babies would be buried on the property, adjacent to a cemetery but not in it, sometimes their bodies would be thrown into the sea or burnt in the furnace that heated the maternity home.

When married couples came to the home to have their baby it was often told to them that the baby had died in childbirth. They would return home never knowing how their baby truly died or for that matter was still alive. Behind the scenes these babies were also sold on the black market by Lila and William. The Young’s had another scheme going where they would create babies or separate them if they were a twin to meet the desires of the customer. Approximately four to six hundred babies died at the hands of Lila and William Young and another thousand were put out for adoption.

Business for the Young’s was exceptionally good, so good, that they built on one extension after another and by 1939 the Young’s were mortgage free. They then built their own home which had nine bedrooms, three bathrooms, den, dining room, living room and kitchen. All paid for at the price of new born, innocent babies. They added to their assets for the next six years.

Back in 1933 the Young’s found a thorn in their side by the name of Dr. Frank Roy Davis. He had heard some rumors about the home and for the next fifteen years he was relentless to find out the truth of what was really taking place there. In 1933 the Young’s were made hire their first Registered Nurse. The pressure on the Youngs was mounting.

In March of 1936 it finally came to a head as both William and Lila was arraigned on two counts of manslaughter which was related to the death of Eva Neiforth   and her baby. This trial would last a very long time. They were convicted on these counts but with no penalty but it did give Dr. Davis the opportunity to have the RCMP investigate every death that took place at the home since it had opened. In the following years they were charged with fraud and many more injustices. The Young’s had built a good support system by this time which included prominent citizens and politicians. Some of these people had secretly used their services. Up until then the home had operated for 17 years without a license. Ironically the next year there was a law passed that this type of home had to be licensed, the Young’s applied and were turned down. On November 17th, 1945 based on the findings of all the inspections on the home it was ordered to close its doors.

It wasn’t long after through the persistence of Dr. Davis to be rid of this home forever he found out about the illegal adoptions and the Young’s had to face justice again. There were many court appearances and fines. At first they rebuked the charges and sued for slander. They lost the case. The Young’s were never charged for their crimes but following the trial they developed serious financial problems. They left East Chester penniless and broke. William died of cancer and Lila returned to Nova Scotia where she and resumed teaching school. She died in 1979 at the age of 70 of Leukemia and was buried where she had grown up as a child. Ironically she was buried in the cemetery right across from the Butter box babies who didn’t have a chance at life.