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Madeline and Ada Underwood

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Madeline and ada

Madeline and Ada Underwood

Real Names: Madeline and Ada Underwood
Case: Lost Friends
Location: Madisonville, Tennessee
Date: 1941

Case[]

Details: Madeline and Ada Underwood are the children of Thomas Lee "Tom" Underwood. In the midst of the Great Depression, they were taken in by the Best family, who are now searching for them. During this time, breadlines, hobos, and shantytowns were an all-too-visible part of the American landscape. Millions lost their jobs, homes, savings, and pride.
Many times, the destitute relied on strangers to help them in their time of need. One such stranger was an ordinary farmer named Charles "Charlie" Best. He lived with his wife, Alva, and three children, fourteen-year-old Zella Mae, eleven-year-old Carl, and nine-year-old Verlon, in a four-room farmhouse in the rolling hills of eastern Tennessee, near Madisonville. They managed to stave off the hardships of the Depression by growing watermelons and tobacco.
As darkness fell on a warm spring evening in 1939, Tom, nine-year-old Madeline, and seven-year-old Ada sought refuge at the Bests' farmhouse. Zella Mae remembers that evening vividly. She and a relative were on the porch talking when Tom approached them. He said they were tired from traveling and asked Charlie if he had a bed for Madeline and Ada to sleep in. He said that he would sleep in the barn. Charlie told him that he did have a bed for them and that he could stay in the house as well.
That night, Tom told Charlie about how he had fallen on hard times. He said they were originally from Knoxville, but he was unable to find work there. Madeline and Ada had traveled the backroads with him for months as he searched in vain for work. He also had an older daughter named Louise, who was staying with an aunt. Their mother had died years before. At one point on their journey, they were unable to find a place to sleep and had to rest on "beds" made of leaves and clothing.
Zella Mae tucked Madeline and Ada in that night. The next morning, she made breakfast for them. At around 8am, Tom, Madeline, and Ada left the farmhouse. Tom told Charlie that he was taking Madeline and Ada to stay with friends who lived on Ballplay Road while he continued his search for a job. After they left, Zella Mae asked Charlie why he did not keep Madeline and Ada. She figured that she would never see them again.
But just three days later, Tom, Madeline, and Ada passed through the area again. By pure coincidence, Zella Mae happened upon them while they were getting into a truck. She asked him where they were going. He said that his friends had taken in the children of a deceased relative, so they were unable to take Madeline and Ada. He said that they were going to head back to Knoxville. Zella Mae told him that she had talked with Charlie, and he said it was okay for them to stay with her family. Tom did not think it was a good idea, but Zella Mae told him that he should at least talk to Charlie about it.
That evening, the Bests and Underwoods had dinner together at the Bests' farmhouse. Tom agreed to leave Madeline and Ada in Charlie's care until he could get back on his feet again. He also agreed to send them money once he found work. Zella Mae said that times were hard, and it was difficult for them to survive. But Charlie was willing to take in Madeline and Ada, give them a home, and give them food to eat. Zella Mae said her family might not have had everything, but they never went hungry.
Madeline and Ada were immediately accepted as part of the family. Charlie treated them as if they were his own children. Carl said they went to school and church together and worked in the fields together. They had mules and cows to take care of. They shucked corn and fed the animals twice a day. He said Madeline and Ada worked as hard as the rest of the children did.
Zella Mae said Madeline and Ada did not seem like strangers. It was like they had always known each other. Zella Mae had always wanted a sister but knew she would never have one. She felt that they "took the place" of one. Madeline became especially close to her surrogate mother, Alva. She suffered from a rare nerve disorder that left her unable to care for herself. Madeline would bring her meal to her bed and help feed her. Ada and Verlon became close as well, spending their free time playing together on the farm.
Zella Mae thought that Charlie was as happy as Madeline and Ada were, and she thought they were as happy as he was. On their way to church, they would skip and hop, and he would hold their hands. Zella Mae remembers them being very happy. Carl said it was like they were part of the family. He and the rest of the family enjoyed being with them.
Zella Mae remembers that Tom visited Madeline and Ada at least twice and sometimes wrote letters to them. Then, in 1941, after Madeline and Ada had been with the Bests for twenty-six months, Tom returned to the farmhouse for the final time. Zella Mae answered the door. He told her that he had come to pick up Madeline and Ada. She told him that their things were not ready; she had just washed their clothes, which were still hanging up on the clothesline.
Zella Mae asked Tom if he could wait until Charlie came home. He said he could not because it was getting dark, and he needed to get on the road before then. He asked her to pack some things for Madeline and Ada. He said that his health was bad, he had married, and he wanted to be with them.
As they were packing, Ada told Zella Mae that she did not want to go. She asked if Charlie was going to say goodbye, but Zella Mae told her that he was out working in the fields. After they finished packing, Tom took Madeline and Ada and left. Zella Mae thought that he did not wait for Charlie to return because he was afraid that Charlie would ask him for money in return for taking care of Madeline and Ada. However, Zella Mae said that Charlie would never have asked for money from Tom.
Three months later, Charlie received a curious letter from Madeline and Ada. Tom had placed them in an orphanage in Nashville. Charlie immediately wrote it and asked if he could adopt them. But by the time the letter arrived, Tom had retrieved them once again. It was the last time the Bests heard from them.
In 1969, Alva passed away at the age of sixty-five. Afterward, Charlie remarried. In the late 1980s, he began searching for Madeline and Ada. He contacted people who lived in the area in the 1930s and were still alive. Some of them remembered Madeline and Ada, but no one had any knowledge of their whereabouts. In 1990, Verlon passed away at the age of sixty-two.
Today, more than fifty years later, Charlie and Zella Mae still live within ten miles of the old farmhouse. Zella Mae is sixty-six, and Charlie is ninety-one. He remembers that Madeline and Ada were "smart and good as they could be". Zella Mae said that if he could see them again, it would make him cry. And he would tell them that he loved them. She said he still refers to them as "the little girls". He does not think of them as women; he still thinks of them as little girls. Zella Mae said that he recently asked her if she had heard anything about them. She told him, "No, Daddy, but they're coming."
In March 1991, the Bests' search was publicized in a local newspaper called the Knoxville News Sentinel. Soon afterward, Norma Lane, a cousin of Madeline and Ada's, came forward. She said that after leaving Tennessee, Tom moved to Chicago, Illinois, to work for a railroad company. Madeline later married a man named Gene House and moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where she had at least two children. On March 7, 1963, Tom passed away, and Madeline and Ada returned to Illinois for his funeral.
According to Norma, Madeline returned once a year until, sadly, on February 26, 1978, she passed away at the age of forty-seven. And unfortunately, Norma lost contact with Ada several years earlier. The Bests are still searching for her. She is believed to be living in the Chicago area, possibly married to a man named Daley.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the January 29, 1992 episode. It was updated on the May 20, 1992 episode.
  • Zella Mae had written a letter to the show, asking them to feature this case. However, she never got around to sending it. Instead, an anonymous reader sent the Knoxville News Sentinel article to the show.
  • It was one of the show's quickest solves.
  • Some sources state that Tom died in 1961.

Results: Solved. On the night of the broadcast, fifty-nine-year-old Ada was watching it at her home in North Judson, Indiana. She was shocked to see herself and Madeline profiled. She confirmed that Madeline had passed away in 1978. But for her, the Bests' story stirred distant childhood memories. Within a half hour of the broadcast, she and Zella Mae were reunited by phone.
Ten days later, on February 9, 1992, Ada traveled to Madisonville for a very special reunion with Charlie, Zella Mae, and Carl. Zella Mae was anxious and excited to see her. She said she has been waiting for this day for fifty-one years. Ada said she was excited when she learned that the Bests had been searching for her because it meant that they really cared about her.
Although she was only eight years old when she last saw Charlie, Ada never forgot the warmth and kindness he and his family brought into her life. She said he was a great man, since he took her and Madeline in and took care of them when they had no one else to care for them. Zella Mae said the reunion has meant a lot to Charlie. She feels that, in his own mind, his dream has come true.
Sadly, on April 12, 1992, eight weeks after the reunion, Charlie passed away at the age of ninety-one. According to his family, the reunion with Ada brought him great comfort in his final days.
On October 12, 2010, Carl passed away at the age of eighty. On March 22, 2014, Zella Mae passed away at the age of eighty-nine. Verlon, Carl and Zella Mae's brother passed away April 12, 1990,age 91. Madeline passed away February 26, 1978 at age 47 ,along with her oldest sister who Louise who died December 13,1979 at age 51. Louise never stayed with the Underwoods. Youngest sister Ada passed away December 29,1997. age 64.
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