Posted on 06/10/2020 8:32:25 AM PDT by NEMDF
One of my sisters had put DNA in to 23 & Me sometime in the past (several years ago, maybe).
Over the past week, she has been notified of a person who just recently submitted DNA for testing. It turns out that this person seems to be our half-sibling.
There are 5 of us from same parents, all born from 1954 to 1960. The newly identified one seems to be related only to our father and born in 1964. I babysat for this person and two siblings, when I was around 10 or 11.
Their family moved away around 1969, but I have had some contacts with the family over the years, having also relocated to the same state. Now find out that this half-sibling has lived in the same city, and at one time, only 1.5 miles from me over some of the interim years, so very likely we have crossed paths in the past. The person no longer lives in this state or area.
Of our parents' generation, only the mother of the half-sibling is still living.
My sister has been in contact with the newly identified half-sibling, who never had an inkling that their dad was not the biological father.
I am trying to comprehend this news, and to develop some possible foreseeable outcomes, but this is very challenging on a cognitive level.
I am just wondering whether any FReepers have any experience with this type of situation, what happened with the relationships, advice on moving forward, etc.
Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions.
Anestry customers are matched with other ancestry customers, so on for each of the companies.
gracie1, good post. Bravo.
Thank you. Most people don’t understand the issues adoptees and people with unknown parentage. Especially if find out later in life.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
It seems that, for now, the new half-sibling has the option to get back to my sister or not, as far as moving forward.
Possibly they will have conversations that are not shared with the rest of us, if that is how the new one wants it to go.
Maybe the new person will be more open to us after the mother passes (currently 86 and in decent health). And yes, there is some health history to be shared.
Thank you.
Sharing can hurt or help. To what end?
Just a little update on this. The “new” half-sibling has reached out a little, had several messages back and forth with my younger sister, and now also some with my older sister and myself. Seems to be cautiously moving forward but glad to have found us and wanting to forge a relationship. I am pretty happy about all of this, and seems like we are all feeling this way. The new one does not want to cause any hurtful situations with the mother or other lifetime siblings, but seems very open to getting to know all of us and having a chance to understand more about their background, our dad, etc.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.