Susan Towers, who was adopted as an infant, has finally discovered the identity of her birth mother and other long-lost family after taking a DNA test at the age of 60. Through MyHeritage, Towers received a match with a maternal half-sibling, leading to the opening of a window into her real identity.
Towers had always yearned to know who her birth mother was and if she had any siblings. Her adoptive father had previously told her that her birth mother was Jewish and a nurse, but Towers suspected that he only wanted her to think she was Jewish. After his death, Towers began researching her adopted father’s past and discovered that he was a Holocaust survivor and a partisan fighter against the Germans.
The DNA test revealed that Towers’ birth mother was actually a young unmarried nurse in New York City who travelled to Los Angeles to have her. She later returned to the east coast and married, eventually having six children. Although Towers’ birth mother passed away several years ago, she now has two half-sisters and four half-brothers who have reached out to her.
Towers’ respect for her birth mother’s privacy and that of her family has prevented her from sharing their names. However, one of her half-sisters believes that their mother reached out from the grave to bring all her children together.
The discovery also revealed that Towers’ adopted father was not her birth father, a painful fact that was part of her secret birth. Towers is currently working on a memoir about her story.
Thanks to MyHeritage, many people have discovered long-lost family members through DNA testing, such as Emily Thompson, a 32-year-old from Denver, Colorado. Emily took a MyHeritage DNA test in hopes of learning more about her ancestry. However, she was shocked to receive a match with a half-sister she had never known about. After reaching out to her half-sister, they discovered that they shared the same biological father, who had passed away several years earlier.
Emily had always known that her father had been adopted and had no information about his biological family. However, with the help of her newly-discovered half-sister and additional DNA testing, she was able to learn more about her father’s birth family and even connect with living relatives. Emily says that the experience has given her a newfound sense of connection to her father and a greater understanding of her family history.
MyHeritage has enabled many people over the years to connect with their biological relatives and learn about their family history. If you have made an amazing discovery through MyHeritage or any other DNA testing platform, you can share your story here.
Image Source:
- Susan Tower’s story: MyHeritage
