Woman Helps Her Mother Reunite With Her Siblings After Spending 65 Years Apart
"It's really about a sense of identity. I've always been really big on family."
@MyHeritage / Instagram; @marysmoving / TikTok A woman took to social media to share the heartwarming journey of attempting to help her mother reunite with some of her long-lost family members.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Mary Butler explained that she had recently taken a DNA test to see if she could find some of her family members and was astonished at the events that transpired afterward.
She explained that her mother was adopted and separated from her family.
"For those of you who don't know, my mom was adopted. It was in the 50s, so adoption wasn't really adoption because it took us years to find out who she was, even what her real name was," Mary began in her video. She shared that her mother, Bobbi, had lost contact with her siblings 65 years ago after being placed for adoption as a child.
"Her baby brother, she doesn't even know him because after, they were all dispersed," Mary continued. "It was 14 of them, my grandmother had more kids." Deciding that she wanted to help her mother find some of her family members, Mary chose to get a DNA test through the genealogy platform MyHeritage.
Through that, Mary was able to find her mother's younger brother, who was also searching for the rest of his family. In a tearful video, Mary was finally able to connect with her mother and younger brother on the phone after he called upon discovering that they were his family.
"This person that I talked to today has actually been looking for you," Mary informed her mother. "You got a little brother named Randolph Mitchell. He called me today because he found me on MyHeritage."
The emotional moment brought a smile to Mary's mother's face as she spoke to her younger brother for the first time, even getting choked up as she admitted that this was all too much for her to handle.
Mary revealed that MyHeritage ended up planning a reunion for everyone to be able to meet in person.
In a follow-up video, Mary gleefully announced that the website where she was able to connect and find some of her family members and introduce them to her mother, reached out and explained that they wanted to plan a whole family reunion for everyone.
"I'm about to meet my uncles, my aunties, and my cousins," Mary happily stated. "I'm trying to keep it together, I really am, because it's really about a sense of identity. I've always been really big on family."
Mary acknowledged that now that she is starting her own little family, this entire moment just means something more and is incredibly special. "I know that we're not the only ones, there are so many families that were displaced for whatever reason, and they chose to use our story. I can't be more grateful for this opportunity because this is major."
In footage that Mary shared from the family's reunion, everyone seemed to be in high spirits and having fun together, even Mary's mother, who was finally able to see and meet her other family members after spending so many years apart.
"Everything about today was so sweet, we really had a mini-reunion. It was so much fun," Mary said. "We meshed together so well. Too many of us are alike in so many ways."
Through sharing her own story, Mary has become a beacon of hope for others who might be on a similar path, proving that even after decades of separation, reconnection and healing are possible.
Her family's reunion serves as a reminder that whatever the circumstances may have been for loved ones to be separated, it's possible to rediscover that familial bonds and love can transcend any obstacle.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.