Sibling reunions often produce some very strong connections. Two sibling reunions recently in the news follow:

Reunited siblings look back, ahead
Emotional ride worth the wait
MICHAEL P. MAYKO

FAIRFIELD — The similarities are astonishing. Their first names both begin with a W followed by an E. Both have blue eyes, love golf and respond similarly to questions. But until last month, Wendy Anderson of Fairfield never knew she had a brother, Wesley Hatch, in Kirkwood, N.Y.

Their journey begin nearly 40 years ago in Binghamton, N.Y. Both Wesley and Wendy was delivered by the same physician to the same mother in the same hospital. The two siblings were born a few years apart and then both were relinquished by their mother to adoption.

In the story above, the siblings say that they have 40 years of "catching up" to do. Wendy, the sister said that she had always longed to know about her past. She wanted to know about her nationality, siblings, who her birth parents were and about medical history. In 1999, she joined the New York Adoption group which maintains an internet-based list-serve where messages could be posted.

Then she found that the New York State Department of Health had an adoption reunion registry where she could register. Eventually her brother Wesley also one registered there too. That's how they found each other. She had discovered previously that she had three older siblings, but, was startled to discover Wesley was the fifth child that their mother gave birth to.

The second article involves a man named Frank Johnson who discovered that he was one of 13 siblings. He was one of five of 10 children in his family given up for adoption in the late 1940s due to extreme poverty.
Read here. He has now met 6 of his siblings and is searching for others.

He contacted Lutheran Social Service of Iowa — today called Lutheran Services of Iowa — but at first was unable to open records. Then suddenly, he received a letter with the names.

All of them. He still is not sure why he was able to get them, but it could be that since his natural siblings had also contacted the agency, their names were given to him.

Last summer, a family reunion brought together 70 descendants. Johnson found he had 26 nieces and nephews, 41 great-nieces and nephews and 10 great-great-nieces and nephews.

Johnson said that the best part of the reunion for him was at the very beginning. “I walked in and everyone said, ‘Welcome to our family. Welcome home.’ ”

There is a trend now when siblings are separated through adoption to help them maintain contact if possible. Sibling ties are often very strong and substantial. I am pleased to note that the importance of sibling relationships is now being considered more often that it was in the past.