Christine Moore, 73, recently reunited with her birth family after 40 years of searching, which included two failed attempts. Moore was adopted at three months old and was raised as an only child. She now has five half-siblings who have welcomed her with open arms.
The group was reunited last month at The Star pub in Beeston. All but one of the siblings were there to celebrate. The brothers and sisters had no idea that Christine existed, but they are glad she found them. Her sister June said, “It was very emotional. We had no idea. It was a real shock, but unbelievably she is the spitting image of my mum.”
Moore always knew she was adopted and was curious about where she came from. She said, “I did go on to have three children of my own and have seven grandchildren, but I always felt there was a part of me that was missing. As I got older I started to look into it, it has been a good 40-year search.”
Moore’s first search attempt failed. She had her adoption papers, so she requested her original birth certificate. It revealed the name of her birth mother. She tracked down an address for her, but when she arrived, the house had been torn down. Her second attempt was equally unsuccessful. In 2015, on her daughter’s friend’s recommendation, she joined Ancestry. Moore discovered that her birth mom had passed away, but she also found three siblings. She located a sister’s address, but when she got there, the sister had moved away.
The situation seemed hopeless, but that’s when her husband, Tony, had an idea. Tony said, “We were so close but my wife had almost given up, and that’s when I had a brainwave.” He reached out to an Ancestry user that his wife’s tree connected with. The woman gave him all the answers he needed. That’s how they uncovered the rest of her siblings.
Tony shared, “I hope that it will inspire other people because it can be done and it is a life changer. This is a woman that, for all of her life, was an only child and then finds out she has got a large family.”
