Monday, March 22, 2021

I Know My Father's Name......

 Something special has happened that I never expected.
I now know my father's name.


Leo Everett Gage.
He was Irish and his maternal grandmother was a McDougal.


His wedding picture to the love of his life, Mary.


My father.... in his late 30's or 40's.....I am guessing.


This photo is made completely out of wood.


My father on the right and his brother, Noah, on the left.

My sister, Nita, and I did the 23 and me DNA testing and I discovered I am:
 68.2% British and Irish
23.4% French and German
1.3% Native American

But I did NOT discover my father on 23 and me......
instead I discovered I have a brother and two sisters!
You can imagine my surprise - and THEIRS when I turned up on their family tree.

I reached out to my brother and asked if it was possible to know the name of his father.....
as he was my father, as well.


This is my brother and the youngest sister.


I am 10 years older than Brother Buster!


His given name is Charles but goes by Buster.


I cannot look at a picture of him without having a smile on my face.


This is Rita, the sister born one year after Buster.


And this is Lori, the youngest, born September 20, 1963.


The first question I asked Lori was, "Do you crave SALT??"
Yes!!! All three siblings do!!


I love this picture of Lori in 1979 when she was a junior in high school.

Yesterday at 2:00, Buster, Rita and I had a phone visit and we talked an hour and a half.
They had a few questions and I had a few.
They have been so mazingly gracious and kind to me.
They learned a little about my history and I was eager to learn about theirs.
I will always remember the first time I heard my brother's voice!
I loved listening to his every word!
My sister, Rita, is soft spoken with a quite, gentle voice.
Can you tell I love them already?

My sister, Lori, is on vacation right now but all four of us have been texting and messaging  ever since we showed up on one another's family tree!


Our father died of cancer in 1969 at the age of 47.
He was a good man and an excellent father.

I am so amazed, surprised and excited!
I grew up with a brother and two sisters, plus I have two other younger sisters and now I find I have an younger brother and two sisters!
And actually, there is one more sister who has passed away recently.
Now I have 6 sisters and 2 brothers!

Pinch me! I still can't believe it!!

We are all talking about meeting up and all my siblings are interested in the new family I have found. There will be road trips!
Have I mentioned they are in Kansas City, MO......
where I was born.
Every one of the photos in tonight's journal entry are compliments of my new siblings.
I am grateful you are all so willing to share with me.


And I never dreamed I would ever really know.


And I already love those three precious faces I found!
I'm a Gage!
No longer a dead end when I come to my family tree!










27 comments:

Carla said...

HOLY COW! That is crazy exciting. Here's more for that book you're writing. I see your dad's smile when you smile. Of course it's been a while since I've seen your smile in person. LOL You are one blessed woman.
No wonder we get along so well you're from Missouri. So am I.

Love and hugs

Deb J. in Utah said...

Wonderful news to finally know more about who you are! I completely relate because I was adopted as an infant. I know quite a bit about my mother's family and have met lots of people from that side, but nothing about my father. Someday, I hope to know more. I did a DNA test from Ancestry a while back. This is awesome news for you and I am very happy for you! Great news. You have a great family! :-)

Arlene G said...

it is good to know who your father is, Linda. I had a great great grandfather that was in question and I found out who he was through DNA testing. He died young, had no other children but my great grandfather and I have not made any contacts with that family but I am glad to have a name to put on my Family Tree. So glad that they were welcoming and shared so much with you. What a blessing.

mustard seeds said...

Exciting. I definitely see a family resemblance.

Pam M. said...

Amazing Linda. Your evolving story is so very interesting. I'm so glad you found them. I can't wait for the next installment!! They are fortunate to have you in their lives!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is so awesome, almost like a miracle! You have found an entire other part of your family! Thanks you so much for sharing. Your brother is so cute, with charming dimples! You are going to be having a lot of exciting adventures coming up.

Bluebird49 said...

Ladybug, what a precious family you have and have discovered you have! Did you see yourself in younger sister's teen picture? I sure did.
What a wonderful surprise you've gotten!
Love you!

Kathy said...

Wow! I know you never thought this would happen. I am so very happy for you. Do you see the resemblance to your father? I do. Enjoy your new family. They are so fortunate to have you in their lives.

MimiG said...

Oh Linda - how wonderful for you. Goosebumps here! I see Ben in your "new" brother. That picture of him in front of the car - so much Ben in that face! They all look like kind people you would want to know. So very happy for you. This made my day brighter!!

Vee said...

Amazing. Closure comes and then doors open all over again. Your father died so young that all of these sisters and brother must have stories to tell. God bless you all as you put the puzzle together.

Lollipops & Pig Tails said...

Wonderful news!

Unknown said...

I'm very happy for you!

Changes in the wind said...

So happy for you to find these family members and especially since they have been kind and helpful. I guess the old saying "you never know what a day might bring" rings true.

Latane Barton said...

That is totally amazing. I watch 'Long Lost Family' on one of the tv channels can't remember which one and they find long family for people. I just love that people don't have to go without that connection. And, you got a basketful of family with your find!!

Deanna Rabe said...

I'm still so excited for you! How amazing it is. I love that the brother and sisters you've known and love are excited for you, too! I can picture a huge family gathering at some point! It'll be so amazing!

My mom doesn't know who her biological father is either. She's reluctant to open that door. I'll share your story with her and see if she changes her mind. She's been an only child her whole life and I imagine she has biological siblings somewhere in the world. Of course, it has to be her decision.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

That is very exciting and I too see the family resemblance. What a wonderful discovery. I love doing the family tree and discovering relative along the line.

MadSnapper said...

and now your family is even larger and added to Louis Deans family and your friedns that are like family you circle has expanded to HUGE... so happy for you and your new found siblings...

Debbie said...

oh how exciting, i am so happy for you!! wonderful family pictures...you are all so lucky to have each other!!

Donna said...

Love it! Now we need details of how all this came to be! Are your other sisters his daughters as well, or just you?

Tina said...

I am so happy for you that you discovered this information! And they are such nice people and want to have a relationship with you! It is difficult to feel like a whole side of your family is "missing". I haven't seen my father since I was 10 years old and I know I have three brothers that I haven't ever met. I keep thinking of trying to get in touch with this part of my family but worry it would not go as smoothly as your reunion did. Thank you for sharing this, it gives me hope that maybe I can contact my brothers and it will all work out!

photowannabe said...

I am so happy for you Linda.
How amazing to discover new brother and sisters and at last know who your Father was.
That's a beautiful anchor to hold on to.
I think we all need to know who we are and where our traits came from.
Sue

Carole said...

Wow! What fantastic news - and new siblings as well! And you got photos! Cheers

Judy said...

Wow! That is just amazing! So happy for you. Our niece (who was adopted) just found a half-sister she didn't know about, and is so enjoying connecting dots in her family tree.

Estelle's said...

This must be a very strong feeling of closure for you Linda...indeed a blessing at this time in your life. I hope you are able to find peace after all those years of not knowing. Very happy for you.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

What a wonderful story, Linda, not only of closure but in finding unknown family members. I am sure we will be reading more posts about your new family in months to come and also about an in person reunion.

Great-Granny Grandma said...

This must have been so exciting to connect with your family and even find unknown members. What a blessing.
The pictures are wonderful.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Oh Linda, thank you so much for sharing this with me. I am so excited for you to know your great big wonderful family! I think the genealogy/dna searches are wonderful. I found my paternal grandmother's birth family (she was adopted as an infant), but have yet to meet any of the descendants...maybe someday. They were a bit wary of me telling them that their great-grandmother, or on the other side, great-grandfather, had a daughter that no one had ever heard of, plus all of her descendants. But I hope someday to meet up with some of them. I am so happy for you to have found your "family". God is so good.