In many old films, there are stories of a child getting separated from their family after birth and then reuniting with their real family after many years. A similar story became a reality in the United States, where a man was able to reunite with his biological family after more than seven decades.
Dixon Handsha, who had always believed he was his adoptive parents’ only child, learned decades later that he had step-siblings. At 75 years old, he finally met his siblings in December 2024.
Living in North Carolina, Dixon traveled to Rochester, New York, where he met his siblings for the first time at the family’s annual Christmas party. Speaking to American media on December 20, he said, “I’ve always dreamed that I would have siblings somewhere; this is my Christmas miracle.”
On December 21, Dixon met over 50 family members he didn’t know existed until the beginning of this year. The meeting with his brothers, sisters, cousins, and their children was a joyful surprise for Dixon, who was the only child of his adoptive parents and has no children of his own.
“I’ve never met anyone who shares the same DNA as mine,” Dixon shared. Born in 1949 in Buffalo, New York, Dixon was adopted at three months old by a couple, and he had a happy childhood. His adoptive parents had informed him about his adoption.
“I’ve always wanted to find my real family, but before 2019, access to birth certificates for adopted children was impossible, so finding the truth was out of reach,” he explained.
In 2019, a law was passed that made original birth certificates available to the public in 2020. Dixon received his original birth certificate in August 2024 and learned his biological father’s name was Robert Roming.
Dixon immediately searched his father’s name on Google, only to discover that Robert had passed away, and he looked exactly like Dixon. He also found out he had a sister and four brothers.
Dixon didn’t know why his biological parents had given him up for adoption but learned that his father graduated from Cornell University, and his mother worked as a department secretary. He also found out that Robert had married a woman in Rochester who had three sons from a previous marriage. Later, they had two more children, and it was through this family that Dixon was able to connect with his biological relatives.
When Dixon called his brother Gary Roming for the first time, Gary was eating dinner. Gary shared, “I picked up the phone but didn’t recognize the number. I usually don’t answer such calls, but that time, I did.”
Dixon introduced himself as his brother, and Gary was astonished. “I was shocked to hear that,” Gary said. Dixon sent Gary a picture of himself, and Gary instantly recognized their late father’s face. He then shared the picture with other siblings and kept them in suspense for two and a half hours before revealing, “This is our new brother.”
Though Dixon didn’t spend Christmas with his new family, he hopes to spend more time with them in the near future.
