Chicago Woman Finds 15 Half Siblings Through DNA Test
She said she's sometimes sad about having gone for so many years without knowing about her relatives
•
A Chicago woman whose biological father was an anonymous sperm donor has discovered via a DNA testing service that she has 15 half siblings.
Morgan Richardson, 31, discovered her half siblings over the last four years after submitting a DNA sample to 23andMe, The Chicago Tribune reported . The website analyzes DNA to provide information about a person's ancestry, health and other traits.
"It's exciting, but it is a little bit jarring," Richardson said. "I always wonder: 'What do they do?' 'Where do they live?' 'What are they like?' 'What's their experience as a donor-offspring child?'"
Morgan Richardson and her twin sister Lauren Richardson, who lives in Michigan, have known for years that they were conceived through in vitro fertilization. Their mother was divorced and single when she decided to have children.
The twins were 16 when their mother died of breast cancer. So Morgan Richardson turned to 23andMe when she wanted to learn more about the donor's background.
In case you missed it, here are some of the top stories of the week. Make sure to check back on a weekly basis as a new edition of 'Eight @ 8: Week In Review' will be posted every Saturday morning.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
2019 State of the Union Fact Check: Trump's Full Speech, Annotated -nPresident Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union speech Tuesday, hailing the country's booming economy and warning of human traffickers flooding across the border. Here's a closer look at some of the claims he made.
Chicago Pizza Tours
Chicago, New York Police Engage in Social Media Pizza Battle -nProtect and serve... pizza, that is. The Chicago Police Department resurfaced the age-old debate of Chicago vs. New York-style zas ahead of National Pizza Day this weekend. Thoughts? We might just eat our feelings away instead of tweeting about it.
Chicago Bears Halt Pregame Perk, Ending Packers Fan's Lawsuit -nA lifelong Green Bay Packers fan accused the Bears of violating free-speech rights by prohibiting fans from wearing Packers gear at warmups. The Bears sent him an email before a Bears-Packers game warning in capital letters, "NO OPPOSING TEAM GEAR WILL BE ALLOWED," according to the lawsuit. He went in Packers apparel anyway and was turned away. Read the full story above.
Baby Born on CTA Bus During Morning Rush Hour -nA baby was born on a Chicago Transit Authority bus during rush hour Wednesday morning. Authorities said another passenger and the child’s father helped deliver the child as the driver assisted passengers off the bus. The fire department said when it arrived at the scene the baby was already born and in the mother’s arms. Both the mom and baby were OK and no complications were reported, fire officials said.
Getty Images
Ricketts Apologize After Racist Emails Published: Report -nJoe and Tom Ricketts (the family that owns the Chicago Cubs) released statements Monday after Splinter News published what appear to be emails sent by the senior Ricketts evaluating conspiracy theories about Barack Obama and sharing racist jokes about Muslims. Although requests for the statement by NBC 5 were not immediately responded to, other news outlets such as the Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN also reported the statements.
Andrew Sietsema
"Ghost Apples" Appear on Michigan Trees - On this Michigan farm, the rapid fluctuations in temperature created what looked like "ghost apples," essentially, apples that managed to get frozen over and eventually rotting out of the ice. Pretty cool, right?
Getty Images
'Big Ben' Zobrist, Cubs Heading Abroad? -nThe Chicago Cubs are in the running to play a series of games in London, England during the 2020 season, AP reported. The series are part of baseball’s effort to reach a broader audience.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Ford invests $1B in Chicago Plants, Creates 500 Jobs -nThe assembly plant's transformation will start in March and be completed by spring, the company estimates. Its capacity will expand to produce the new SUVs slated to go on sale later this year. The 500 new full-time positions bring the total number of jobs at the two plants to about 5,800.
Morgan Richardson discovered that she was British, Irish, German, French and Eastern European. Then she discovered that she had a half sibling.
The sisters soon found more matches through the website, as well as Ancestry.com and the nonprofit Donor Sibling Registry. The Richardson-related half siblings have created a Facebook group to keep in touch.
Marie McCulloch, 35, of New York, is one of the half siblings. McCulloch was also excited to learn about her heritage and has tracked down an 80-year-old man who she believes could be their father. They have yet to meet.
She said she's sometimes sad about having gone for so many years without knowing about her relatives, but that the experience has been largely positive.
"Finding these people I didn't know I was related to, I feel a lot more grounded and more sure of myself," McCulloch said. "It's like I discovered a limb I didn't know I had."
