By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Later this month, Jane Ridenour, 67, will be meeting three siblings she didn’t even know existed.
For as long as she can remember, Ridenour, of rural Bowling Green, knew she was adopted at 2 weeks old through Toledo Catholic Charities. She grew up with loving parents and one brother, and didn’t want to hurt her parents by asking probing questions about her origins.
“I’ve done some searching,” but never with much success, Ridenour said. “I always had curiosity, but I didn’t want to get my mother upset.”
At one point, she asked Toledo Catholic Charities for information on her birth parents. All they could tell Ridenour was that she was born in Pittsburgh, to a mother of Italian descent who was 5-foot 2-inches, and a father of unknown ancestry who was 5-foot 6-inches. Both parents worked in a factory, with her mom completing high school and her father leaving school after ninth grade.
But the mystery of Ridenour’s origins was revealed last year, when her husband, David, gave her a kit from AncestryDNA.
Ridenour spit in the tube and mailed it back.
That was in December, and since then Ridenour has been contacted by many relatives as curious about her as she is about them.
She has found three siblings, aunts, cousins and nieces on both sides of her family.
“We’ve been having Zoom meetings,” with anywhere from seven to 14 new-found family members, she said.
“The numbers keep growing. Everybody’s been so welcoming,” Ridenour said. “We’ve got people all over the place.”
Ridenour has found three new siblings – two half-sisters and one half-brother – on her biological father’s side. None of them knew they had a half-sister.
The family members have noticed an uncanny resemblance between Ridenour and her half-sister, Linda Welz, 63, of Corona, California. In fact, during their first Zoom meeting together, Ridenour was mistaken for Welz.
Welz had discovered the new DNA match on her AncestryDNA account in December. Her new-found half-sister shared more DNA with Welz than anyone other than her full siblings and her children.
“I was shocked when a DNA match popped up in my ancestry. None of us knew anything about it,” Welz said.
It wasn’t long after the match was made that Ridenour sent Welz a photo of herself.
“It was an ‘Oh my God’ moment,” Welz said. “Holy moly. This is crazy, mind-blowing stuff.”
Other similarities between the two sisters are remarkable, she said.
“It’s kind of weird,” Welz said. “It’s so interesting how we are both so connected with patriotism and the military.”
And their senses of humor match well.
“We’re all a little crazy,” Ridenour said.
“She fits in with all of us,” Welz said.
“I’ve covered a lot of interesting stories during my career in Air Force public affairs, but I’ve never been as shocked or thrilled as I was to find a big sister, who looks so much like me, that no one in the family ever knew about,” Welz said.
Since the DNA matches were made, Ridenour has discovered more about her biological parents. Both grew up in Plymouth, Ohio, attended school together, and remained there through their early adult years. Some family members are still there.
The new-found family members plan a gathering later this month in the town where all their lives started, in Plymouth. They are looking for an outdoor area where they can safely meet during the pandemic.
Ridenour’s new siblings – from California, Wisconsin and Ohio – are planning to attend to meet their sister in person rather than just over Zoom meetings.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around it,” Ridenour said. She is hoping that her new-found relatives will wear name tags, and she is planning on taking a lot of notes.
“I think it’s really exciting. I am hoping to begin this relationship with a new sister,” Welz said. “I just wish my dad would have known about her. He would have welcomed her into our family.”
Ridenour’s biological father died in 1998.
Through the DNA testing, Ridenour has also connected with relatives on her biological mother’s side of the family. She has learned that her birth mother, who is 91, lives in California.
“I did write her a letter, a long letter,” Ridenour said.
“I don’t know the circumstances,” of why her birth mother placed her for adoption – except that she was a widow who already had a son. She apparently gave birth to Ridenour at a home for unwed mothers in Pittsburgh.
Ridenour hasn’t heard back from her birth mother yet.
