Inside one man's journey to find family

For 75 years, Dixon Handshaw believed he was an only child. Adopted from New York at birth, the North Carolina man always wondered where his biological family was and who they were. 

“All my life, I dreamed about having siblings somewhere,” he shared. But New York adoption law prevented him from accessing his birth certificate – even in adulthood.

That is until 2020, when original birth certificates were unsealed for adopted New Yorkers following the passage of a 2019 law. It took a few years, but Dixon finally received his a few months ago.

He immediately looked up his biological father’s name and was shocked to find a face nearly identical to his staring back at him. While his father had passed away years ago, his obituary read that he was survived by six other children – all of Dixon’s siblings😳.

Soon after, Dixon reached out to Gary Romig, one of his father’s stepsons whom he later adopted. 

• "It wasn't difficult,” he shared of the experience. “My biggest hesitancy was I didn't want to intrude on people. I didn't know whether they would be happy that I was around or not.”
• His siblings were thrilled, however, and set up a trip to New York last month for Dixon to come meet the family. He called it his Christmas miracle.

🥰 Making up for lost time: Dixon and his siblings are already scheduling get-togethers in the future, planning camping trips for the summer, and starting a group text they talk “on every day.”

“I had great adoptive parents. They were wonderful. I love them and I miss them, but I always wanted siblings, and now I have them,” Dixon told CNN. “I thought one or two would be great. I got six!”