A Promise Kept to Our Mother!

27 years ago on my 18th birthday I received a gift of a lifetime but in a rage of anger. My parents were going through a divorce and my father was very angry at my mother and wanted to discredit her character in my eyes. So he being very drunk started to gripe about her and how terrible she was and how much of a whore she was. I loved my mother and nothing could ever discredit her in my heart so I would try and pacify him by saying ok dad I understand you are hurt she left, but we both know why. The drinking and the abuse you dish out every weekend gets old dad so lets not say anymore or do anymore. He said no, you have to listen to me I have a secret to tell you. I said ok dad I'm listening so spill. He said hon, your mother is a whore because she had a child before you were born. This child is two years older than you. Of course I listened but could not believe him for he was drunk.. So a friend of my mother's came over and confirmed what he was telling me was true..! I was raised as an only child and always craved a sibling and I never understood why. Now those answers were there...

On May 8, 1955 a baby girl was born to Dorothy Lou Barton in the early morning of Mother's Day. She was whisked away by a sister and her husband to be put into a hospital for observation. Mother never got to hold her or see her. She was born in the home of her Maternal Grandparents delivered in the couple's bedroom by Dr. T.M Mathews. The doctor never knew he was to deliver a baby until he arrived at the home that day. All he knew is he was summoned to their home for an emergency.

With the help of Grandmother Barton, Mom signed her parental rights away. No choices back then. This baby was taken to a foster home for three months where she was given a name of Caroline Gayle Barton. She weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces. No hair and a cute button round face. She was adopted August 5, 1955 by Jack and Thelma Patterson of Calloway County Missouri. She was born in Pike County, Missouri.

From that day of my finding out all of this. The next day I went to my mother with the news she confirmed everything with tears. Finally I knew everything, something dad held over her head all these years he would tell me in a drunken rage. She feared I would be told at the wrong time in my life. She was waiting for the right time. This was January 1975. From that day on Mother and I began our search for this child. November of 1975 mother was killed in a motor cycle accident. That summer before her death, WE MADE A PROMISE: THAT WHO EVER LIVES THE SEARCH WILL CONTINUE UNTIL SHE IS FOUND.

Years of door slams, years of looks, years of questions why do you want to know this?? More door slams, red tape after red tape. Finally, the summer of 2001 a paternal aunt of my sister found out about this and started the search herself. She went as far as to write a judge to open her adoption records. She could not continue. So she sent me a certified letter telling me to write a judge to open the records, for I was the only one who could do this I was the only one closest to relations to do this. So I did. In the process I find out where My sister was adopted and whatcounty.

After all this info, I went to AdoptionRegistry.com to add my information and to update all I could. This was March of 2002. While I waited on this judge I thought why not go to the net and give yourself an edge. So I did.

On August 12th a very sad lonely person from Westmont Illinois got onto your adoption registry site and started to read the message boards for 1955 adoptions. She looked and scrolled for an hour. About to give up a voice told her to scroll one more time, so she did the third message on the next page was: Baby Girl Barton Born May 8, 1955. OH MY GOD SOMEONE DOES LOVE ME AND IS TRYING TO FIND ME!!!

Thanks to that message board and the whole aspect of this site and what it tries to do, you have made two people very happy and you most importantly made one angel smile in heaven that her two girls are finally together forever!!! Thank you so very very much.

As of August 17, 2002 on our maternal grandmother's 98th birthday we finally found each other. This is our offical happy to be found day!! Thanks to you, Jeannette Barton Patterson Benisek and Audrey Nelson Jones are sisters forever!!!! Audrey is an aunt of two nephews and a niece, and Jeanette is an aunt of two nephews and a niece and a great aunt of a niece and a nephew and in the spring another great will be here and she will be able to be a part of that one too.

God works miracles every day we are an example of that. This site is an example of that! Keep up the good work!!