How a Mother and Daughter Met for the First Time--After 69 Years
At 88-years-old and living in an assisted living home in Florida, Genevieve Purinton thought she was alone in this world. Her eight other siblings had passed away, and she had no children—or so she thought.
In 1949, at just 18 years old, Purinton gave birth to a little girl. “When I said I wanted to see the baby, they told me she died,” Purinton told Fox13 News in an emotional interview.
But after 69 years and with a little help from an AncestryDNA kit, Purinton was reunited with her daughter, Connie Moultroup.
“It’s been a lifetime of wanting this,” Moultroup said through joyful tears. “I remember being 5 years old, wishing I could find my mother.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Moultroup whispered to her mother as they held an embrace for several minutes as if to make up for 69 years of time together lost.
Moultroup, who came from Vermont to meet her mother, received the AncestryDNA kit as a Christmas gift last year. With it, she found a cousin she’d never known before.
She gave the cousin her mother’s name, which is all she knew of her, and, amazingly, her cousin dropped a bombshell on Moultroup: “She said, ‘oh, that’s my aunt! By the way, she’s still alive!'”
“It’s good to meet you,” Moultroup said as she finally stood back, just a bit, from her mother’s arms. “Same to you,” Purinton said with a grin as her daughter wiped a tear from her eye.
Purinton looked into Moultroup’s eyes, saying, “you’re really not dead!”
“I’m not dead,” Moultroup said, igniting laughter in everyone who watched this incredible moment before falling back into another long overdue hug.
Purinton will spend the rest of her life now knowing that she is not alone. Not only has she found her daughter, Purinton also gained grandchildren and great-grandchildren through this incredible discovery.
