News : Shellsburg man loves life with brother he did not know he had until this year

Ron Morton of Texas met his half-brother Albert Muschaweck of Shellsburg for the first time in 2012.

The Mortons and Muschawecks with Marlyn White, who helped unite them.

Albert Muschaweck stood in his driveway in Shellsburg in January, looking at his former school bus driver standing there with a grin on his face.

“I don’t know if this is good news or bad news,” said the former bus driver, Marlyn White. “But if it was me, it would be news I would want to hear.”

It was big news, indeed – and for Muschaweck it was very good news. But it did take a while for that news to sink in.

“You have a half-brother,” said White. “He’d like to meet you.”

Ten miles from the Mexican border, Ron Morton waited, hoping that his half-brother would be glad to learn more about his family, even though it would be a big surprise.

Morton had known for some time that the men’s mother, Gladys Demmel, had given birth to him in 1940 in Kansas City, Mo., at a facility known as the Willows Maternity and Sanitarium, and put him up for adoption. Never once did Gladys mention this to Albert, however. Albert, who was born in 1947, believes his mother met his father shortly after giving birth to his older brother. He believes his mother told no one – not even his father – about her first son.

Morton – whom Gladys named “Clarence” – has been searching for his birth mother for decades. 

The brothers’ story is as long as it is inspiring. It involves local genealogist Martha Long, the Ancestry.com web site, countless letters to the political powers in Missouri, the effort and experience of Morton’s wife, the hiring of a private investigator for $75 to help work with the courts to release the birth certificate, DNA testing and lots and lots of waiting.

The brothers and their wives – and the bus driver and his wife – gathered at Martha Long’s house in Vinton on Wednesday to share that story.

After years of looking for information, trying to find out more from the home were Ron was born, the big break came in August of 2011, when the Missouri law changed, allowing Ron to find out more about his birth mom. Soon he had his birth certificate, which led him to search in Vinton. Census data from 1940 – also recently released – also offered more clues.

The Mortons got in touch with Long, who contacted the bus driver to see if he knew anyone close to Albert who could tell him the news about his half-brother.

All of Albert’s siblings and other relatives have died, so White decided he would be the one to give Albert the news.

That came in January of this year, and the brothers met for the first time in Vinton.  

They met again in Texas, and again this week in Vinton. They may visit New Hampshire together next year.

“It’s still pretty emotional,” said Morton, as tears filled the eyes of several gathered around the table at Long’s house.

Muschaweck said that it's like having a new brother; all of his siblings have since passed on. Gladys also had a daughter, Ruth, who died at a young age. 

Morton grew up an only child, and Albert has laid all of his siblings to rest. The reunion gives each a chance to have a sibling.

While sitting at Long’s table, the brothers discussed their similarities, both in physical appearance and in their lives.

Both married and divorced and began dating  their second wives within days of each other in the 80s. Albert’s wife Lynette also noticed another similarity, one that she said drove her crazy about Albert’s mom: She has seen both her husband and his brother looking over the top of their glasses.

Ron – whom Gladys named Clarence at birth – was born at the Willow Home in Kansas City, where as many as 35,000 babies were born and adopted out between 1905 and 1969. Gladys had wanted Clarence to be adopted to a Lutheran couple and her wish was granted.

Part of the challenge that people like Morton face is the legendary commitment to confidentiality at Willow, as well as the state laws protecting the privacy of birth mothers in Missouri. Many of the birth records at Willow were burned after the facility closed. See more information about the Willow Maternity Sanitarium HERE.

As she spoke to the brothers and their wives, Long said several people have contacted her as they tried to get in touch with relatives they had never met, or had lost contact with in childhood. Several families have been reunited with her help.