Lost Children of the Alleghenies
Encyclopedia
The Lost Children of the Alleghenies is a folk story from the Appalachia
region of the United States
.
Joseph and George Cox are known through the Allegheny Mountains
as The Lost Children of the Alleghenies. A small memorial is nestled in the dense forest of Spruce Hollow of Blue Knob State Park
in Pennsylvania
.
he had built for his family empty-handed. Samuel and Susannah had two small sons, Joseph, age 5, and George, age 6. As they sat down for dinner, their dog, Sport, began barking and Samuel told his wife that Sport had treed a squirrel and he would go get it for meat for the family's supper.
After about 90 minutes, Samuel returned home by a different route. On entering the clearing where his cabin stood, he was met by his wife. Susannah Cox was crying hysterically because the two boys were missing. Susannah frantically told her husband how she had repeatedly called for them and then searched the area. She was sure that something had happened to them. The woods in the area had many fast-flowing streams that the two small boys could easily drown in. The fog had grown denser through the day, which made finding the boys even more difficult.
Cox immediately began searching for his sons. Again and again he desperately called their names and listened intently after his echo for the small voices of the boys. The only things he heard were the birds in the trees and the rustling of wind in the leaves. Finally, Samuel went to his neighbors who lived farther up the valley to ask their aid in the search.
Within hours, over 150 people were searching the Blue Knob area for the young boys. They searched well past nightfall, rested briefly and renewed their search at dawn. The search continued nearly ten days and involved almost 1,000 people. People searched through the woods in every direction looking for the boys. Some people came from over 50 miles away at a time before automobiles when it was very difficult to travel that far. However, the search party couldn't find any clues related to the boys' disappearance.
By that time, the entire population of the area had developed thoughts on the extreme misfortune that the Cox family was experiencing. Wild rumors were spread as neighbors told stories to one another. Stories that the boys had drowned, that they were killed by a man-eating beast seen prowling the forest, or that the parents had murdered them. Several neighbors went as far as tearing up the floorboards of the Cox cabin and digging in their yard to relieve those accusations.
Then, at the height of all the rumors, a young farmer named Jacob Dibert had a nightmare. In his nightmare, Dibert was part of the search party looking for the Cox boys. He became separated from the other men. He could not recognize the part of the forest he was in, but he came to a fallen tree. Near the tree lay a dead deer. Stepping over the deer, Dibert followed a deer trail and soon found a small boy's shoe. Just beyond where he found the shoe there was a beech
tree that had fallen over a brook. Above the brook, he saw a giant dead beech tree on a ridge and the boys lying there in the hollow of the roots of the tree.
Jacob told his wife about the dream, but they said nothing to anyone else. The next two nights he dreamed the same dream again. So they decided to tell Mrs. Dibert's brother, Harrison Whysong, who lived in Pavia and was well acquainted with the area in which the boys had disappeared. Whysong was skeptical of the dream and said nothing. He knew where there was just such a brook and ridge, but unfortunately, he regarded it as a wild goose chase. Finally, to ease his sister's mind, he took Jacob to that area so that he and Jacob could re-trace the steps of his dream.
As Dibert traced the steps of his dream they came upon a fallen tree and there laid a dead deer. Beyond the deer, about eight yards away, was a child's shoe laying upon a mound of earth. Both men began to run. They came to a brook with a fallen beech tree just like the one in Dibert's dream. As they crossed the brook and scrambled up the steep ridge on the other side, Dibert spotted a giant beech tree with a shattered top.
At the roots of the beech tree they found the bodies of George and Joseph Cox, dead from exposure. It was May 8, 1856, about two weeks after the boys had vanished. The bodies of the boys were returned to the Cox home, and the church and school bells tolled from Pavia, to Bedford
, to Altoona
.
Cemetery.
In 1906, for the 50th anniversary of the event, the community of Pavia took up donations for a Lost Children of the Alleghenies Monument to honor the Cox family. In 1910, they erected the monument at the spot where Joseph and George Cox were found over 50 years earlier.
Early in July 2002, the Cox monument was vandalized. The monument was overturned and the fence surrounding the monument was pushed in. Workers from Culp Monumental Works of Schellsburg moved the Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument back into place. C.B. Culp, who founded the family company in 1899, had made the original chiseled marble stone.
Alison Krauss
released a song written by Julie Lee
and John Pennell about the story entitled "Jacob's Dream".
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
region of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Joseph and George Cox are known through the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
as The Lost Children of the Alleghenies. A small memorial is nestled in the dense forest of Spruce Hollow of Blue Knob State Park
Blue Knob State Park
Blue Knob State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel, Lincoln, and Pavia townships in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The average annual snowfall at the park is about . The park is named for Blue Knob, the second highest mountain in Pennsylvania at . It is the location...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Story
On April 24, 1856, Samuel Cox went hunting on a foggy morning to get meat for his family's supper. He returned to the log cabinLog cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
he had built for his family empty-handed. Samuel and Susannah had two small sons, Joseph, age 5, and George, age 6. As they sat down for dinner, their dog, Sport, began barking and Samuel told his wife that Sport had treed a squirrel and he would go get it for meat for the family's supper.
After about 90 minutes, Samuel returned home by a different route. On entering the clearing where his cabin stood, he was met by his wife. Susannah Cox was crying hysterically because the two boys were missing. Susannah frantically told her husband how she had repeatedly called for them and then searched the area. She was sure that something had happened to them. The woods in the area had many fast-flowing streams that the two small boys could easily drown in. The fog had grown denser through the day, which made finding the boys even more difficult.
Cox immediately began searching for his sons. Again and again he desperately called their names and listened intently after his echo for the small voices of the boys. The only things he heard were the birds in the trees and the rustling of wind in the leaves. Finally, Samuel went to his neighbors who lived farther up the valley to ask their aid in the search.
Within hours, over 150 people were searching the Blue Knob area for the young boys. They searched well past nightfall, rested briefly and renewed their search at dawn. The search continued nearly ten days and involved almost 1,000 people. People searched through the woods in every direction looking for the boys. Some people came from over 50 miles away at a time before automobiles when it was very difficult to travel that far. However, the search party couldn't find any clues related to the boys' disappearance.
By that time, the entire population of the area had developed thoughts on the extreme misfortune that the Cox family was experiencing. Wild rumors were spread as neighbors told stories to one another. Stories that the boys had drowned, that they were killed by a man-eating beast seen prowling the forest, or that the parents had murdered them. Several neighbors went as far as tearing up the floorboards of the Cox cabin and digging in their yard to relieve those accusations.
Then, at the height of all the rumors, a young farmer named Jacob Dibert had a nightmare. In his nightmare, Dibert was part of the search party looking for the Cox boys. He became separated from the other men. He could not recognize the part of the forest he was in, but he came to a fallen tree. Near the tree lay a dead deer. Stepping over the deer, Dibert followed a deer trail and soon found a small boy's shoe. Just beyond where he found the shoe there was a beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
tree that had fallen over a brook. Above the brook, he saw a giant dead beech tree on a ridge and the boys lying there in the hollow of the roots of the tree.
Jacob told his wife about the dream, but they said nothing to anyone else. The next two nights he dreamed the same dream again. So they decided to tell Mrs. Dibert's brother, Harrison Whysong, who lived in Pavia and was well acquainted with the area in which the boys had disappeared. Whysong was skeptical of the dream and said nothing. He knew where there was just such a brook and ridge, but unfortunately, he regarded it as a wild goose chase. Finally, to ease his sister's mind, he took Jacob to that area so that he and Jacob could re-trace the steps of his dream.
As Dibert traced the steps of his dream they came upon a fallen tree and there laid a dead deer. Beyond the deer, about eight yards away, was a child's shoe laying upon a mound of earth. Both men began to run. They came to a brook with a fallen beech tree just like the one in Dibert's dream. As they crossed the brook and scrambled up the steep ridge on the other side, Dibert spotted a giant beech tree with a shattered top.
At the roots of the beech tree they found the bodies of George and Joseph Cox, dead from exposure. It was May 8, 1856, about two weeks after the boys had vanished. The bodies of the boys were returned to the Cox home, and the church and school bells tolled from Pavia, to Bedford
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Bedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...
, to Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
.
Cultural impact
Joseph and George Cox were buried in the Mount UnionMount Union, Pennsylvania
Mount Union is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, 45 miles southeast of Altoona, on the Juniata River. In the vicinity are found bituminous coal, ganister rock, fire clay, and some timber. A major Easter grass factory is located in the northern quadrant of the borough limits; until May...
Cemetery.
In 1906, for the 50th anniversary of the event, the community of Pavia took up donations for a Lost Children of the Alleghenies Monument to honor the Cox family. In 1910, they erected the monument at the spot where Joseph and George Cox were found over 50 years earlier.
Early in July 2002, the Cox monument was vandalized. The monument was overturned and the fence surrounding the monument was pushed in. Workers from Culp Monumental Works of Schellsburg moved the Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument back into place. C.B. Culp, who founded the family company in 1899, had made the original chiseled marble stone.
Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
released a song written by Julie Lee
Julie Lee
Julie Lee is a singer/songwriter originally from Maryland now living in Nashville, Tennessee. She is also a member of the band Old Black Kettle, with Sarah Siskind, and has collaborated with Sarah Masen...
and John Pennell about the story entitled "Jacob's Dream".
External links
- Miracle at Blue Knob by Wendel Allen at Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
- The Lost Children of the Alleghenies by Ned Frear at Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
- Lost Children of the Alleghenies on the Bedford Area School District website