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On April 24th, 1856, young George and Joseph Cox went missing in the woods of western Pennsylvania. As the subsequent search became increasingly desperate, people accused the parents of filicide, consulted a dowser and a witch, and concocted prejudiced theories about kidnapping by minority groups. But the strangest part of the sad story would turn out to be how the boys’ bodies were finally found by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong. In this talk, we’ll examine the tragic tale within its historical and cultural context. I’ll discuss the lives of the Cox family and others involved in the search for the missing brothers, what life was like in the Allegheny mountains during the mid-nineteenth century, folk beliefs that played a part in the search, and prejudices that fueled suspicions. I’ll look at how the children’s misfortune was covered in local newspapers as it was happening and how memory of the incident was preserved in later written accounts, particularly Charles R. McCarthy’s book The Lost Children of the Alleghenies and How They Were Found Through a Dream. We’ll also explore how the Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument came to be, the song “Jacob’s Dream” by Alison Krauss, and other ways that the story of the lost brothers has been remembered and mourned for over a hundred years.
