Oh boy, do I have a good story for you today, Old Spirituals readers!

Jenny Ashcraft, of Newspapers.com, outlined a most interesting story about a man named Forest Bixler, and his search for his family. She provided several links to archived newspaper stories and sent me down quite the rabbit hole, learning about the case.

The story begins in early February 1929 when Forest Bixler, age 39, appeared in the office of the Akron Beacon Journal and requested the newspaper’s help finding his parents. Bixler believed he had been kidnapped when he was a small child.

Forest H. Bixler, photograph by the Akron Beacon Journal

Bixler’s story was an odd one. Though he was a well-adjusted adult by then, married, and the owner of a successful farm in Kent, Ohio, Forest could never come to terms with his past. He had vague memories of living in his parents’ home. It was from that home that he believed he had been kidnapped by Alfred and Emma Bixler. He had only the dimmest memories: he believed his parents had lived in Kansas. He remembered his father was a tall man and the name of Jewel was lodged in his memory–mysteriously, as he could not recall anyone by that name. He knew that, shortly before he was taken by the Bixlers, he had fallen from his high chair and scarred his knee.

He recalled living with the Bixlers and a baby girl in Van Wert, Ohio when he was about five years old. Emma had insisted he call Alfred “Father” and the couple had given the boy their name, but Forest had always known he was not Alfred‘s son. Forest believed Emma had died in Van Wert and, a short time later, Bixler had taken Forest to Stark county, and left him there in the care of a kindly elderly lady. He had returned once or twice then he disappeared forever.

Why had Bixler waited so long to look for his parents? The answer to that was easy, though tragic. Forest’s wife had pleaded with him to go to the newspaper for help. She knew how the mystery of his paternity bothered him. But Forest resisted her suggestion. He was convinced that if his parents had really searched for him they would have found him. It wasn’t until stories of another missing child, Melvin Horst, were published in the paper, that Forest relented. Mr. and Mrs. Horst had done all they could to find their son, to no avail, and they were heartbroken.

Whether Forest was telling them of real, though dim, memories or the result of his childish imaginings was unclear. There was no proof to support his story. The only thing they could check was the Van Wert county records. Marriage, birth, and death records at Van Wert revealed nothing concerning Alfred, Emma, and Forest Bixler or a little girl.

Nevertheless, the Beacon Journal knew a good story when they heard one. They published an article, keeping out Forest’s name and address, but sharing everything he told them about his suspicions of being kidnapped and his few childhood memories.

As a consequence of Forest’s search, the first proof emerged that his memories might really be accurate. Harry Walters, superintendent in Van Wert’s Woodland cemetery, stepped forward to confirm that the cemetery had a record of Mrs. E. Bixler being buried there in 1894. For Forest, whose knowledge of his early life was limited to fragmented and distorted memories, Walters’ confirmation of Emma’s burial offered the first bit of real proof he had ever had.

Go to Part 2