Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-04-18
STOLEN FORTY YEARS AGO.
A Woman Meets Her Aged Mother on
Easter Sunday A Happy Reunion.


Easter Sunday A Happy Reunion.
The people of Northumberland, Pa,
and of the neighboring settlements, are
greatly excited over most extraordinary
reunion which occurred Easter Sunday in
a little home at Market and South Third
streets. a woman was restored to her
mother, Mrs. Wilthiese, aged seventy
three from whom she had been
stolen when child forty years ago, of
whose existence, until recently, the re-
turned woman was entirely unaware.
Forty yeats ago Mrs. Wilthiese, who
was then Mrs. John Gilbert, lived with
her husband and three children on a farm
near Freeburg, Snyder county. One of
their near neighbors was wealthy
farmer, named John Matthias, who, al
though married for number of years,
had no children. The third child of the
Gllberts, little Sarah Jane, was univer-
sal favorIte on account of her beauty and
brightness. Mr.. and Mrs. Matthias would
frequently come over to the Gilberts and
ask them to let little Sarah Jane come
over to their place, as they were lonesome.
The request was always granted.
Matthias got into mt business compli-
cations and secretly converted all his
property into money, and one morning
started :or the West, taking the little girl
with him. 1t was several days before he
| w nnicoal anI tbara hainn 4,
and telegraph in that section in those
| days, no trace of them could be found.
The distracted mother made every at
tempt to trace them, and spent many
thousand dollars in trying to learn The
whereabouts of her favorite child. The
farm was sold and the moneY spent fo r
that purpose, but all to no avail.
Some years later her husband died, and,
having given up all hopes of ever regain
ing the child, she resigned herself to her
fate. Afterward she was married to Peter
Wilthiese, and twenty years ago they
moved to Northumberland. There the
second husband died, and she raised re.
spectacle family of nine children.
Matthias, journeying westward, located
in Indiana, but after few years moved
to Youngstown, OHIO, the present home
of the daughter. Here Sarah Jane grew
into maturity and later We dded George A.
Krlechbaum, a painter and reared family
of nine children. The foster mother,
since dead, had made confidante of a
Mrs. George Menges, and last winter Mrs.
Menges told the story of the abduction to
the oldest son of Mrs. Kriechbaum, and
he informed his mother of the discovery.
This recalled the matter, of which she
| had indistinct recollection. 1t was finally
decided that the young man should take
trip 10 Elkhart county, Indiana, to visit
an old uncle who knew the full particu-
ars and unravel the mystery If possible.
Upon arriving at the house of the uncle
the son slowly obtained the story link by
| link. Ii was ascertained that his mother
had an uncle living in Freeburg, Snyder
county, Pa, by the name of William Teats,
and letters were sent TO him to inquire into
the history of the family of his mother.
Mr.. Teats is very old.and too feeble to
write, and after short time placed the
correspondence into the hands of Mrs.
Kriechbaum's brother, Jacob Gilbert, of
Middlcburg, and after several lette 5 had
been exchanged he informed here of the
whereabouts of her mother and kindred.
! The next step taken was the difficult task
of breaking the good news to the mother,
and this was by no means an easy matter,
as the old lady had passed her seventy
third year, and although remarkably well
preserved for her age it was considered
advisable to impart the news of the find
ing of the long.lost Sarah Jane gently and
with as little surprise as possible. Jacob
Gilbert, being lawyer, undertook the
affair, and with diplomacy informed his
mother without causing shock. By de-
grees the facts were impaired to the
parent, and when at last the truth dawned
upon her her happiness was boundless
and she wept tears of JOY.
n telegram received last Thursday at
Northumberland announced that Mrs.
Kreichbaum would spend Eeaster with
her mother and sister, MIS- Chas. Bloom.
field, and at the appointed time she arriv-
ed. She was recognized by photographs
that had been exchanged, and the meet
ing was so touching as to affect everybody
that was at the depot at the time. Easter
morning the entire party, including Jacob
Gilbert, the brother and a sister from Sny-
der county, wended their way together to
church.
THE CLINTON STREET VIEWERS.
They Rave Prepared Their Report of the