The age-herald., 1900-01-31
4 MOTHERS HEART BEATS WITH HOPE Meager Tidings of a Long Lost
 Child. WAS KIDNAPPED IN 1892 Chief Austin Receives a Letter from London, Ky, Making Inquiry Con- cerning Little Girl Which
 Gives a Clue.
WAS KIDNAPPED IN 1892


 this city, from her mother and grandpar-
 ents, who resided at the corner of Tenth
 avenue and Nineteenth street. The child
 was stolen in broad daylight by it's father,
 whose cruelty and lack of parental consid-
 eration had forced a pretty and devoted
 wife to return to her parents.
 A letter from London, Ky, was received
 yesterday by Chief of Police Austin, in
 which meager details are given of a girl of twelve years of age, who claims to have been stolen from Birmingham, the state- ments in which dovetail with the incidents above related.
 In years bygone beautiful girl graduate | and a young lawyer of Chattanooga plight
 ed their troth and were married in the home | of the brides parents in Georgia. Cupids l work seemed to have been ideal, but mes sages from Chattanooga friends to the | young wifes father, who had then moved l to Birmingham, within the space of a few | short months, indicated that all was not l well with the young husband as it should be- He was neglecting his home, was form- | ing immoral associates; he had become ad- | dicted to the wineglass. Thus things went | until a little child came to brighten the | home as no other jewel can But the Ia | ther continued his wayward career; Tn nus revellings he besmirched his wife, his baby, | his home.
 Returned 10 Her Father The father of this young wife was h. o'
 Hoyt, one of the boomers of poonllhs DIT noineham His daughter, Miss May Hoyt' a7ad married Jack W. Young. Wth narental fondness for his daughters we.- fare he informed the husband that unless be caased his erroneous tendencies he vrould take back his child within the walls of narenhs home. Reformation was
 nramised. but. like many promises they
 were made without the stamina Of man
 hoods backing. While the father of this
 baby was in the throes of a drunkenr stupor in their Chattanooga home, the bride ot but "a few months took her darling babe and came to her parents in Birmingham Her husband wrote letters; he sent many telegrams; but they were all returned to hlm just as sent, neither the wife nor MT. Hoyt reading them Finally he came in person to plead for her return, making re- newed promises to lead better life, and with the forgiving spirit of a pure woman she yielded to his opportunities. But he soon forgot his pledges, and Mrs. Young again returned to her parents. Entices the ChiId Away Soon after her husband followed. He went to MT. Hoyt's home, corner of Tenth | avenue and Ninteenth street, and, finding | the toddling little in the yard, he en- ticed it to him with the promise Of buying the child candy. He quickly took car | for town and was seen with the child by | MT. Hoyt, who followed after as rapidly as possible and incidents occurred which need not be rehearsed here. At any rate the courts here decided that Young should have the care of the child, and he escaped with it. He was traced to Chattanooga where long court proceedings decided that | the wife should have custody of her baby, l and ordered its delivery to her. Young | spirited it away and, although detectives | were placed on his trail the child was never heard from. The last heard of Young | was that he was at Guthrie, O. T., during l the opening of the Cherokee strip. Mrs. Young was granted divorce from her husband and several years ago be- came the wife of S. G. Harris, who is now chief mairlng clerk in the postofffce in this city During all these years Mrs. Young
 has hoped to glean some information con cerning her child, but has been disappoint- | ed.
 l The Letter from London | The letter received by Chief Austin yes- serday is dated London, Ky, January 27, | and is as follows:
 1T write to ask information in regard to
 a child that was kidnapped from your city | about eight or nine years ago. q have the child in my possession, it | claiming to have been stolen from your | place.
 "She is about 12 years old, and says she | lived at the time sine was stolen with her | grandmother, a Mrs. White, and that she | was stolen by man named Willie Will | Hams, who took her to Jellico, Tenn. She | thought he was now in the penitentiary. q have adopted her in one sense of the word she being bound out to me by the | judge of this county.
 "ss,e is anxious to find out if her parents | are Nving.
 | "If you can give me any information on l the subject would be glad to hear from | you. "When she was taken to Jaico she | stayed with a Mrs Sowell." Here the writer asserts that there are | several men under a $2OO bail in jail on l grand jury charges for taking advantage | of the girls youth and ignorance The l writer continues:
 "She is we'll protected under my care and | will have every advantage of a good school I education and proper training. Pardon me for taking up so much of | your time, but have sympathy for the | weak and greatly wronged of this world. | Hoping to hear from you very soon, am | yours truly, MANUEL B. NASH" | Thought To Re the Child | It is thought that this is the long lost | child, and the name "White," which she | gives being her grandparents, is an easy name for child to confound with 'Hoyt" The name williams" given as the party who stole her Is known to be the name
 of the man with whom Young secreted the
 child during the Chattanooga court pro- l ceedings, and this discrepancy Is easily re- ] conciled when this fact Is known Williams