 After some time Alder developed interest in his original family in Virginia . A companion , John Moore , learned that Alder had been taken prisoner near Greenbrier , and traveled to Wythe County to search for Alder 's family . Initial inquiries were unsuccessful , but one of a series of advertisements Moore placed in the district was seen by Alder 's surviving brother Paul . Paul then wrote Jonathan to inform him that the family was still alive . 
