Bang!Zoom! Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Does anyone here have family or stories about the Orphan Trains? I was surprised to think about it today and realize I've never met anyone in person with this historic event as part of their background. With an audience this diverse and nothing in search, I thought it might be interesting to discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Were Orphan Trains mainly in Canada? I've never heard about them in the US. What is the novel that has Orphan Trains as part of the story? I know it is by a Canadian author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jentancalann Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Were Orphan Trains mainly in Canada? I've never heard about them in the US. What is the novel that has Orphan Trains as part of the story? I know it is by a Canadian author. My Heart Remembers is a good one, but set in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 One of the forms from a child aid society that was recorded for the trains. Boy things are sure different now... Name of child: __________________________________________ Town: _________________________________________________ State: __________________________________________________ We take pleasure in notifying you that the little boy or girl which you so kindly ordered will arrive at ____________________ Train Station on ____________________ date on train due to arrive at __________time, and ask that you kindly be at Railway Station to receive child, 30 minutes before train is due, and avoid any possibility of missing connection, as train will not wait should you not be there. The name of child, date of birth, and name and address of party to whom child is assigned will be found sewn into the coat of boy and in the hem of dress of girl. This receipt must be signed in ink by both husband and wife, and is to be given up in exchange for child who will have corresponding number. Yours very truly, SISTERS OF CHARITY _____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________ RECEIPT FOR CHILD We beg to acknowledge receipt of the little orphan as numbered above and promise faithfully to raise said child in the Roman Catholic faith and to send h___ to school and give h____ all the advantages that we would give to a child of our own, and report to Sisters of Charity as to health and general condition when requested, notifying them of any change in address. Signature of Husband_________________________ Signature of Wife_____________________________ Street Address________________________________ Date Town State ________________________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 There was a wonderful special about this, and I'll never forget the very old man who choked up at the end, saying his whole life has been a striving to be as good as the man who took him in. Some of the stories were sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I have an relative of an ancestor who raised a boy off the orphan trains in Kansas in the 1870's, but that's about all I know about it. No one ever spoke of it - the only way I found out was going through census records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 1 1/2 years ago, while talking to "Santa" at the mall, dd (then 8.5) requested books & movies about the orphan trains. :) We travel with Amtrak a lot, and she's fascinated with orphans, so when she heard about the orphan trains, she was all over it. We don't know anyone with a connection to an orphan train rider, but I'm sure that she wished that we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 This site has orphan train survivor stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juniper Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 When we were in ministry we hosted a reunion for Orphan Train kids. I do not remember much though. They were a bunch of sweet elderly people. I do know they were so excited to see and meet others who shared in their experiences. I was struck by there resilience and sadness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Joan Lowry Nixon wrote a series of books called "Orphan Train Adventures" that my older girls loved back when they were little. There are also a couple of really excellent children's books about Orphan Trains written by Andrea Warreh at a middle grades level. We Rode the Orphan Trains is one and Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story is another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 When we were in ministry we hosted a reunion for Orphan Train kids. I do not remember much though. They were a bunch of sweet elderly people. I do know they were so excited to see and meet others who shared in their experiences. I was struck by there resilience and sadness. How interesting! Can you tell us more? There is also a Orphan's Journey series by Arleta Richardson: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) nm Edited June 5, 2012 by Dobela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Now that you mention it, neither have I although it always interested me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I don't know of any family that was on the orphan trains. My great grandmother however was orphaned at a very young age around 1900 (she was about 5) and her story is very similar to some I was just reading on the link someone else provided. She was passed from family member to family member, or to neighbors, as they 'tired' of her. There was no raising her because they loved her or felt the need to care and raise family. She was just allowed to stay in homes until they felt they had 'met their Christian duty' or for some other reason felt that she was no longer needed in the home. Sometimes the family claimed to not have enough money to care for her, other times they had more children and said they didn't have room for her to live in the home with them, and so on. She was never allowed to attend school, even if the children in the family she was staying with sent their kids, because she had no inheritance. Besides, the family was taxed for each child that went to school. She was separated from siblings and had a baby sister that she didn't find again. She eventually trained (or was trained) to be a midwife and we recently discovered that she was then expected to deliver all the babies in the family for 'to earn her keep' and 'to repay all she owed for her keep'. The only way out of this cycle was marriage, or as my great grandmother's sister did - go into prostitution. Interestingly, after she married, my grandmother never worked as a midwife again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misidawnrn Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My dad wasn't on an orphan train but I have his adoption papers. It looks like a 11x13 sized piece of paper folded like a travel map. It is a generic document that has the blanks filled in, signed by a worker and my grandparents at the bottom....done. So much different that the entire file we have for our adoption for Sarah. My grandmother kept a baby book and talks about going from their home town to the orphanage and picking him up. She was very excited about her new baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DonnaAviles Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hi everyone! I happened upon this site and wanted to share my orphan train info. My grandfather Oliver Nordmark rode from NYC to Bern Kansas along with his younger brother Edward in 1906. Oliver was 8 and Edward was just 5. The orphan train movement began in 1854 and continued until 1929. In those 75 years it is estimated that 250,000 children traveled across the country in search of homes. The orphan trains are now recognized as the start of America's foster care system. I am the author of two books on Oliver's young life, FLY LITTLE BIRD, FLY! and BEYOND THE ORPHAN TRAIN which are written at the 6th grade level and are widely read in schools. Additionally, I am a frequent speaker on the subject at schools and organizations so feel free to ask any questions! Donna (Nordmark) Aviles www.orphantrainbook.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 This site has orphan train survivor stories. Thanks so much for that link! The first story was about an orphan placed right here where I live! This has been interesting reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Thank you Donna am having a nice time going through the links from your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My grandparents farmed in north-central Kansas from the 1910's through the 1980's. One of their neighbors adopted a boy off the orphan trains, and they had many stories about him. Seems he was adopted just so they could have another hired hand. He was not treated well at all, and people on the neighboring farms knew it. Whenever he was in the area, my grandmother would invite him in, make him eat a good meal, wash his clothes and then give him some bread or cakes to take back to the little room he had in his adoptive family's barn. My grandfather always thought it was shameful how he was treated, and my father said that the only time he ever saw his father raise his fist to anyone was to defend that boy one time when his "father" made him crawl into the thresher because it was jammed. My grandfather was there and refused to let the boy do it. They came to blows over it, apparently. One day he was sent out to gather the milk cows after an especially violent spring storm. He drowned crossing the creek, and my granddad always said it was because he dared not return home without the cows. His "family" refused to bury him in anything but his tattered old overalls so my grandmother got the neighbors together and found a suit, shirt and shoes in which to bury him. The suit was my dad's Sunday school suit. So sad. I have a good book about the orphan trains somewhere; it was my dad's. I'm not home now but when I get home I'll find it and post the title in case it's not one of the ones that have already been mentioned. astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Joan Lowry Nixon wrote a series of books called "Orphan Train Adventures" that my older girls loved back when they were little. There are also a couple of really excellent children's books about Orphan Trains written by Andrea Warreh at a middle grades level. We Rode the Orphan Trains is one and Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story is another. My daughter and I read the series by Joan Lowry Nixon as part of her 4th grade Oak Meadow curriculum and it was the first I'd ever even heard of the orphan trains! I don't recall ever learning or hearing about that in school or growing up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 This is very interesting! Thanks for the thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Thanks for the link. We're studying orphan trains this week with TOG. I had never heard of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 There was a movie about this in the late 70s or early 80s -shockingly enough named "Orphan Train". I remember watching it with my parents. Found it on imdb - released in 1979. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079676/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My grandparents farmed in north-central Kansas from the 1910's through the 1980's. One of their neighbors adopted a boy off the orphan trains, and they had many stories about him. Seems he was adopted just so they could have another hired hand. He was not treated well at all, and people on the neighboring farms knew it. Whenever he was in the area, my grandmother would invite him in, make him eat a good meal, wash his clothes and then give him some bread or cakes to take back to the little room he had in his adoptive family's barn. My grandfather always thought it was shameful how he was treated, and my father said that the only time he ever saw his father raise his fist to anyone was to defend that boy one time when his "father" made him crawl into the thresher because it was jammed. My grandfather was there and refused to let the boy do it. They came to blows over it, apparently. One day he was sent out to gather the milk cows after an especially violent spring storm. He drowned crossing the creek, and my granddad always said it was because he dared not return home without the cows. His "family" refused to bury him in anything but his tattered old overalls so my grandmother got the neighbors together and found a suit, shirt and shoes in which to bury him. The suit was my dad's Sunday school suit. So sad. I have a good book about the orphan trains somewhere; it was my dad's. I'm not home now but when I get home I'll find it and post the title in case it's not one of the ones that have already been mentioned. astrid :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 My grandparents farmed in north-central Kansas from the 1910's through the 1980's. One of their neighbors adopted a boy off the orphan trains, and they had many stories about him. Seems he was adopted just so they could have another hired hand. He was not treated well at all, and people on the neighboring farms knew it. Whenever he was in the area, my grandmother would invite him in, make him eat a good meal, wash his clothes and then give him some bread or cakes to take back to the little room he had in his adoptive family's barn. My grandfather always thought it was shameful how he was treated, and my father said that the only time he ever saw his father raise his fist to anyone was to defend that boy one time when his "father" made him crawl into the thresher because it was jammed. My grandfather was there and refused to let the boy do it. They came to blows over it, apparently. One day he was sent out to gather the milk cows after an especially violent spring storm. He drowned crossing the creek, and my granddad always said it was because he dared not return home without the cows. His "family" refused to bury him in anything but his tattered old overalls so my grandmother got the neighbors together and found a suit, shirt and shoes in which to bury him. The suit was my dad's Sunday school suit. So sad. I have a good book about the orphan trains somewhere; it was my dad's. I'm not home now but when I get home I'll find it and post the title in case it's not one of the ones that have already been mentioned. astrid I'm sorry, but there are no words (or excuses) for that. Poor boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks to my wonderful insomnia the other night I watched a creep movie called Children Of The Grave. Granted much was about the whole ghost aspect but there was an historical foundation. Alot of the Orphan Trains was mentioned. You know they put them on trains from New York and all over really alot of them went to the orphanges in Indiiana. I found it horrible about the mass graves not even names given to these little ones. Alot of the parents who took them in were none too kind. I feel sad for these kids it was all so tragic. It seems the system in charge of children has never really been good and that makes me saddest of all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 My daughter and I read the series by Joan Lowry Nixon as part of her 4th grade Oak Meadow curriculum and it was the first I'd ever even heard of the orphan trains! I don't recall ever learning or hearing about that in school or growing up! No, I don't remember it either. My older daughter was a Nixon fan, so while I was looking for other books written by her I ran across the Orphan Train series. Jenna was going through an Orphan phase, so I picked them up for her. I thought it was just fiction until she started looking for more information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Here is a site I found that has some stories from a few of the actual orphans http://www.orphantraindepot.com/RiderStories.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Joan Lowry Nixon wrote a series of books called "Orphan Train Adventures" that my older girls loved back when they were little. There are also a couple of really excellent children's books about Orphan Trains written by Andrea Warreh at a middle grades level. We Rode the Orphan Trains is one and Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story is another. Hey, Andrea Warren is my 2nd cousin! Our shared Great Grandma was mayor of a Kansas town in 1922! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Hey, Andrea Warren is my 2nd cousin! Our shared Great Grandma was mayor of a Kansas town in 1922! Oh how cool! We loved her books. Do you know her personally or did you dig her up on Ancestry.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Oh how cool! We loved her books. Do you know her personally or did you dig her up on Ancestry.com? I found an article she'd written (online) mentioning my great grandmother. I emailed her, she was quite perplexed as to who I was and perhaps a bit wary, but her mother, the last of my father's generation, clearly remembered my father and knew I knew enough facts to be "legit". My son is going to get to meet her this summer, back in Kansas. She's 92 and sharp as a tack. Andrea seems to take very good care of her. I didn't know she wrote children's books! I'll have to look for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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