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Manchester University Archives and Brethren Historical Collection

 

Full listing > Accession BC2007/14
Accession #BC2007/14
TopicOrphan Trains
TitleOrphan Trains
LocationCOB General File: O
CitationOrphan Trains, BC2007/14, Archives and Brethren Historical Collection, Funderburg Library, Manchester University, North Manchester, Indiana.
AccessResearchers are responsible for determining copyright status of archived materials where this is relevant to their intended use of the materials.
Provenance1 June 2007, internet search by Archivist, Jeanine Wine.
Scope and Content

Orphan trains: From around 1850 through the early twentieth century, thousands of children were brought from overcrowded facilities in the large cities of northeastern U.S. to live with families on farms throughout the Middle West. Orphan Train comes from the railroad trains that transported children to new homes.

1. Information and resources about Orphan Trains from the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

 

Date of Accession26 June 2007
Bio History NoteFrom around 1850 through the early twentieth century, thousands of children were brought from overcrowded facilities in the large cities of northeastern U.S. to live with families on farms throughout the Middle West. Orphan Train comes from the railroad trains that transported children to new homes. Some of the children on the trains were orphans, many had one or two living parents who were unable or unwilling to care for them.  Some parents believed their child would have a better life if sent to a caring family in the western farmlands.  Many parents were immigrants who found life in America harder than anticipated.  Researching the history of Orphan Train riders is often difficult.  Records were often scarce.  Children often did not remember or did not talk about their previous life in the east.  This information is kept in the Church of the Brethren file in the chance that some members of the Church of the Brethren adopted these children or that some of these children became members of the Church of the Brethren.
 


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