Finding Families of Orphan Train Riders

Searching for Records of Children Who Took the Railroads West

Nov 14, 2009

Finding genealogical records for the 200,000 U.S. children who were sent by train from eastern cities to western towns and farms is a challenge for genealogists.

In the second half of the 19th century until almost 1930, thousands of children were placed on “Orphan Trains” to new lives in the west. This movement started in 1853, when the New York Children’s Aid Society devised a plan to send homeless or neglected children from six to 18 years of age out of the city to rural or small towns further west.

Children Made Railroad History

Other aid societies followed suit, and soon hundreds and then thousands of children were riding the trains. Most of the children were not actually orphans, but often had at least one living parent. They were either taken from the home by the courts, or given up because of poverty or illegitimacy. Poverty was a serious problem, since employment for women was limited, and mothers often found they could not support their children after the death or desertion of a spouse.

Many of the children who eventually rode the trains first spent time in city orphanages. The plan was to place them in homes where people wanted children, or needed help on the farm, where they would have a life free from the poverty and slums of the eastern cities. Naturally, some were treated badly and some were adopted lovingly into their new families. Some agencies even allowed children to be indentured, while older ones might be paid for their labor.

Orphan Train Genealogy

Tracking genealogical information on those who rode the orphan trains is not easy. Many of the aid societies responsible for the transport of these children no longer exist, just as most orphanages were closed years ago. Children were not encouraged to maintain contact with relatives back east, and their first and/or last names may have been changed after they arrived, either by adoption or for convenience when living with a new family.

Religion is another area where the usual genealogical strategies may not work. Some orphanages baptized children in the denomination operating the home, and agencies may or may not have paid attention to religion when placing children with foster or adoptive parents.

Remembering that most of these children were not orphans is important – checking census records prior to their removal from the east is a good way to begin, especially since so many were from New York City. Census records for the foster family, if taken shortly after the arrival of an orphan train child, might show a last name different from later censuses.

Baptismal records, as well as aid society or orphanage records, are other sources to pursue. If the organization is still operating, a letter asking for information may net useful results. Addresses for a number of these organizations are available on the National Orphan Train Complex cited below. Another avenue to pursue when seeking records are old newspapers: many orphan train arrivals were reported in local newspapers, occasionally with lists of children and their foster parents.

The Orphan Train Heritage Society of America

The Orphan Train Heritage Society of America (OTHSA was founded in 1986 in Springdale, Arkansas, to preserve the history of the orphan trains and to help those wanting to network with other interested riders and their families. The Society is building a database of reference material, publishes a newsletter, and sponsors orphan train reunions for riders and their descendants. This information is available on the National Orphan Train Complex website.

During the years from 1853 to 1929, around 200,000 U.S. children were transported via railroad from eastern cities to western towns and farms. Whether they found satisfying lives in this new environment, or pined for life back home, they all shared a unique experience, one that their descendants are still discovering.

Holt, Marilyn Irvin. The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992.

Johnson, Mary Ellen. Waifs, Foundlings and Half-Orphans: Searching for America’s Orphan Train Riders. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2005.

Johnson, Mary Ellen, Kay B. Hall, and Marvin Chamberlin, eds. Orphan Train Riders: Their Own Stories. 4 vols. Springdale, AR: Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, 1997.

Journeys of Hope: Orphan Train Riders, Their Own Stories. Springdale, AR: Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, 1999.

The copyright of the article Finding Families of Orphan Train Riders in Genealogy is owned by Katharine Garstka. Permission to republish Finding Families of Orphan Train Riders in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.