orphantraindepot.org
This is a copy of an email I received from Phil Sutton who is one of the founders of the Orphan Train Heritage Society. Helpful info here with link to more info.
If you are doing research on Orphans, you
will likely come across “Orphan Trains.”
Orphans or homeless street children from large east
coast cities were loaded on trains and taken
West. The trains would stop at western towns
and local people would select a child to live in
their family. No adoption papers, nothing.
It is estimated at over 200,000 children were placed
with western families by this method. This practice
went on from approximately 1854 and 1929.
The Orphan Train Heritage Society was founded in
Springdale, Arkansas in 1986 by Mary Ellen Johnson and
myself. Years later, the Society was transferred to a
group in Concordia, Kansas. The Orphan Train Complex in
Concordia still operates today: https://orphantraindepot.org/
These folks might be a resource for you if you are researching
orphans nationwide.
Phil
Phil Sutton