This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Orphan Train Rider Tales Highlight 75 Year Program
Fairfield story recounts Mary Shafer’s lessons from the Orphan Train era. It notes Brace’s Children’s Aid Society, 250000 riders sent to 47 states, roughly 10000 ending in Iowa, and letters kept by hosts. It covers fates of Lucy Fleak and Benjamin Finger, reports on fostering over adoption, and the 1929 end.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Fairfield
Mary Evelyn Shafer
Shafer
Nebraska
Charles Loring Brace
Childrens Aid Society
New York City
Brace’s
United States
Iowa
George
Magadene Wolff
John
Caroline Kurtz
Germanville
Alice
Raymond Kessel
Brighton
Alice Kessel
Wolff
Kurtz
Wolffs
Lucy Freak
Kurtzes
Benjamin Finger
Lucy Fleak
Finger
Fleak
Brace
Texas