The Orphan Train Movement

Author Donna Nordmark Aviles presents the very personal story of her own grandfather and uncles who, as young, orphaned children, were relocated by train to live and work on mid-western farms in the late 1800's - early 1900's. Known as "orphan trains," Dr. Charles Loring Brace, founder of The Children’s Aid Society, saw them as a very real way to help homeless and neglected children in New York City find homes and purpose with accepting families in the American West. Dr. Brace organized the trains as a way to save an estimated 30,000 homeless and neglected children in New York City by sending them to families who agreed to take them in as extra hands to work on their farms. This event, open to the community, was held as part of a guest lecture series put on by Wilmington University. To learn more about events at Wilmington University, visit this link: https://www.wilmu.edu/studentlife/ind...