Orphan Train History

Bridget Collins is in dire straits - she needs to get out of New York, fast. With two young siblings under her wing, her options are limited. Her priest sends her as an outplacement agent on the orphan trains that run from New York to out west. With almost 40 orphans under her care, she's relieved that fellow and more experienced outplacement agent Carl Watson is there to guide her. But Carl is dealing with his own trauma and finds it difficult to handle the pain the orphans are dealing with.

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Bella Jones and Kathleen Collins are as close as sisters and that's how they want things to stay. But fate intervenes. Kathleen's brothers have disappeared; they traveled from New York on the Orphan Train and nobody has heard from them since. She can't shed her gut feeling something awful has happened to them. She goes looking for them, but is she prepared for what she will find?

Kenny Clark knows Santa is magical and only he can find his family. Kathleen Collins fights poverty and desperation every day in her bid to find new homes for the orphans of New York. But what about her happily ever after?

It's 1911, and Lily's plans for her factory are not progressing as fast as she would like. Maria, her sister Rosa, and friend Leonie are still working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Maria and Conrad have agreed it's pointless finding new jobs when they will soon be joining Lily's factory. Rosa can think of nothing but her upcoming marriage, and Leonie worries how she is going to look after her four siblings when their mother falls very ill.

Two orphaned girls become found family amidst the horrors of WWII in a gripping and heart-wrenching tale of friendship, loss and survival against the odds which sweeps the listener across wartime Europe to Budapest from the mountains of Scotland.

Two New York girls, Maria Mezza and Alice Doe, wake up one November morning in 1906. Their lives are about to change forever. Maria is heading to her first job in a shirtwaist factory wishing she was heading to the country side. Alice is leaving New York to find a new family in Illinois country side. Three years later, the paths of the two girls will converge once more. Gone is the innocence of youth yet both girls are desperately hoping their lives will improve. Maria is caught up in the Shirtwaist Strike while Alice is on the run for her life.`

Kathleen Green longs for a child of her own. Her work with the orphan trains only serve to heighten her need. When tragedy strikes, will she get the child she always wanted? Will the cost be worth it?

Book 7 in the Orphan Train series takes listeners on a journey to Ireland, where Lily and Charlie find themselves on an adventure. Meanwhile, back at the Sanctuary in New York, Kathleen is left in charge and is facing a host of problems. With the new factory opening soon, the Chivers children searching for a permanent home, and a couple of stray orphans in need of her care, Kathleen feels like she's in over her head. As she tries to navigate these challenges, she finds herself wishing Lily would come home soon. Charlie surprised Lily with tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage.

Schoolboy Luke runs away to London, far from the abusive orphanage where he grew up. He’s desperate not to end up as a petty criminal and forced to beg for scraps on the street. Luke wanders the East End docks, struggling to find honest employment and morsels of food to fill his grumbling stomach. Longing to be a part of the close-knit community, Luke volunteers to work with the local doctor and his wife. Their kind words and welcoming home is everything he’s ever wished for. But not everyone wants the best for Luke and his new friends.

Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Andrea Warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of Lee Nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to Texas.

"The Orphan Trains were needed at the time they happened. They were not the best answer, but they were the first attempts at finding a practical system. Many children that would have died, lived to have children and grandchildren. It has been calculated that over two million descendants have come from these children. The trains gave the children a fighting chance to grow up." - D. Bruce Ayler

When Danny and his little sister are left alone in New York City, he decides to take his sister and ride the Orphan Train out west, hoping to find a new family and a new life.