Creation of the Orphan Trains
Who created orphan trains?
Charles Loring Brace.
What race were most off the train passengers?
White.
How many years did the trains run for?
75 years.
Many farmers did what to their children?
Used the orphan children as cheap labor, and it’s probable that abuse may have occurred in the new homes of these children.
In what year did the orphan train movement end?
1929.
Why were orphan trains created?
To find homes for all of the homeless and orphan children.
Which three countries did the trains travel to?
United States, Canada, and Mexico.
What were orphan trains like in earlier years?
In the beginning the trains weren’t that nice. There were bathrooms, but they would make the cabins smell bad and sometimes would result in messes depending on how long the children were on the train.
In their new homes the children were called...
Train Children.
Who ran the first orphan train?
E. P. Smith.
Which Society did Brace found?
The Children's Aid Society
Name at least two types of children that were adopted. (example: homeless.)
Orphaned, abandoned, abused children.
What types of train cars existed towards the end of the orphan train movement?
Sleeping cars.
Some children were not homeless or orphans. Name the reason why children who had their biological parents with them would be put onto the orphan trains.
Their biological parents could no longer support them, or no longer wanted to support them.
Name one of the three things that Smith did when running some of the orphan trains.
Smith let two children get adopted without checking the adoptive family’s verifications.
Smith allowed a boy to come on the train without checking if that boy was really an orphan. (He wasn't).
Smith believed boys should be used for handy things and girls should be used only for housework.
In what year were the orphan trains created?
1854.
Which state received the most children in the earlier years?
Indiana.
How many adults were watching the children on the trains?
About two to three adults taking care of around 30 to 40 children at once.
Why did lawsuits occur?
Some adoptive parents claimed they lost their money, were harmed, and some even blamed The Children’s Aid Society for pairing them up with a certain child.
What were the results of the first orphan train?
Overall very successful. 15 girls and boys had been adopted. Five days later 22 more children were adopted. Only eight more children needed a home.
Brace was known to be what? What does this mean?
Brace was known to be a Philanthropist. This means that he used his money to fight for the well being of others.
How many children were adopted during the orphan train movement?
200,000 Children.
In 1883 Brace undertook a private investigation of how the trains were doing. What did he find out?
He found that the local committees were doing a bad job of making sure the children were matched to an appropriate family.
What happened to children over the age of 14 when supervision was poor?
The children would run away.
Why did the orphan train movement come to an end?
Legislation had been passed in many states that provided benefits to families who were poor and struggling. There were not as many abandoned children or orphans.