From 1854 to 1929, more than 200,000 children rode orphan trains westward in search of loving families–some 6,000 to 7,000 bound for Nebraska. Initiated by the Children’s Aid Society in New York City, civic leaders felt it was better to send children to locations unknown rather than having them face certain demise, both physically and spiritually, as the result of living in abject poverty. After a long and arduous journey, children arrived in mid-western locales only to be lined up in front of local townspeople. Some children were the recipients of divine providence and were welcomed into loving homes. Others were indentured and became slave labor.
Often forgotten is the fact that many children were never orphaned at all but rather loving parents had to make the unfathomable decision to send their children toward a better life because they could not afford to raise them.
Rails, near Tecumseh, NE
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