JOHNSON COUNTY IAGenWeb Project  

Iowa Orphan Train Riders

Johnson County, Iowa

According to the Associated Press, orphan trains are the least remembered of America's migrations to the west. It is reported that as many as 350,000 children shipped out of New York on “Orphan Trains” from the 1850’s to 1929.  The trains stopped in rural areas so that prospective parents could look over the youngsters and decide whether to take in any of them.

The trains were the idea of Methodist Minister Charles Loring Brace, founder of the Children’s Aid Society of New York, intended as a measure of moving children out of the alleys and squalor of a city over run by immigrants and the industrial revolution, out to the west and to the wholesome farm family life.

Elaine Mercado, a Jackson County, IA Historical Society volunteer, became intrigued with the orphan train movement when she was tasked with organizing a huge, gifted repository of Iowa Orphan Train research files and documents that had been collected and compiled by MaDonna Harms.  MaDonna had collected the orphan train information from old newspapers and letters from the Foundling Home. After going through over 1200 of MaDonna’s personal files, Elaine was inspired to author a booklet on behalf of the Jackson County History Museum, entitled “Iowa’s Orphan Train Riders”.  She reports that between 10,000 and 20,000 orphans came to Iowa during the 75 years that the trains came. 

Through her research, Elaine learned that the following orphan trains came to Iowa City:

•    A Children’s Aid Society train came in March of 1854 and another one on September 20, 1854
•    A FYFH train came in 1888 and again on March 16, 1897
•    A NYJA (New York Juvenile Asylum) train came in 1899.

The following children came by way of orphan trains and were received in Johnson County, IA:

Child's Name (Birth name if possible)Date of TripReceiving FamilyCityComments
Patrick McCord  (Crandall)1860Not placedIowa CitySister Mary
Daniel Henry Gallagher1882Callegy & Welsh familiesIowa CityBrothers are Edward & Charles
Charles Gallagher1882Charles MarshallIowa City9 yrs old; Brothers are Edward & Daniel
Edward Gallagher1882Iowa City8 yrs old; Brothers are Daniel & Charles
Elizabeth Robinson1888Iowa City3 yrs old; Twin brother is William
William Robinson1888Iowa City3 yrs old; Twin sister is Elizabeth
W. Albert Lopshire1891Miranda ClineIowa City
Becky Denneny (adopted name)1897Lawrence & Harriett DennenyIowa City13 yrs. old
Louisa (Laura) Heering1899Louis LindemanIowa City10 yrs. old
William Perrine1899Moses H. AkersIowa City7 yrs. old
Amy Cash1900Pat & Mary BeecherOxford10 yrs. old. Beechers also took a boy named Bill.

   

Source Information:
Iowa City Press Citizen, 30 April 2000, pg. 12
Mary E. Mercado (Jackson County History Museum Iowa’s Orphan Train Riders)

See also the
 IAGenWeb Orphan Train Riders Site

Page Created 3 Dec 2016 

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