Orphan Train Resources

Nonfiction Books

Fry, Annette R. The Orphan Trains. New York: New Discovery Books, 1994. (This was our main print source for information. It's very well-written and has many photographs.)

Holt Marilyn Irvin. The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America. Lincoln, NE: University
of Nebraska Press, 1992.

Marks, Frances E., and Patricia J. Young. Tears on Paper: The History and Life Stories of
the Orphan Train Riders. 1990. Currently out of print. LCCN: 90-61695. (This source
includes photo/information about Clara Comstock, an agent for the Children's Aid Society
who accompanied many orphans to Iowa over the years.)

Fiction Books

Holland, Isabelle. Journey Home. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1990.

Nixon, Joan Lowery:
A Family Apart. New York: Bantam, 1988.
Caught in the Act. New York: Bantam, 1989.
In the Face of Danger. New York: Bantam, 1989.
A Place to Belong. New York: Bantam, 1990.
Dangerous Promise. New York: Delacorte, 1994.
Keeping Secrets. New York: Delacorte, 1995.

Magazine Articles

Fry, Annette Riley. "The Children's Migration." American Heritage, December 1974, pages 4-10.

Hendrix, George. "The Orphan Trains." Midwest Living, December 1988, pages 30-34.

Jackson, Donald Dale. "It Took Trains to put Street Kids on the Right Track Out of the Slums."
Smithsonian, August 1986, pages 95-103.

McOllough, Verlene. "The Orphan Train Comes to Clarion." The Palimpsest, Fall 1988,
pages 144-150.

Wheeler, Leslie. "The Orphan Trains." American History Illustrated, December 1983,
pages 10-23.

Videos

Doing Local History with Video. Gunderson, Helen D., and Lindemeyer, Robert B. Iowa State University Media Resources Center, 1994.

The Orphan Trains. By Janet Graham and the Ed Gray Film Co., New York City (shown on
PBS as part of the American Experience series). For this documentary film contact:
PBS Video
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314

Organizations

Orphan Train Heritage Society of America (OTHSA)
614 East Emma Ave., #115 
Springdale, Ar. 72764-4634
Phone: 501-756-2780

 

Children's Aid Society
Office of Closed Records
150 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017


New York Foundling Hospital
Department of Closed Records
590 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10001

Individuals

Madonna Harms
(Archivist for Iowa Orphan Train Riders Archives Center)
401 Broad Street
Rolfe, IA 50581
(712) 848-3609