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Did you know 12,500 orphans from
New York City and the Boston area were placed
in Michigan from 1854 to 1927.
The production company spent a year and a half in research
and searching for
photos of the Orphan Train Riders in Michigan. They have produced a television
documentary about this event in Michigan’s history, depicting in great detail
the selection process
and being an Orphan Train Rider. Over the past 2 years,
the Program Source has been offering
lectures on the topic. On several
occasions, we've had actual Orphan Train Riders and their
relatives in
attendance, to tell us their stories.
The first Orphan Train Riders
(14 boys), arrived in Dowagiac, Michigan on a Sunday morning
in late September
1854, traveling on the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1927, forty-three Michigan
towns would also receive orphans from the “Baby Train”, as it was sometimes
called. Most of the
children came from the New York Children’s Aid Society and
the New England Home for “Little
Wanderers”. Thirty nine percent were girls,
and most children were never adopted.
The motivation for producing
“The Orphan Train in Michigan” documentary was first discovered at the Oxford
Historical Society while working on
that town’s history. The Program Source
wants to help relatives of Michigan Orphan Train Riders with information on
dates and placement in Michigan.
In the Fall of 2004, a reenactment of the first
Michigan Orphan Train Riders took place in Dowagiac, Michigan. An
entire weekend was planned
around the event, with reenacters
following in the footsteps of the earlier orphans and walking from the Railroad
Depot to the old Methodist Church
for placement.
A Michigan Orphan Train Registry is in
development to document the names, places and any other information regarding
these riders. If you
know of an Orphan Train Riders or have a relative that may
have come to Michigan through the placement program, let us know at
orphantrain@program-source.com
. Please include as much information as possible. For more information regarding the Orphan Train,
try
some of these links:
www.orphantrainriders.com
www.cyndislist.com
www.rootsweb.org
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