Today we welcome special guest Darlene Franklin as she shares some of the interesting historical facts behind the Orphan Trains.
*****
When
my editor invited me to write a novella about the orphan trains, I sensed I had
found the perfect background for a story about a rich city gal who lost
everything, only to find it again on a farm. And in terms of history, the Stock
Market Crash of 1929 was the most obvious time period to write about.
About the orphan trains themselves,
I knew very little. When did they start? 1854. With my idea of a story set in
1930, when did they end? The orphan trains which began operation 1854 drew to a
close in 1929. Agreements which had allowed continued placement of orphan
children in several western states expired and weren’t renewed. Instead, local
communities increased their support to allow poverty-stricken families to
remain together.
I couldn’t identify the actual date
of the last orphan train, but I did locate a suggestion that it traveled as far
as Kansas in 1930.
Much of what I assumed was true.
Then as now, infants had an easier time being adopted. Some adoptees entered
lives that resembled slavery more than beloved children in a new home, although
the agency did screen prospective parents.
I quickly discovered several things
I hadn’t known.
- The trains weren’t called “orphan trains” until after they had ceased operation.
- Only some of the children were literal orphans. In many cases, the aide societies functioned as a rough foster-home system. Children from families unable to care for them sent them to families who could.
- Both New York’s Children’s Aid Society and the New York Foundling Hospital founded by Sisters of Charity sent children by train.
- Children traveled mostly to the Midwest, not to the far west.
I don’t say much about the stock market
crash in To Riches Again, but I imply
my heroine’s parents took their own lives. Suicides in 1929 jumped from 12.3 in
100K insureds to 18. The numbers grew by another 18% in 1930. My spinster heroine chaperones the children
on their trip west, but she is herself a literal orphan, seeking a new home in
the bread basket of America.
*****
Best-selling
hybrid author Darlene Franklin's
greatest claim to fame is that she writes full-time from a nursing home. This
year she expects to reach fifty unique titles in print and she’s also
contributed to more than twenty nonfiction titles. Her column, “The View
Through my Door,” appears in four monthly magazines. Her most recent titles are Capturing the Rancher's Heart, Romancing the Ranger, and Cinderella's Boot.
Twitter:
@darlenefranklin
About Darlene's Book:
A year ago, life was full of promise.
Elyssa Philbin partied with the rest of New York’s elite, not worrying about anything beyond her newest dress.
Elyssa Philbin partied with the rest of New York’s elite, not worrying about anything beyond her newest dress.
Ian and Bridget McDonnell, although part of a poverty-stricken family, lived secure in their parents’ love. Bill Ward looked forward to a prosperous crop, a new baby, and his loving wife.
Everything changed before the calendar turned to 1930.
To Riches Again chronicles Elyssa and Bill’s return to wholeness after they have both lost everything, and gained much more—thanks in part to two orphan children.
