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Brace sent orphans because he believed there were
"many spare places at the table of life" with whole-
some Protestant families on farms and in small
towns. The orphans' caretakers in New York made
sure they were presentable and polite before load-
ing them on the trains, along with the sundry goods,
mail, and other passengers.
At the towns out West, flyers and newspaper ads
announced upcoming trains, and their arrival was
met with great fanfare as farmers and townspeople
gathered to size up the orphans. The children were put
up on boxes on display—which led to the saying "put up
for adoption," even though fewer than 1% were ever adopted. Rather,
indentured servitude was the norm.
Orphans passed over at the train station, were re-boarded and contin-
ued to the next town. Though the organization promised that "All chil-
dren received under the care of this Association are of SPECIAL PROMISE
in intelligence and health, are in age one month to twelve years, and
are sent FREE to those receiving them, on ninety days trial," some were
found lacking by their adoptive families, and sent back as per the official
return policy.
Some, however, thrived. Five years after being sent west, one such
orphan by the name of Benjamin Greenough, wrote to the Children's Aid
Society (published in their 1894 Annual Report) that his "thoughts have
been wandering this evening back to a time when I was a homeless boy
wandering through the streets of New York and Brooklyn, as many a poor
boy has done, and I cannot help but thank God that the Children's Aid
1908 Orphan train Arrival in Blue Rapids, Kansas
C.L. Brace
Sister Teresa Vincent with Orphaned Infant
Richard
Lonsdale
