Rebecca Langston-George - Orphan Trains: Taking the Rails to a New Life

To the children who rode the rails, and for their children and childrens children.

T here are places enough with good families in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, to give every poor boy and girl in New York a permanent home. The only difficulty is to bring the children to the homes.

E. P. Smith

The December cold seeped through the train compartment. Dozens of children huddled together for warmth in the icy night. Sleeping bodies leaned stacked against one another on the seats. Others sprawled in tangled heaps across the wooden train floor. Below them the train wheels sped down the tracks. Six-year-old Stanley Cornell burrowed deeper under his single blanket. Curled up beside him on the floor was his younger brother, Victor.

Stanley thought again of Mama, Daddy, and baby Eloise. He hadnt seen them for two years. But he could still picture the scene around Mamas bed as if it had happened yesterday. Eloise had just been born. Mama was sick. Four-year-old Stanley stood next to Mamas bed. She was crying. She must have known she was dying when she took Stanleys hand.

In ragged breaths Mama whispered, Be good to Daddy. And that was all.

Stanley never saw Mama again. He tried to be good to Daddy Floyd. But Daddy Floyd wasnt well either. Hed been a soldier in World War I. Doctors said he had shell-shock. And hed been hurt by nerve gas. His body hurt and his mind was often cloudy. Daddy Floyd wasnt well enough to work a steady job. With Mama gone he couldnt take care of the three of them.

Not long after Mama died, the lady in the big black car showed up. She handed Stanley and Victor each a piece of candy. She scooped Eloise up in her arms. Ill have to take the children, she said.

Stanley, Victor, and Eloise were put in the big black car. As the car drove off, Stanley turned to look out the cars back window. Daddy Floyd stood on the porch, one hand clinging to the rail. With his other hand Daddy Floyd took a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped the tears streaming down his face.

Daddy Floyd stood on the porch, one hand clinging to the rail. With his other hand Daddy Floyd took a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped the tears streaming down his face.

The big black car took them to an orphanage run by the Childrens Aid Society of New York. Baby Eloise was quickly adopted by their aunt. But with five children of her own already, the aunt had no room for Stanley and Victor. They would have to stay at the orphanage.

Stanley, six (left), and his brother, Victor, age four, were all alone in the world except for one another.

Orphanage life was hard for Stanley and Victor. The older kids picked on youngsters like them, stealing their food. But fighting back wasnt a good idea. Breaking a rule meant being beaten.

Then in December of 1927 Stanley and Victor were told theyd be riding the train. The train west meant a possible new home. Agents from the orphanage herded more than a hundred children aboard the train. The night before, theyd all had baths. Everyone was given clean new clothes. They had to look sharp so theyd be picked by a new family.

The train rattled down the tracks for days. First they went down the length of the East Coast. Then they took a turn west, crossing Mississippi and Louisiana. Whenever the train stopped, all the children climbed off. They brushed themselves off, smoothed their clothes, and lined up outside the train. The small ones stood on top of wooden crates. People came by to look them over. Many asked questions. A few peered inside their mouths to inspect their teeth. Sometimes people thumped the childrens muscles to see how strong they were.

They couldnt be separated. He wouldnt let that happen. Hed lost Mama, Daddy Floyd, and Eloise. No one would take Victor from him.

Like cattle, Stanley thought. Much like farmers would do at an auction. He held onto Victors hand tightly. They couldnt be separated. He wouldnt let that happen. Hed lost Mama, Daddy Floyd, and Eloise. No one would take Victor from him.

When the looking was over, the unwanted orphans returned to the train. At every stop there were fewer children loaded back on the train. As the train pulled away toward the next station, Stanley and the other orphans watched out the windows as the chosen ones walked off with new families.

The week before Christmas the train arrived at Wellington, Texas. It was evening and a blinding snow raged around them. Only a handful of children were left on the train, and Stanley and Victor were the only boys left. They had plenty of room to spread out on the seats. But when the train stopped they were hurried through the dark night with snow pelting their faces. Soon they were inside the warm lobby of the Wellington Hotel. Stanley grabbed his brothers hand and held it tightly. A few people looked the remaining children over.

What if they werent picked? The train route was almost finished. Would they have to go back to the orphanage? Stanley and his brother had already had one bad experience six months earlier. He and Victor had been placed with a couple in Coffeyville, Kansas. But without explaining why, the couple had sent Stanley and Victor back to the orphanage after only a few months. Being unwanted left an empty pit inside Stanley. And the sting of sadness had haunted him ever since.

Do you like horses? a man asked. He knelt down near Stanley and added, How about cows, chickens, and pigs?

Stanley nodded. His eyes slid over to Victor. Stanley pulled him closer. They belonged together and he wanted the man to know that.

The farmer smiled and went off to talk to one of the agents. Stanley heard them talking. The farmer only needed one boy. Stanleys heart sank.

The farmer smiled and went off to talk to one of the agents. Stanley heard them talking. The farmer only needed one boy. Stanleys heart sank.

When the farmer, J. L. Deger, returned and motioned for Stanley to come with him, Stanley began to cry. He clung to Victor and wouldnt move.

The farmer thought of his wife and daughters back in their home by the wood-burning stove. He hadnt told them he planned to bring even one boy home. But he knew what he had to do. Once again he talked to the agent. When he returned he led both Stanley and Victor out to his brand new Model T car. He handed them a bag of jelly beans to share. Then he bundled them up in blankets for the ride home. Their new home.

Stanley and his brother, Victor (left), found a good home on a farm most importantly, they found a home together!