Between 1854-1929 over 273,000 children were sent by train from New York City in the largest migration of children in American history. During the 1880's and right up to the early 1900's many Italians were immigrating to America. As with any ethnic group coming to America some families experienced hardship, the death of a provider, loss of a spouse, a work place accident or financial reverses. Being an orphan in the 19th Century was really brutal for a child. When adults fell victim to alcoholism, prostitution or drug addiction, their children were the first to suffer.

The Orphan Train Era is all about helping people find their roots. There were many Italian youths who were separated from their brothers and sisters as one boy was picked by a farmer in Texas and the train rolled on to Oklahoma and a sister was taken by a family there. I remember I was contacted by an Italian lady who asked me to find her grandfather's brother who had been kidnapped at Ellis Island and lost among the confusion of bringing so many children here. The woman and I concluded after research that he had been taken to the Children's Aid Society and was sent on a train---this often happened when a mother had so many children she was unable to care for them. She would sometimes agree to keep 5 children and send 3 to the Children's Aid Society where they were put on a train. One of the things we need to do is to give these children back their original names and reunite them even posthumously to their real family roots--it's a project your group could take on.