From 1854-1929 over 200,000 homeless children left New York City to find new homes in the West and Southwest. They were filled with hope, concern and uncertainty as they rode the rails into the unknown future. Where they ended up was a matter of luck or misfortune. Over time, hundreds of children wrote The Children's Aid Society that had cared for them temporarily, or the Agents who rode the train with them, telling of their new life ... good or bad.

I wanted to read all of their letters, which I knew was unlikely, hoping to get close to the children I was writing about in my Orphan Train Trilogy. I wanted to see their penmanship, the ink they wrote with, spelling and word usage, also, dates and where they lived. Therefore, I set out to get what letters I could. The letters were not available to the public, but after a few telephone calls and explaining I was writing about the orphan train children, I acquired copies of a few. I called back earlier this year and tried for more. I was told that was impossible because they were being transfered to the Library of Congress.

As I read the letters I was not disappointed. Their hearts painted the pages with words that made you smile or cry. They are not lengthy letters, but some longer than others. In each of the next four weeks, I will present one of the letters in my "Article." If interested ... come again.