Renee Wendinger

The Last Train Home by Renee Wendinger gives a short history of the orphan trains that ran from New York to the West in the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth. I was completely unaware of this happening. The facts are astounding, other 250,000 children were moved on the trains to be adopted by families, sometimes a welcome additions to families, sometimes to help with the work on the farm. The places that took children under their care were spilling over. Children were found on the streets after being abandoned by their parents, mostly because they could not provide for them.

The main part of this book is about this program and the rest is profiles of two children who rode the orphan trains. The two were real people and the stories are based on their stories. Johnny Arsers started out in Italy, his mother died, his father married again and then sold him for some stew. He was mistreated and shuffled from one family to the next and then kidnapped enslaved by a patrone system. He lands in New York. The author paints the picture of the landing with facts and photos of what pre Ellis Island Immigration procedures and requirements. Some of the details are very chilly and disturbing. His life is followed up to the end of his life. The profile is of Sofia Kaminsky. She was kind enough to sign my copy of this book at the age of 99. Her story is of being sent on the orphan train and eventually referred to old but very cruel woman who could easily stand in for a Charles Dickens villain. Just reading these two profiles makes you aware of the tremendously different ways, a child brought out on the orphan trains could end up.

I highly recommend this book to all who love history, especially want to learn about our forgotten history.

I received this book as a win on FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feeling in this review.… (altro)