I don't often read fiction anymore, but last weekend a friend recommended a book and lent me her copy. I've just finished the last page of Orphan Train (HarperCollins, 2013) by Christina Baker Kline.

As with most novels, parts of the story were a tiny bit contrived. But an engaging story it was nonetheless! I ignored other tasks on my to-do list this week to read it and find out what happened. 

While I've read other accounts of orphan train riders, I didn't realize until this book that 1) the orphan train movement began in 1854 and ran for 73 years, transporting 200,000 children from the East Coast to the the Midwest, and 2) like the character in this book, many of the orphaned/abandoned/homeless children were first-generation Irish Catholic immigrants.

Googling, I found historic background in a 2011 Irish Echo article written by Edward O'Donnell.

Some estimates number the descendants of orphan train riders at over two million! Perhaps our readers have stories they'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. Email me anytime at blog@irishgenealogical.org.