2020 Winter Spring Newsletter

Paola. Three of the gentlemen were Civil War Vets. Six of the men were active in the Masonic organizations. Two of the committee men had no children at all. Four of the men had lost children; one had seven children who had passed. In religious beliefs, they were widely varied. There were three Methodists, two Presbyterians, one Baptist, one Universalist, one Catholic, and one whose religion was not stated. The committee men were: George Anderson, John Milton George, Lyman C. Gilmore, Dr. David H. Johnson, Rev. John Franklin Kellogg, Charles H. Mallory, Edwin Wash ington Mitchler, William E. Stich, and Norris H. Taylor. These gentlemen accepted applications for children until the train arrived on the 13th of November, 1896. Agent Tice brought thirteen children with him. The place ment occurred at 10 am on that Friday the 13th at the Op era House. There were several hundred people gathered there to witness the event. Eleven of the children found homes at the placement. Two little brothers, Joseph (4) and Victor (9) Benson, went unplaced, but B.W. Tice took them back to the hotel and worked to find the boys accept able homes. He succeeded, finding them homes with fa ther and son, John Folks and Alfred Folks. Father John took the younger brother Joseph, and his son Alfred took older brother Victor. They lived a short distance from each other and the boys were able to visit whenever they pleased. On the fifth of May 1900, Victor went to the John Folks farm to visit his little brother. A thunderstorm blew up while he was there. He was standing in the barn door and was struck by lightning and killed instantly. Victor rests at Whiteford Cemetery at Osawatomie. These were not the only Orphan Train Riders to find homes in Miami County. Basil Keats, who was the subject of articles earlier this month, lived with William Booze near Fontana, Kansas, which was in the southern part of Miami County. From a train in December of 1896 to Olathe, there were two children taken to Miami County. Elmer Williams, a thirteen year-old African American boy, was taken in by Henry Kerns of Osawatomie. Sixteen year-old Leo Chap man found a home with Cornelius Donahue of Fontana. As more information becomes available, I am sure we will find other riders who found homes in Miami County as well. The search continues!

Orphan Trains to Miami County Part Two

By Lori Halfhide

Seeing the incredible demand for children, Agent Brace decided to bring another company of children the following month. He retained the same local committee, the three ministers and the mayor/banker. The newspaper articles in mid-October of 1880 stated that there was another party of “orphan children wanting homes” arriving on the noon train from Kansas City on Friday, October 22, 1880. This time, he asked applicants to contact William Crowell at the bank and state the age and sex of child they desired, and to secure recommendations. The placement would take place at the Court House at 12:30. This time, the newspaper accounts of the second place ment were not as descriptive. They stated that there were twelve children, all over ten years of age. There was again great demand; the reporter estimated that fifty children could have found homes that day. He described Agent Brace by saying, “a more efficient man for the position could not be obtained than James P. Brace.” They also commended the ministers and the mayor for their hard work in helping to find these children homes. Again, the children were list ed in the newspaper article next to the local resident who took them home. In late October of 1896, it was announced that another company of children would be brought to Paola from the Children’s Aid Society. Benjamin Wilson Tice was the agent this time. He selected a large committee, nine gentlemen ranging in age from 39 to 81 years-old. Five of the men were merchants, owning different types of businesses in downtown Paola. One was the Methodist Minister. There was a bank cashier, an entrepreneur, and the final mem ber was a physician who was also serving as the Mayor of

The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless children. ... This relocation of children ended in the 1920s with the beginning of organized foster care in America.

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