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Orphan Train Heritage Society
Light at the end of the Tunnel
[Searches printed at no charge.]
Under a pew in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis Assisi located at 319 Maple Street, Brooklyn, New York, a newborn child wrapped in a towel was found March 19,1920.
No identification was found. The name of Marcella Foster was apparently given to the baby by social workers. Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, kept her for 12 days then transferred her to the New York Foundling Hospital.
A certificate shows Marcella Foster being baptized at St. Vincent Ferrer’s Catholic Church of New York on April 7,1920.
Today Marcella (Foster) Bowden, 122 E. Channel St., Apt. #1, Newark, OH 43055, wants to know who she really is.
On May 29,1923, Marcella was placed with Anton and Barbara Rebel in North Dakota.
Soon thereafter the Rebels moved to Mansfield, OH.
If you can advise Marcella in her quest for information, please contact her.
To have your search printed in CROSSROADS, a permission form must be on file with OTHSA. To receive the form, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to OTHSA, 4912 Trout Farm Road, Springdale, AR 72764, and one will be mailed to you immediately.
Carolyn Gibson, 1400 James Rd., N. Little Rock, AR 72118, is seeking information on Jesse David Gibson, bom February 8,1904.
He was found wandering about the streets of Shawnee, Oklahoma at a very young age, and all he remembered was a very long train ride.
Jesse David was placed with Parson Brown.
It is believed that he was an Orphan Train child who somehow got lost.
Carolyn would appreciate any help you can give her.
Homer Clegg Lewis, bom in Wales (ca. late 1800s), was orphaned, and adopted by a family in Tennessee. Could he be an Orphan Train Rider?
Homer’s granddaughter is looking for information about him. If you can help her, write to: Sharon Hieb, P.O. Box 156, Jefferson, SD 57038.
Jacqueline Sahlman, 7845 16th St. Bay City, OR 97107, seeks information on John Dennis Dillon bom Sept. 1,1896, brought to Delano, Minnesota, by the New York Foundling Hospital.
John remembered a pretty lady leaving him, a flying fish and a great body of water as well as the train depot. This was believed to have been about 1900.
A blond boy named “Frank,” as recalled by John, was in the group and was a little older than John. He and Frank were exchanged by the couples who took them. John recalled the exchange but did not remember a transfer of papers.
John’s first years were good, but as he got older cruel punishment such as whippings with a water soaked rope made him decide to run away; but before he left he found his adoption (or indenture) papers and read the name and birth-date he assumed was his. John was about 9 years old when he ran away and found sympathetic families to work for in return for room and board.
In 1972 Jacqueline lost track of John Dennis Dillon whose last known address was in Great Falls, Montana. Her letters to that address were returned with no forwarding address.
If you can help Jacqueline locate John Dillon, please write to her.
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Bessie Kahn’s tag number was 11, birthdate Apr. 1,1899, sent by the New York Foundling Hospital to Mr. Paul Gentges at Frankenstein, Missouri, sometime after June 5,1899. A baptismal certificate obtained in 1964 gave her surname as “Cohen” with the name “Kahn” obviously added to the document.
Bessie’s name today is Rose Mary Mulville. Her daughter Geraldine Robertson, 6602 E. Clinton St., Scottsdale, Arizona is the caretaker of the tag worn by the foundling.
If you are searching for information on Cohen/ Kahn or have information to share, please contact her.
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Gertrude Deoger, born October 23,1908, in New York City, was taken to the Foundling Hospital when only 2 days old. Today Gertrude Parsons, 8806 Ivanhoe TVail, Kansas City, MO 64131, looks for information about her biological family. Her parents were Henry and Elizabeth Deoger, according to information received from the New York Foundling Hospital in 1933.
Gertrude came with a group of orphans to Hays, Kansas, the 13th of May 1910. She was later told she was the youngest member of that
Story continued, page 11
Volume 9
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