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Anna Van Cura Finds Kansas Home
Anna Van Cura was born May 15, 1884, in Bohemia, town unknown. This is Anna’s story, by Pauline Christiansen.
The Van Cura family came to New York from Bohemia when Willie, the youngest, was just a baby. Anna was the only girl in the family and the next child older than Willie in family birth order.
The father came to America first. The mother and children came later but Anna didn’t know how much later.
ORPHAN STORY
When Anna was eight years old her mother died of pneumonia in Bellevue Hospital (or Belleview), NY.
Anna said she tried to visit her mother in the hospital but was not admitted. One day she sneaked up the back stairs and entered her mother’s room.
Anna said her mother was so surprised to see her, she gave her glass of milk to Anna to drink.
Anna said after her mother’s death the children went dirty and were sadly neglected.
Their father began to drink a lot.
When the father heard of the Orphan Trains he felt he couldn’t take care of the children as he should. He sent three of the youngest children on one of the Orphan Trains.
Anna didn’t know how many or where stops were made along the route before coming to Columbus, KS.
There was some advance notice of the train. When they arrived people had gathered at the Opera House where the children appeared on stage and were reviewed by the people of the community.
Casper and Louise Christiansen were among the viewers and decided they wanted Anna.
Once I heard Anna say she was the only girl in the group. She possibly meant she was the only girl left by the time they got to Columbus.
Anna’s two brothers who were in the group were also taken by area farmers—Willie by a family named Alsenz in the southwest part of the county and Joe by the Harpers in the Shercin Jet area.
Willie left the county when he was a young man. Joe remained and lived in the same area all his life.
Anna went by the name of Christiansen as long as she lived with them. She attended Bellview School and the census shows her living in the area from 1896 to 1900.
Either the last half of 1902 or early 1903 a
6 Orphan Train Heritage Society
brother from New York, Anthony, came for her.
For four or five years she lived in New York with her brother, Frank, and his wife. While there she did housework for other people.
In 1908, Anna entered nursing school in Minneola, NY, and graduated as a registered nurse in 1911. She worked as a nurse for many years and often on private cases in homes. On one of these cases she went to Florida with the family for the winter, caring for the patient there.
A stroke forced her to retire and when she was able to leave, she went to Bloomington, IN, and lived with Willie and his family. Later as she was able to care for herself, she moved back to Columbus, KS, bought a house and lived alone until her death. It was the spring of 1937 when she came back to Columbus.
Anna’s speech and walk were affected by the stroke and she had several light strokes while in Columbus. Her speech did improve some; walking with a cane was difficult. Still she kept her own home, made lots of gardens and raised many, many kinds of flowers. Garden produce and flowers were always shared with neighbors and friends, flowers for the church services.
Anna spent a few months in Medialodge in Columbus before entering Missouri Baptist Hospital for surgery for a strangulated hernia. She seemed to be recovering, but died May 5, 1972.
Note: Pauline Christiansen’s husband, Arthur, was Auiia’s “new brother” when the Christiansen family took Anna from the Orphan Train.
Anna Van Cura and her “brother,” Arthur Christiansen.