General Resource Sites

• Ancestry.com - Message Boards - Orphans and Orphanages 
• Family Tree Connection - Home Records 
  Search the listings for free, view full details with a fee-based subscription.
• Family Tree Connection - Orphanage Records 
  Search the listings for free, view full details with a fee-based subscription.
• His Father's Eyes - Citizen Writer Michael Woloschuk Discovers the Lost Father Who Haunts Eric Clapton's Music 
  Online article from the Ottawa Citizen.
• Orphanages 
  An American Local History Project.
  • History of Orphanages 
  • List of Early Orphanages (mid 1800s-early 1900s) 
  • Orphan Train Page 
  • Photographs of Old Orphanages 
• Orphan Archives: Records & Holdings 
• Orphan's Home Website 
  Transcriptions of orphan, adoptee, and foster children listings in orphanages, homes, and poorhouses from U.S. and Canadian censuses.
• The Rise and Demise of the American Orphanage 
  Online article from Johns Hopkins Magazine - April 1996 issue.
• RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees - Lesson 31: Adoption and Orphans Research 
• Yahoo!...Orphanages 

Home Children & Child Migrants

• Articles on Child Migration 
• Barnardo's 
  In 1870, Dr. Barnardo opened his first home for children in London’s impoverished East End.
  • Home Children - Canada 
  • Former Child Migrants of Australia 
• British Home Children 
  A site for listing the names of the individual British Home Children.
• British Home Children Mailing List 
  A mailing list for those interested in researching the 100,000 British Home Children who were emigrated to Canada by 50 child care organizations to work as indentured farm labourers (1870-1940). Archives: browse or search.
• The Canadian Centre for Home Children 
  Dedicated to the Home Children that were sent to Canada between 1869 and 1948. The Canadian Centre was founded to assist the Home Children and their families in locating their real identities, confirming documents (i.e., birth certificate) and to help them reunite with living family members where possible.
• Child Migrants from the United Kingdom 
• Child Migrants Information 
  From the UK Department of Health.
• The Child Migrants Trust 
  Over 130,000 children had been deported from Britain and shipped off to a "new life" in distant parts of the Empire. This long history of compulsory migration ended in 1967 when post-war child migration drew to a close. The Trust provides a highly professional, specialised service, reuniting Britain’s former Child Migrants with their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.
• The Children's Society 
  • The History of the Children's Society 
• Empty Cradles 
  A book by Margaret Humphreys.
• Golden Bridge: Young Immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939 
  A book by Marjorie Kohli.
• Home Children Canada (Pacific) 
  Organization to help Home Children and their descendants to discover their past.
• Labouring Children: British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924 
  A book by Joy Parr.
• The Little Immigrants: The Orphans Who Came to Canada 
  A book by Kenneth Bagnell.
• List of Girls in Miss Rye's Peckham Homes 1881 
  Search for ancestors in a list of orphaned and impoverished Home Children.
• National Archives of Canada - Home Children (1869-1930) 
  Between 1869 and the early 1930s, over 100,000 children were sent to Canada from Great Britain during the child emigration movement. Members of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa are locating and indexing the names of these Home Children found in passenger lists in the custody of the National Archives of Canada.
  • Home Children Search 
    A searchable online index for the years 1865 to 1919 is available online.
• Nation Builders: Barnardo Children in Canada 
  A book by Gail H. Corbett.
• Neither Waif Nor Stray: The Search For A Stolen Identity 
  A book by Perry Snow.
• Organisations Helping Former Child Migrants To Find Family Members 
• PHIND - Personal History Index 
  Computerised index detailing the location of records held in Australia for former child migrants to Catholic Homes between 1938 and 1965.
• Quarriers Charity 
  Originally Orphan Homes of Scotland located at Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.
  • Genealogy 
    For assistance in tracking relatives cared for by Quarriers in the past, including those who went to Canada.
  • History 
    • Canada 
• Ragged School Museum 
  The museum resides in three canal-side warehouses in Copperfield Road, East London. These buildings were previously used by Dr Barnardo to house the largest ragged school in London.
• Records Relating to Child Migrants 
  From the Archives Office of Tasmania.
• Social Welfare Archives at the University of Liverpool 
  They hold some of the Dr. Barnardo's Homes records amongst others.
• William Quarrier Home Children Association 
  An association of Scottish "home children" and their families.
• Young Immigrants to Canada 
  When the topic of child immigrants to Canada is raised many people first think of Barnardo's. Some may know about Annie Macpherson, Maria Rye, Fegan Homes, Dr. Stephenson and the National Children's Home or even some of the Roman Catholic organizations. This web site represents research into all of the organizations which brought children and young women to Canada between 1833 and 1935.

Libraries, Archives & Museums

• The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center Archives 
  Includes amongst other records the collections of: the New York Infant Asylum, 1865-1910; New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, 1910-1947; and the New York Asylum for Lying-In Women, 1823-1899.
• The Sally Mae Ligon Archives 
  Information and artifacts about the orphanage life and history of the Masons of North Carolina.

Locality Specific

• 1880 Census House of the Guardian Angel St. Louis MO  
  1880 Census information for the orphanage, House of the Guardian Angel in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1880 U.S. Federal Census New York Juvenile Asylum, New York, NY 
  Many children from the institution were sent to Illinois and other states on Orphan Trains between about 1853 and 1929.
• Aberlour Orphanage  ~ Scotland
• Barnardo's 
  In 1870, Dr. Barnardo opened his first home for children in London’s impoverished East End.
• Children from Howard County at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home  ~ Indiana
• Children's Home Index 1879-1939  ~ Miami County, Ohio
• childrenshomes-uk-commonwealth 
  Message board for anyone who was in children's homes in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.
• The Corum Family  ~ United Kingdom
  Formerly the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children.
  • Heritage - The Foundling Hospital and The Foundling Museum 
• A Directory of Orphanages for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania And Some Adjacent Counties 
• Famine Orphans from County Cork to Australia 
  From the Mallow Archaeological & Historical Society.
• The FairView Home For Friendless Children Of Watervliet, New York 
  This Presbyterian Home was open from 1888 till 1956.
• Immigrants to Canada - Widows and Orphans of 1847 
• Indiana Soldier's and Sailor's Children's Home  ~ Indiana
  Online searchable database from the Indiana State Archives.
• Jewish Orphanages in the United States 
• Junior Home Alumni Association 
  Childrens homes in Tiffin, Ohio & Lexington, North Carolina.
  • History 
  • Genealogy 
• List of Institutions/Homes - Australia 
• Loyal True Blue Orphanage, Hallowell Ontario 1901  ~ Prince Edward County, Ontario
  Search for ancestors in list of orphans in Loyal True Blue Orphanage near Picton, in Hallowell Township.
• Methodist Home for Children  ~ North Carolina
  • History 
• New York Foundling Hospital 
  • History of New York Founding 
• Orphan and Foundling Burials (1880-1920) 
  Genealogical information for orphans and foundlings interred in free burial in New York area cemeteries.
• Orphans in the Sisters of Charity Orphan Asylum, New York City, New York in the 1860 Census 
• Presbyterian Home for Children  ~ Black Mountain, North Carolina
  • Our History 
• Research Guide - Good British Stock - Child & Youth Migration to Australia 
  From the National Archives of Australia.
• Rossbret UK Institutions 
  Information on asylums, almshouses, prisons, hospitals, orphanages, workhouses & the Poor Law.
  • Orphanages 
• Western Pennsylvania Orphans 
  Information, illustrations and orphan lists.
• West Texas Children's Aid and Welfare Assoc.  ~ Abilene, Texas
  Information on this Abilene agency (1920-1949), and on its administrator, Rev. W.A. Nicholas.

Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat

• Genealogy Resources on the Internet - Mailing Lists 
  Most of the mailing list links below point to this site, wonderfully maintained by John Fuller. John indexes links for all known genealogy mailing lists, including RootsWeb and others.
• RootsWeb: Genealogy Mailing Lists 
  The majority of genealogy mailing lists are hosted by RootsWeb.com. Messages on RootsWeb lists are archived. The links to RootsWeb below point you to the archives (browse or search).

• AL-ORPHANS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in orphans and orphanages in Alabama. Archives: browse or search.
• British Home Children Mailing List 
  A mailing list for those interested in researching the 100,000 British Home Children who were emigrated to Canada by 50 child care organizations to work as indentured farm labourers (1870-1940). Archives: browse or search.
• GOOD-SHEPHERD-HOMES Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in the thousands of girls and young women who passed through the Houses of the Good Shepherd over the last several hundred years. Archives: browse or search.
• NJ-ORPHANS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in orphans and orphanages in New Jersey. Archives: browse or search.
• NY-ORPHANAGES Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in orphans and orphanages in New York. Archives: browse or search.
• OK-ORPHANAGES Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in Oklahoma orphanages and/or childrens homes and their residents. Archives: browse or search.
• ORPHAN-TRAINS Mailing List 
  For the discussion of the orphan trains that carried thousands of children to new homes in any and all states, and anything pertaining to them from the 1850s to 1930. Discussions pertaining to anything related to these children, circumstances, finding their families, history of these trains, etc. are encouraged. Archives: browse or search.

Orphan Trains

• 1880 U.S. Federal Census New York Juvenile Asylum, New York, NY 
  Many children from the institution were sent to Illinois and other states on Orphan Trains between about 1853 and 1929.
• Ancestry.com - Orphan Train Genealogy 
  Article by Marilyn Irvin Holt.
• The Children's Aid Society of New York: an index to the federal, state, and local census records of its lodging houses, 1855-1925 
  A book by Carolee R. Inskeep.
• Indiana Orphan Trains Project 
  A contact point for those interested in the Orphan Trains riders who were given out in Indiana.
• Iowa Orphan Train Project 
• Louisiana Orphan Train 
• The New York Foundling Hospital: An Index to the Federal, State, and Local Census Records [1870-1925] 
  A book by Carolee R. Inskeep.
• Orphans to Iowa 
• The Orphan Train Collection 
• The Orphan Train in Michigan 
  Video for sale.
• Orphan Train Page 
  An American Local History Project.
• Orphan Train Resources 
• Orphan Train Riders History 
• Orphan Trains 
• The Orphan Trains 
  A PBS American Experience television show regarding this unusual immigrant experience.
• ORPHAN-TRAINS Mailing List 
  For the discussion of the orphan trains that carried thousands of children to new homes in any and all states, and anything pertaining to them from the 1850s to 1930. Discussions pertaining to anything related to these children, circumstances, finding their families, history of these trains, etc. are encouraged.
• Orphan Trains of Kansas 
  • A History of the Orphan Trains 
  • Index of Children Who Rode the Orphan Trains to Kansas 
  • Kansas Orphan Train "Time-Line" 
  • Orphan Train Bibliographies 
  • A Partial List of Institutions That Orphan Train Children Came From 
  • A Partial List of Kansas Orphan Train Arrivals 
  • Riders on an Orphan Train to Kansas - 1911 
• Orphan Trains of Nebraska 
• The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America 
  A book by Marilyn Irvin Holt, for sale from Ancestry.
• The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America 
  A book by Marilyn Irvin Holt.
• Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed 
  A book by Stephen O'Connor.
• Orphan Trains to Missouri 
  Information about a book from the University of Missouri Press.
• Other Orphan Train Links 
• They Rode the Orphan Trains 
• Yahoo!...U.S. History...19th Century...Orphan Trains 

Professional Researchers, Volunteers & Other Research Services

• Project Roots and the Canadian War Children of World War Two 
  Project Roots is a voluntary agency based in the Netherlands which reunites Canadian Veterans with the British and European War Children they left behind at the end of World War Two.
• TRACE - Transatlantic Children's Enterprise 
  Organization which helps people trace their American GI fathers who they have never known, or have lost touch with.

Publications, Software & Supplies

• Cyndi's List Genealogy Bookstore 
  A categorized list of genealogy research books that looks a lot like my bookshelf at home.

• Amazon.com Genealogy Bookstore - Orphans 
  The following are individual book titles of interest for this topic. The book links below point to the Amazon.com bookstore online where you may purchase the book if you wish. These links are provided to bring these published resources to your attention as an aid to your research. Follow the links to books of interest to make note of their title, author, publisher, and ISBN. You might then use this information to obtain the book from your local library or your favorite corner book shop.
  • Adoption Agencies, Orphanages and Maternity Homes: An Historical Directory 
    A book by Reg Niles.
  • Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia 
    A book by John Ruston Pagan.
  • The Children's Aid Society of New York: an index to the federal, state, and local census records of its lodging houses, 1855-1925 
    A book by Carolee R. Inskeep.
  • Children You Gave Us: A History of 150 Years of Service to Children 
    A book by Jacqueline Bernard.
  • The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction 
    A book by Linda Gordon.
  • Inside Looking Out: The Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum, 1868-1924 
    A book by Gary Edward Polster.
  • A Legacy of Caring : The Charleston Orphan House, 1790-1990 
    A book by Alan Keith-Lucas.
  • Little Strangers: Portrayals of Adoption and Foster Care in America, 1850-1929 
    A book by Claudia Nelson.
  • The Luckiest Orphans: A History of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York 
    A book by Hyman Bogen.
  • Melancholy Baby: The Unplanned Consequences of the G.I.s' Arrival in Europe for World War II 
    A book by Pamela Winfield.
  • 'Mother Donit Fore the Best': Correspondence of a Nineteenth-Century Orphan Asylum 
    A book by Judith A. Dulberger.
  • The New York Foundling Hospital: An Index to the Federal, State, and Local Census Records [1870-1925] 
    A book by Carolee R. Inskeep.
  • Orphanages Reconsidered: Child Care Institutions in Progressive Era Baltimore 
    A book by Nurith Zmora.
  • Philadelphia's Progressive Orphanage: The Carson Valley School 
    A book by David R. Contosta.
  • Second Home: Orphan Asylums and Poor Families in America 
    A book by Timothy A. Hacsi.
• The Children's Aid Society of New York 
  A book by Carolee Inskeep. For sale from Genealogical Publishing Company.
• The New York Foundling Hospital 
  A book by Carolee Inskeep. For sale from Genealogical Publishing Company.
• East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911 
  A book by Alan N. Miller, II. For sale from Genealogical Publishing Company.

Records: Census, Cemeteries, Land, Obituaries, Personal, Taxes and Vital

• Olive Tree Genealogy - District 143 Albany City, New York, Tenth Ward.; Albany Orphan Asylum 
  Names of orphaned children in Albany Orphan Asylum Albany City, New York, from the 1900 census. Includes year and place of birth.
• Olive Tree Genealogy - Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Manhattan New York 1900 
  Names of orphaned children in Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Manhattan New York from the 1900 census.
• Olive Tree Genealogy - Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of New York 
  Names of orphaned children in Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of New York, Manhattan New York from the 1900 census. Includes year and place of birth.
• Olive Tree Genealogy - Orphan Asylum Society Manhattan New York 
  Names of orphaned children in Orphan Asylum Society, Manhattan New York from the 1900 census. Includes year and place of birth.
• Olive Tree Genealogy - Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Manhattan New York 1900 
  Names of orphaned children in Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Manhattan New York from the 1900 census. Includes year and place of birth.
• Olive Tree Genealogy - Society for Relief of Half-Orphans & Destitute Children 1900, Manhattan New York 
  Names of orphaned children in Society for Relief of Half-Orphans & Destitute Children, Manhattan New York from the 1900 census. Includes year and place of birth.

Societies & Groups

• Hebrew National Orphan Home Alumni Including Jewish Orphanages In The United States 
• Kindertransport Association 
  Organization of child holocaust survivors who were sent, without their parents, out of Austria, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia to Great Britain.
• Oxford Orphanage Alumni Association  ~ North Carolina
• William Quarrier Home Children Association 
  From 1896 to 1936, 7,000 Scottish children went to Canada through William Quarriers's Orphan Homes of Scotland, arriving in Belleville (Marchmont Home) and later Brockville (Fairknowe Home) before being sent to work on Ontario farms or as household help.

Report a Broken Link / Update a Link