You are here

Rachel Lemoine Collection

Collection 258

Lemoine, Rachel ( – ). Collection, 1910–1995, n.d.

10 inches

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, charitable organizations in New York City attempted to help orphaned or abandoned children by placing them in new homes in other parts of the country. Special trains would bring these children to towns across rural America, where they would placed with new families. Over the years, the New York Foundling Hospital, a Catholic charity run by the Sisters of Charity, sent more than 2,000 of these children to Louisiana.

Rachel Lemoine is a Louisiana writer who did extensive research on orphan trains. She received hundreds of letters, pictures, and information from the orphans or their families. Ms. Lemoine also wrote a 13-week series on the Avoyelles orphan train story while working for the Avoyelles Journal and the Marksville Weekly News. She also wrote articles about the orphan train which appeared in magazines such as Louisiana Life and Forests and People. The television series “Unsolved Mysteries” aired a segment on the orphan trains and contacted her for background information for their show. She was also contacted by Tri-Star pictures about the orphan children. There have been several orphan train reunions in Louisiana.

This collection consists of correspondence to and from orphans, news clippings, magazine articles, materials on Jewish connections, Orphan Train Heritage Society newsletters, material about the movie, etc.

This collection was donated by Ms. Rachel Lemoine.

Series:

A. Correspondence - To/From Orphans 1-01 through 1-25
B. Jewish Connections 2-01
C. Foundling Hospital - New York 2-02 through 2-04
D. Organizations  
  1. Children's Aid Society 2-05
  2. Orphan Train Heritage Society of America 2-06 through 2-12
E. Research - History 2-13
F. Publicity  
  1. News Clippings 2-14 through 2-15
  2. Magazine Articles 2-16 through 2-18
G. Writings 2-19
H. Movie 2-20
I. Miscellaneous  
  1. Where to Write 2-21
  2. Bibliographies 2-22
  3. General 2-23

Inventory:

A. Correspondence - To/From Orphans
Filed by last name.
1-01   A
1-02   B
1-03   C
1-04   D
1-05   E
1-06   F
1-07   G
1-08   H
1-09   I
1-10   K
1-11   Kelly, Adeline
1-12   L
1-13   M
1-14   N
1-15   O
1-16   P
1-17   R
1-18   S
1-19   T
1-20   U
1-21   Y
1-22   Z
1-23   Multiple names
1-24   Miscellaneous
1-25   Joseph _______ ?
     
B. Jewish Connections
2-01   Correspondence, newsletter (1994)
     
C. Foundling Hospital - New York
2-02   Research - history of hospital
      Sketches, photos (copies), n.d.
2-03   Research - history of hospital
      Publicity: magazine and journal articles, 1957, 1974, 1984, n.d.
2-04   Research - history of hospital
      Miscellaneous: correspondence, notes, articles, etc., 1961, 1982-, 1984, n.d.
     
D. Organizations
  1. Children's Aid Society: Publicity
2-05   Journal articles, other, 1910, n.d.
     
  2. Orphan Train Heritage Society of America: Publicity
2-06   Crossroads: 1987-1988
2-07   Crossroads: 1989
2-08   Crossroads: 1990
2-09   Crossroads: 1991-1992
2-10   Crossroads: 1993-1995
2-11   Membership Directory: 1990 - suppl.; 1994
2-12   Reunion schedule - 1995
     
E. Research
2-13   History of Orphan Train
      Correspondence - to and from Rachel Lemoine: 1982 - 1984, n.d.
     
F. Publicity
2-14   News Clippings: Orphan Train - Avoyelles Story
      News clippings - by Rachel Lemoine, 1980 - 1981 (copies)
       
2-15   News Clippings: Orphan Train - other
      1963, 1979, 1980 - 1983, 2013, n.d. (originals & copies)
       
2-16   Magazine Articles: Forests and People
      Written by Rachel Lemoine
       
2-17   Magazine Articles: ABC Theatre Presentation
      A Time for Miracles: The Story of Mother Seton”
       
2-18   Magazine Articles: Smithsonian Magazine
      “It took trains to put street kids on the right track out of the slums”, by Donald Dale Jackson. August 1986
     
G. Writings
2-19   The Orphan Train - How It Began, by Rachel Lemoine. January 26, 1995
     
H. Movie
2-20   “Orphan Train”
      Includes photographs, credits, bibliographies, movie information, etc.
     
I. Miscellaneous
2-21   Where to write, 1981
      List of Depository Libraries as of September 1981
       
2-22   Bibliographies, 1995
      Reference List
       
2-23   General
      “Legacy of an orphan child”, author unknown. n.d.