I watched the "Orphans rode trains, seeking parents" video on CNN and found it a jumble. I had to piece together Stanley Cornell's story from several articles and the video. The editing was bad or maybe they didn't understand the story?

Anyway the video is worth watching as a starting point. Stanley Cornell was 6 years old when he rode the orphan train in 1926. He was traveling with his brother, Victor, who was 1 year younger. Stanley is 88 years old now.

Stanley remembers his mother dying. The state government decided that his widowed father couldn't take care of two young boys and removed them.

Their mother died when their sister, Eloise, was born, and their father, a victim of a German gas attack in World War I, was unable to care for them. Another sister took Eloise, but didn't have room for Stanley and Victor.

It sounds like Stanley and Victor lived in an orphanage for a while. Then they were placed on an "orphan train". They found a home with a Coffeyville, Kansas family, but it wasn't a happy ending.

"They were kind and we liked them, but after a couple of months they sent us back. I still don't know why. Maybe their other kids didn't like us," said Cornell

So Stanley and Victor rode the orphan train again. In Wellington, Texas they met their adoptive father. He was a farmer who had driven into town with his Model-T car.

Families who adopted children from the orphan trains were required sign a document. They agreed to never share birth family information. And the "orphans" were told to forget about their birth family and not search for them.

But that didn't stop Stanley. Stanley did search for his first father. He was creative in his search. He send a telegram to J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director, asking for help in locating his father. Hoover quickly sent a reply with the father's location.

Other Articles

Orphan Train' Riders Gather (2000 article)
Survivors Mark Orphan Trains (2000 article)
Orphan Train History