LCGS President Presents Program on "Orphan Trains" LIBERTY, June 24, 2010 - Linda Jamison, President of the Liberty County Genealogical Society presented the society’s monthly program on Tuesday, June 15th to approximately 30 members in attendance.

Mrs. Jamison’s power point program was entitled “Orphan Trains.” In 1852 there were an estimated 10,000 dependent and delinquent children that lived on the streets of New York which was the primary gateway for European immigrants and many German, Italian, Irish and other nationalities. These immigrants brought their families to America to start a new life but often died of decease leaving widows and orphans without any means of support. Several Christian aid societies were formed to help these children and between 1854 and 1929 an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children were placed in homes in other states, primarily in the farming communities of the Midwest and Southwest leaving their pasts and identities behind. This program is intended to open another pathway to genealogical researchers to past generations after hitting “brick walls” in their generational research. After the power point presentation, members were also invited to view the PBS American Experience film, The Orphan Trains which included interviews with adults that started new lives after riding the orphan trains and joining new families, many in Texas and surrounding states.

For more information about the Liberty County Genealogical Society, please visit their new website: www.libertycountytexasgenealogy.com or email: libertygenie@yahoo.com . L.C.G.S. meets each month on the third Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in the upstairs meeting room of the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty, Texas.