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Sequal to Orphan Train Trilogy

Due to Popular Demand Robert Noonan’s Orphan Train Trilogy will have a Sequel

Robert Noonan, author of the Five Star Orphan Train Trilogy; Wildflowers , Bridie’s Daughter and Secrets has started writing a sequel. Followers of this popular trilogy have been requesting a continuation since the trilogy became available. The first three books shares the lives of orphans living during the 1800's when child welfare activities were in their infancy. Readers have taken the "orphan" characters into their hearts and want to read more about their lives.

Mr. Noonan is well into chapter two of Paper Flowers. To those familiar with this trilogy, that meaningful title will immediately bring readers back into the trilogy. Hillary, who was a continuing primary character in all three books, may have her own personal secret shared.

Readers are encouraged to read the Trilogy in the near future! While you will often see Robert online at Authors Den, and other social sites, talking about his published novels, he's also enjoying getting back to writing and in sharing Hillary's story!

Journal of the Orphan Train Trilogy

Journal of the Orphan Train Trilogy

Children believed not one person in the whole world loved them or wanted them

From 1854 to 1929 over 200,000 homeless children traveled from New York City to the West and Southwest to find new homes. Towns were notified in advance when an orphan train was coming so those who wanted to adopt or be Foster Parents could see if there was a child that suited them. Some wanted a child to love while others wanted laborers. Where the children ended up was a matter of luck … or misfortune.

The history of the orphan trains isn’t complex, but each child has their own story. The Orphan Train Trilogy is an emotional story revealing what happened to some of these children, for better or worse. It also reveals how the lives of the adults were changed by the adoptions.

In the Journal you will find book reviews, book descriptions and excerpts.

To read the Orphan Train Journal click on the link below.

http://orphantraintrilogyauthor.blogspot.com/

Author: Robert Noonan

National Best Books 2008 Awards

The National
Best Books

2008 Awards

I have a bit of news I would like to share with my chat room friends. In other words, BRAG. Today I was notified that my Orphan Train Trilogy; Wildflowers, Bridie’s Daughter and Secrets are among ten “Finalists” in The National Best Books 2008 Awards. Overcoming stiff opposition from many qualified authors of Historical Fiction has validated the many hours of work and deprivation.

Earlier this year my three novels were awarded “Finalist” in the 2008 Indie Book Awards-an International Competition. I have one competition remaining and if I do as well you will hear about it.

Robert Noonan

Letters Written By Orphan Train Riders

Orphan Trains: Letter-4

By Robert Noonan

I am presenting two letters today. These boys appear content with life on a farm. Many children ended up on farms and their treatment varied greatly. They bided their time until they were eighteen, then decided if they wanted to remain or move on, if they had that option.

These boys don’t appear to have had much schooling, as their letters reveal. They are presented to you as they were written.

May 22, 1878

Mr. Tracy

Dear Sir. I received a letter some time ago and hasten to reply it is raining today so I have time to write we are pretty busy now in getting the land ready for corn we intend planting in about two days we had a temperance revival here last week there was 200 signed the pledge we will have another meeting tomorrow night it is a blue ribbon movement I am wearing the ribbon that cut and left a big scar on my hand I received the book you sent me and was pleased with it how are times in New York by this time hope they are better will you ask Mr. Trott what became of that young man that was working for him when I worked for him I guess he would know me times are awful hard out here now there is scarcely any money out here I expect you are doing good work now I have no more to say at present so I will close wishing you good success in your work I remain

Yours Respectfully

James

May 26 1878

Dear Sir

i was pleased to get your letter i was looking for a letter from you every day i was pleased to get it from you i was sorry that you could not help me but I think that time is very hard for you

i expect that we are having very whet weather it is very hard to get a place I have no place to work yet wish I could get a place to work I would like to get a place of my own but I cannot

I wish I could get work sum place I have poor health in this country if I could get back to the old country I would like it but I have not the money so I mustent think of it now so I must be contented at present

This is all from your frend thomas

I wish I had more letters to post, but these have given you some insight as to what happened to those children. There were instances where 2-5 siblings were on an Orphan Train and only one was adopted at a given town, never to see their brothers or sisters again. In my Orphan Train Trilogy I did not dwell on the hardships children faced, though there is some. My novels also show how the lives of the adults were changed by taking in children they knew nothing about or how they would react to decisions made for them. Love and tears flowed both ways. It is a story of family love and friendship, tragedy, romance, murder and intrigue and an abundance of humor.

Thank you for your interest in this little corner of our history.

Robert Noonan

Letters Written By Orphan Train Riders

Orphan Trains: Letter-3

By Robert Noonan

This third letter is by a girl who seemed to have a difficult time fitting in. Was she incompetent, or did she feel inferior because of constant browbeating? No homeless child knew what kind of life they would find out West. Most children found permanent homes, while others were bounced about to different homes doing menial work. A child could be on their own when they reached the age of eighteen. Some were forced out and others could remain.

Again, these letters are as the children wrote them.

April 3, 1878

Mr. Tracy

I received your kind letter almost a week ago but have neglected to answer it until now. I have not lived at Mollars for two years. I was not satisfied and they were not satisfied with me. I have live(ed) only three places since I left. Where I am living now I have been a year and went to school last winter and worked for my board and home.

Started this Spring on the same condition. I am living with a couple of old people. The woman is partially blind and most of the work is dependant on me. But I can’t suit her. I have tried my best. I will never suit anyone. I am eighteen and when any one eighteen is told they are so careless they worry them to death I think they are almost worthless and that is just what I am. I am entirely discouraged and only wish I had parents as relations where I had some rights to stay bother or no bother. I wish you would tell me where I was found when I was taken to the home. I do want to know my history so bad. I have no one here who cares whether I live or die.

I feel so bad I can’t write, so please excuse this nonsense. I have written very poor. Your writing is commented on a great deal by everyone who has seen it. It is so pretty. Please answer soon and oblige one in trouble.

Ellen

Next Saturday will be my final posting of Orphan Train Letters. Of the 200,000 plus children who rode those trains between 1854 and 1929, each is another story. In my trilogy; Wildflowers, Bridie’s Daughter and Secrets, I did not dwell on the cruel aspects of this history, though there is some. I concentrated on how the lives of the children and the adults were changed by the adoption. It is an emotional story about family love and friendship, tragedy, romance, murder and intrigue and an abundance of humor. It is a portion of our history that should not be forgotten

Robert Noonan

Letters By Orphan Train Riders - 2

Orphan Train: Letters - 2

By Robert Noonan

Many of the children wrote letters to the Agent who rode the train with them, telling of their new life. Some children found loving homes; others did not. Being today's letters are brief, I am submitting more than one. The first letter is from a girl who was very fortunate, unlike the girl who wrote last week’s letter. After reading this letter I assume she was taken into a financially secure home. I would guess the parents sat with their children and stressed the need to treat the orphan girl as one of their own … and it seems they did. It appears the orphan girl’s natural parents abused her.

187?

Dear Mr. Tracy,

When I lived in New York I had no bonnet. Now I have more bonnets that I can wear. I get no

whippings and I have a father and a mother and brothers and sisters here and they are kinder to

me than my own ever were. I think I will never be happier than I am now.

Mary

Here is a case I read about some time ago. One that still bothers me. It is about an Agent who went to a home to check on a young girl and found the man and girl a little too chummy for his liking. When he got back to New York City he prepared papers to remove the girl from that home. When he returned a month later, he discovered they had moved.

Here are two letters written by a boy who seems to be content with his lot.

18--

Mr. Halter

Dear sir

I would have wrote to you before but I was herding cattle I like it here very well while herding I had a nice time I herded them most of the time by a creek I have left the place where I was there is plenty of game here You will hear from me more now as I have Sunday to my self I must close now sending my love to all the good people that help us boys.

From your loving friend

Willie

Partial letter from the same boy

seven of us boys around that I know Oscar Wolder is getting along very well. Mr. Moer has rented his farm and cattle so he did not need me any more On Thanksgiving Day I went to see Oscar and had a nice time. When I get a farm I will send for a boy.

From your loving friend

Willie

Orphan Train Riders Letters - 1

Orphan Train: Letter-1

By Robert Noonan

Between the years 1854-1929 more than 200,000 homeless children left New York City to find new homes in the West and Southwest. Some children found loving homes; others did not. I am presenting a letter today and one each of the following Tuesdays. Being they are extremely hard to come by, I only have a few.

It was difficult for me to decide on which letter to post first; a happy one or one troubling. I decided on the latter to get the attention of you readers. The letters, in part, were without punctuations, proper grammar, capitals, etc. and were difficult to decipher. I did not make all the corrections, just enough so they were legible. I guess the girl who wrote this letter to be between the ages of twelve to fourteen.

April 27, 1865

Dear Friend

I received your kind letter and was very much pleased to hear from you. I often think of you Mr. Tracy and would like to see you very much. I went and had my picture taken and will send one to you. They are not as good as I expected they would be. They look like me only the eyes did not take good for they were such a light blue. I cannot remember how you look. I have forgotten you Mr. Tracy.

You said it would make you feel sad to hear of anything that I had done that was not just right. I hope that I never shall do anything that is not right. There is a great deal said that is not so. Everyone has their faults and I have mine. It is very sad to be alone in this world with no mother or father or any one to look to but strangers but I can look to the Lord Mr. Tracy and he will take care of me. I am not a Christian but I wish I was. I often think how happy I should be sometimes. I wish I were a Christian girl and could die and go to heaven and see my own mother, but the Lord is letting me live for some good purpose.

It is very pleasant out here, everything is in blossom and smells nice and this is a pleasant world to live in. How does things look in the city, anything as they did when you took me by the hand and led me to …. I should like very much to come to the city and see how things look but I don’t suppose I ever shall.

Ann lives in Rushville. I have not seen her in quite a while. There is a little girl that came out just before I did that lives a little way from me. Her name is Katie. We have some good talks together about the city. One of the girls that came out with me has gone back. I don’t think she aught to (have) gone back. She has more suffering there than she did here. I never wanted to go back to stay. I would rather live in the country. I guess you will think I have grown some in my picture . I will bring my letter to a close.

Write soon

Yours Truly

Patty

THE CHILDREN'S HEARTS WERE ON THE PAPER.

Letters Written By Orphan Train Riders

By Robert Noonan

For an emotional experience, read letters written by children who rode the orphan trains over a century ago. If you don’t know the history of the Orphan Trains, I wouldn’t be surprised. Less than 15% of the U.S. population does. So, here is a brief introduction.

From 1854-1929 over 200,000 homeless children left New York City to find new homes in the West and Southwest. They were filled with hope, concern and uncertainty as they rode the rails to an unknown future. Towns were notified in advance when an orphan train was coming so those who wanted to adopt or become Foster Parents could be there to see if there was a child that suited them. Where those children ended up was a matter of luck … or misfortune. It was intended that an Agent would visit the child each year to see how they were getting along. The numbers became so great, that intent became impossible.

Over time, hundreds of children wrote The Children’s Aid Society that had cared for them temporarily or the Agent who rode the train with them, telling of their new life … good or bad.

I wanted to read all of the letters, which I knew was impossible, hoping to get closer to the children I was writing about. I wanted to see their penmanship, writing style, word usage, also, dates and where they lived. Therefore, I set out to get what letters I could. The letters were not available to the public, but after a few telephone calls and explaining I was writing about the orphan train children, I was granted a few copies. When I read them the childrens hearts were truly on the paper. It was as though I was standing next to them. I phoned earlier this year and tried for more. I was told it was impossible for they were being transferred to The Library of Congress.

For those of you interested in this history these letters are a special treat. I am a member of the National Orphan Train Complex located in Concordia, Kansas. Their headquarters and museum are in an old railroad station converted for their use. I have no relatives who rode those trains, but I am a member because of my interest in the subject. Our organization doesn’t want this little-known corner of U.S. History to die.

I will post letters each of the following three weekends.

Robert Noonan

Wildflowers - The First Book in My Orphan Train Trilogy

Here’s is the front cover of Wildflowers! I purposely had the face blurred so that "she" would represent all of the orphans I would be writing about!

Inside Flap

Wildflowers , The First Story in the Orphan Train Trilogy.

When Hillary’s widowed mother, Laura, begins a relationship with Biff Arley, a stranger who frequently comes to town, Hillary is concerned that her father is being forgotten. Laura, while still in love with her deceased husband, fights guilt when she finds herself falling in love with Biff. When equally committed to their love, Biff returns for Laura and Hillary, hoping they’ll start a new life with him in Galena, Illinois. He is devastated by what he learns on his return.

When he believes the time is right, mill owner, Frank Dragus, approaches Hillary with an offer she cannot refuse. When Kate Moran, Frank’s secretary and Laura’s best friend, learns of this, she confronts Frank and makes him pay dearly.

~~~

Back Cover - Wildflowers

Wildflowers is a riveting tale that deftly portrays everyday life in a small American milltown and the abuse of child laborers at the end of the nineteenth century.

Eleven-year-old Hillary Cook and her widowed mother, Laura, must both work to survive. Hillary works twelve hours a day, six days a week at the Alton Textile Mill. On Sunday afternoons, she and her two friends pick flowers, dream and play pretend in the nearby countryside. The girls pledge to be friends for eternity and call themselves "wildflowers."

In this difficultworld, innocent children are forced to operate dangerous machinery at the mill and even darker abuses are committed against them. Mill owner Frank Dragus has young girls sent to his office for whatever he pleases--and he is interested in Hillary. When tragedy befalls Hillary and her mother, Hillary is forced into a situation that may have disastrous consequences.

From busy factory floors and bustling portside pubs to tragedy, murder and intrigue, Wildflowers integrates the nostalgia of historical fiction with the wit of modern-day drama.

~~~

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