Series XI - Records of the Children's Emigration, Placing-Out, and Foster Home Programs, 1853-2006, inclusive; 1853-1939, bulk

The subseries consists of one box of Emigration, Placing-Out, and Foster Care materials arranged chronologically circa 1867-circa 1994, and 1 folder housed in a separate oversized (OS) box, noted in the container list. Material circa 1867-circa 1950 includes primary source documents and some photocopies of primary source documents; folders from 1967-1994 consist of latter-day compilations of information culled from earlier "orphan train" materials.

This subseries consists of 11 boxes of correspondence to the Children's Aid Society from children who were placed out in the country, and from the foster families who cared for them. The material is arranged chronologically, grouped by month, from 1855-1914 (bulk 1861-1881). Box 53A contains a volume of 1877 correspondence discovered and processed after the rest of the CAS collection was processed, creating a slight break in chronological order. That box also contains 1 tintype, which is the only photographic material in this subseries. There is only one folder of material 1884-1886 and one folder 1900-1914.

The letters, originally glued or posted into scrapbook-style volumes, were in poor condition at the time of the donation of the collection. The scrapbook volumes, most of which were missing covers, have since been disbound, and the letters treated to remove glue and dirt. Index pages and pages with lists of children are included in the subseries, if such pages were extant.

Each piece of correspondence was marked by the CAS recipient with a cross-reference to the volume and page number of the record book in which the child's records were kept. Those record books are arranged in Series XI.4.

The correspondence in this subseries includes a few letters from former CAS wards writing as soldiers in the Civil War. There is a 13 year gap between the bulk of the final material in this subseries and the earliest material of the following subseries, XI.3, which also contains correspondence from children and foster families.

This subseries consists of 913 boxes of case files of children placed in homes or work situations by the Emigration/Placing-Out and Foster Home Programs of the Children's Aid Society. Most case files include application forms from prospective foster families or employers, reports of visits or updates on the children by CAS agents, correspondence to the Children's Aid Society from children who were placed out in the country, and/or from the foster families or employers who cared for them. There are also many photographs.

The material is housed in boxes 56-964, and the files are arranged by case file number. The numbers were assigned roughly chronologically around the time the child came under the care of the CAS. These case files cover children placed between 1895-1951 (bulk 1895-1939). There is material in the case files from later dates, if correspondence or other contact occurred in subsequent decades. Boxes 56-688, containing case files numbered 1-10,347, from 1895-1916, are cross-referenced to the volumes in subseries XI.4. Boxes 965-968 contain miscellaneous case files 1895-1930, numbered 15,000-15,353 and unnumbered. All numbers above 15,000 were assigned by Victor Remer in the 1980's. Boxes 968-969 contain case files grouped alphabetically from the 1920's-1940's.

This finding aid does not list the individual folders in boxes 56-969, because the case files are RESTRICTED and the names in the records are sealed. The N-YHS reference department maintains a list of all photographs, tintypes, and selected visual materials in the case files. Please contact the reference department for further information about access to case file materials. Researchers whose primary interest is tracing family history will be put in contact with a designated Children's Aid Society specialist who will interview the potential researcher to determine what he or she may consult and will then supervise the reader's use of the appropriate material. Guidelines currently in place for family history research at CAS, as determined by legal restrictions on the accessibility of adoption and foster care records, will be followed. See Access Restrictions, at the top of this finding aid.

This subseries consists of 100 bound volumes related to children placed in homes or work situations by the Emigration/Placing-Out Program of the Children's Aid Society, 1853-1930 (bulk 1853-1916). The volumes are arranged in 2 sub-subseries, which overlap and complement each other:

Sub-subseries XI.4.A consists of Surrender Volumes which document children turned over by their guardians to the custody of the Children's Aid Society, Company Volumes which list children by the groups in which they traveled to the country together, and various other volumes listing placements, applications for children, financial records, and other records of the Emigration Program 1853-1922. The volumes are arranged chronologically by the initial date of the volume. Some of the volumes in XI.4.A are RESTRICTED, as per the Deed of Gift by which the collection was donated to the N-YHS. Restricted volumes are labelled as such in this finding aid and on the volumes themselves.

Sub-subseries XI.4.B consists of a set of record books numbered 1-57 by the CAS, describing children's cases in rough chronological order 1855-1916, preceded by an index to those record books 1853-1906. The information in these record books complements the correspondence and case files in Series XI.2 and XI.3, which cross-reference these volumes. All of the material in XI.4.B is RESTRICTED.

Researchers who wish to view restricted children's files or restricted volumes should contact the library of the New-York Historical Society. These researchers will be referred to a designated Children's Aid Society specialist who will interview the potential researcher to determine what he or she may consult and will then supervise the reader's use of the appropriate material. Guidelines currently in place for family history research at CAS, as determined by legal restrictions on the accessibility of adoption and foster care records, will be followed.

Families who traveled out west as part of the Family Emigration Program are listed in the Company Books and Record Books, but for volumes dedicated specifically to the Family Emigration Program 1874-1926, see Series XII.2.

This subseries consists of 2 boxes of disbound ring binders and lists created by the Foster Home Department, listing children placed out 1917-1939 (bulk 1929-1939). The material in this subseries is RESTRICTED. Researchers whose primary interest is tracing family history will be put in contact with a designated Children's Aid Society specialist who will interview the potential researcher to determine what he or she may consult and will then supervise the reader's use of the appropriate material. Guidelines currently in place for family history research at CAS, as determined by legal restrictions on the accessibility of adoption and foster care records, will be followed.

This subseries consists of 11 volumes of books published by individuals and organizations not affiliated with the CAS, but regarding the work of the CAS Emigration/Placing-Out Program. The first 5 volumes are orphan train riders' stories compiled by the Orphan Train Heritage Society, arranged chronologically by publication date. The next 6 volumes include self-published accounts or scrapbooks by former "orphan train" riders and other volumes exploring the subject arranged alphabetically by author or editor.