Concordia in Cloud County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Jessie Feit / Teresa Bieker
May 26, 1906 - June 17, 2001
— Train to Hays, Kansas in 1910 —
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 5, 2021
1. Jessie Feit / Teresa Bieker Marker
Born in New York to Jewish parents, Jessie was left at the New York Foundling Home with payment for 14 months of care. The parents were not heard from again, so Jessie was sent west in 1910. She was placed in an abusive home in Schoenchen, Kan. and her name was changed to Teresa Bieker. In 1920 she was taken from that home. Despite her traumatic childhood, Teresa was resilient. She married and had two daughters. She went back to school, graduating high school in 1944. Ten years later she graduated from Fort Hays State University with dual majors in German and English and a minor in Library Science. She was the first Children's Librarian at the Hays Public Library; she then went on to become the Medical Librarian at Mercy Hospital and later at Presbyterian Hospital, both in Denver.
Erected by National Orphan Train Complex; and Charles H. and Isabell Blosser Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is May 26, 1906.
Location. 39° 34.22′ N, 97° 39.588′ W. Marker is in Concordia, Kansas, in Cloud County. Marker is on West 7th Street just west of Broadway Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker and sculpture are located
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Rudolph Jubelt (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Henry Lee Jost (about 300 feet away); Irma Craig Schnieders (about 300 feet away); George Jacobs Ducrow (about 300 feet away); Holly Stoll / Hallie Garwood (about 300 feet away); Elmer Barney Malone & Ethel Barney Malone Staley (about 400 feet away); Miriam Malford Roering Zitur (about 400 feet away); Michalena Birraglio / Lena Nelson (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Concordia.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Orphan Train Movement
Also see . . .
1. Frank Carlson Library Orphan Train Statue.
Jessie Feit/Teresa Bieker was sent west on the orphan train when she was 4 years old. At the age of 48 she graduated from Fort Hays State University with dual majors in German and English, with a minor in Library Science.(Submitted on November 16, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. An Orphan Train Rider’s story.
From approximately 1854 to 1929, the “Greatest American Migration” took place. Upward of 250,000(Submitted on November 16, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)children were displaced from their homes on the East Coast, mostly from New York City, and sent to every state in the union, but mostly to the Midwest, in what has come to be called the orphan train movement. It displaced more children than any other movement in world history. The children were homeless, vagrant children or were from the local orphanages. They were sent westward by primarily the Children’s Aid Society, through the work of the Rev. Charles Loring Brace, or by the New York Foundling Hospital. Some of the children found good, loving foster homes. Others entered abusive environments, or were used as farm or domestic labor.
2. Marker detail: Jessie Feit / Teresa Bieker
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 5, 2021
3. Jessie Feit / Teresa Bieker Sculpture
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 5, 2021
4. Jessie Feit / Teresa Bieker Sculpture & Marker
Inscription on bench:
“Small in Stature, Large in Unceasing Benevolence,
She is our Guide to the Wondrous World of Unending Knowledge.”
(A student nurse had said that about Teresa.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 139 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 16, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
