Concordia in Cloud County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Irma Craig Schnieders
July 5, 1898 - August 6, 1989
— Orphan Train Rider to Missouri, 1901 —
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 22, 2022
1. Irma Craig Schnieders Marker
Irma Craig was placed out in Osage City, Missouri, by the New York Foundling Hospital in 1901. She was first placed with Mr. and Mrs. George Boehm and their two sons, but in 1909 Mrs. Boehm fell ill and died, leaving Mr. Boehm feeling that he could no longer provide a suitable home for Irma. She was then placed with the neighboring Rackers family. In Irma's words, her second foster home "was even better than the first."
In 1918 Irma began teaching at Moreau Bend School. During the first year of teaching, she met Robert F. Schnieders, who she married on September 5, 1922. Together they had eight children: four boys and four girls.
Irma said of her Orphan Train experience, "My foster families loved me and reared me just like I was their own child. From them I learned rules of good behavior, the miracle of the sanctity of life, and love for the Creator and the marvels of the world."
Irma's daughter, Shirley Andrews, was a founding member of the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America. She continues to collect information on Orphan Train Riders, provide research assistance to fellow descendants, and share the history of the Orphan Train Movement and her mother's ride to Missouri.
Erected by
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education • Railroads & Streetcars • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1901.
Location. 39° 34.274′ N, 97° 39.566′ W. Marker is in Concordia, Kansas, in Cloud County. Marker is on Broadway Street just south of West 6th Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker and sculpture are located beside the sidewalk on the east side of Broadway Plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 600 Broadway Street, Concordia KS 66901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. George Jacobs Ducrow (here, next to this marker); Miriam Malford Roering Zitur (within shouting distance of this marker); Michalena Birraglio / Lena Nelson (within shouting distance of this marker); Joseph Fuourka / Joseph "Joe" Roguet Aillet (within shouting distance of this marker); Elmer Barney Malone & Ethel Barney Malone Staley (within shouting distance of this marker); Rudolph Jubelt (within shouting distance of this marker); Cora Alice McVicker / Eugenia Alice Cullivan Mulligan (within shouting distance of this marker); In Memory of George C. Padgett (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Concordia.
Related markers.
2. Marker detail: Irma Craig Schnieders
Also see . . .
1. Irma Craig.
There is no record of why Irma’s mother felt the need to give away her baby, but when speaking of it in later years, Irma always gave her the benefit of the doubt by saying there were probably desperate circumstances that left her no other choice. The records do indicate that Irma stayed there until she was three years old. At that time a group of foundlings aged about 15 months to five years were put on a train and, with several nuns and other adults, were transported from New York to the Midwest where they were told they would find new mothers and fathers. There were at least 32 children in this particular batch because Irma remembers she had a number 32 pinned to her coat. As the train pulled into Osage City station, Irma saw a lady holding a card with the number 32 written on it. “That’s my new momma,” she exclaimed to one of the nuns as she eagerly rushed to meet Mrs. Katherine Boehm.(Submitted on December 18, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Irma Craig/Coffin Schnieders (Find A Grave).
Irma Craig was born in Manhattan, New York City. She was an “inmate” at the New York Foundling Hospital from the age of 2 months until almost 3 years, when she and a group of over forty(Submitted on December 18, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)children boarded an Orphan Train to find new homes in the West.Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 22, 20223. Irma Craig Schnieders Sculpture
3. An Orphan Train Rider’s Story.
From approximately 1854 to 1929, the “Greatest American Migration” took place. Upward of 250,000 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.(Submitted on December 18, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 22, 2022
4. Irma Craig Schnieders Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 16, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 174 times since then and 70 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 18, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
