There were over thirty organizations that had some type of placing out program to help find homes for children in need. We talk a lot about the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), who started the program. Another that we talk about is the New York Foundling Home, run by the Sisters of Charity to find families for abandoned infants. I’ve written articles about children sent West by the Boston Home for Destitute Catholic Children. One that we don’t talk about much is the New York Juvenile Asylum (NYJA); there are several reasons for this. The Juvenile Asylum was an institution where some of the more troubled children were sent; for example, those who had brushes with the law. They sent almost all of their wards to Illinois, with just a few to Iowa, for placement. The Juvenile Asylum used an indenture program. Those in charge weren’t as concerned with the safety and welfare of the children. They were indentured to farmers or business owners as laborers. They asked the children and foster parents to send in reports, but they did not have the extensive check-up programs that the CAS and other agencies utilized. We don’t receive many research requests on children from the NYJA.
Our friend and Orphan Train Scholar Clark Kidder, Wisconsin, has completed massive amounts of research on the NYJA. He has digitized the records and helps us with cases when they do come our way. Today we are going to talk about Conrad, Christian “Christie,” and Emma Elizabeth Will. They came to my attention in one of the many files filed with emails and other clues to identities of potential Orphan Train Riders. Christie wrote a long letter with his story to a Mrs. Fry in the 1970’s and a copy of this was in a file.
They were Conrad Will, born 30 April 1893 in Manhattan, NY; Christian John “Christie” Will, born 22 November 1895; and Emma Elizabeth Will, born 28 December 1897. Their parents were Christian and Elizabeth (Delamer) Will. The children had two older sisters, Elizabeth and Barbara. Christian and Elizabeth (the parents) were German immigrants who were struggling to support their five children. Christian worked in an iron foundry. Conrad, Christie, and Emma were surrendered to the New York Juvenile Asylum. Their admittance paperwork had “destitution” as the cause of surrender. Conrad’s version is a little different. “One day in June of 1904 while Father was away at work two men came to our home in East 61st Street (314 East 60th Avenue) and told us, myself age 11 – Christie 9 – Emma 7 – that father was hurt in a hospital and wanted to see us. Instead we were taken by streetcar downtown to a large tall building and placed in with some other children on the top floor and kept under guard for about two weeks. Then taken to a place around 187th Street and put in with other young boys (Sister Emma in the girls part…. I think it was called a Juvenile Assylum.”
On Monday, May 22nd 1905, the Will children and several others boarded a train in Jersey City and headed for Illinois. The Wills got off in Quincy, Illinois, and all three were taken in for a short time by George Powell. After a week or two, Conrad went home to the William Powell farm and was sent at once to the hayloft to tramp hay. “From that time on I was treated as a hired hand. It was a good home but I soon learned I was an outsider so I kept to myself, did what I was told and more. In all of the nine years I received no pay. I received seven months of school.…By trapping and hunting I managed to save $300. When Mr. Powell refused to pay me like the other men were getting and I was now 21. With the help of a church member at Fowler, Ill, I left the farm while the folks were away. I with the help of the minister I went to Canton, Missouri and was allowed to register as a ministerial student to I could get my High School credits.”
Conrad worked as a custodian at the school and did his studies there as well. He married Mattie Helen Howard while he was in school. They were not blessed with children, but did celebrate 47 years of marriage. Conrad and Mattie moved to Stockton, California, where he was the Grounds Superintendent. After the death of his first wife, he married again. Conrad Will passed away on the 2nd of December 1977, at Oxnard, California.
Christie and Emma were treated better than Conrad. Their letters to the NYJA talk of attending school and church regularly, and Emma enjoyed art and reading. After the term of the indenture, George Powell gave Christie and Emma 4 acres each. Christie became a farmer and married Antoinette Schutte on the 23rd of January 1923. They were the parents of two children, John and Anita. Later Christie hired on at the Gardner-Denver Machine factory. Christie was killed November 28th 1942, when he was knocked from an indoor crane by a drunken mechanic.
Emma married Frank C. Ohnemus on December 28th of 1922. They had one daughter, Dorothy. Emma was a farmer’s wife, caring for the home, garden and small animals. Emma and Christie had both stayed in the Quincy area and Emma died there on the 8th of June 1996 at the age of 98 years.
The good news is Conrad, Christie and Emma remained in contact with their two older sisters. It was such a pleasant surprise to find photos of a family reunion that occurred before Christie’s death. Now three additional files have been added to the more than 8,000 files housed at the National Orphan Train Complex. And the work continues!
