orphan

An orphan is a child who has lost one or both parents to death. The term can also refer to a young animal without a mother or someone deprived of protection or advantage. Historically, adoption served to ensure lineage continuity, but modern adoption practices prioritize child welfare.12

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the orphan train program transported orphaned and abandoned children from crowded Eastern cities to the Midwest for adoption by farming families. This initiative, led by Charles Loring Brace, aimed to provide homes for the large number of children left parentless due to high immigration and mortality rates. An estimated 150,000 to 400,000 children were relocated during this period.3