He called her “Mother

from Country Acres - June 19 edition

by Star Publications

What’s this?

He called her “Mother” “Mother”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This stately home, pictured above in 2017, is still in the Rooney family and is commonly referred to as “the big white house.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This newspaper clipping shows James Bradley Imdieke as a young man.

Trains brought Eastern orphans to Padua

By SARAH COLBURN Staff Writer

PADUA – It was the late 1800s when 5-year-old James Bradley stepped off the Orphan Train in Padua. He’d come from New York City and was one of roughly 200,000 orphaned and/or homeless children transported via train from cities in the Eastern United States to those in the Midwest. The movement was part of a supervised welfare program that continued from 1854 to 1929. Bradley, fostered locally by Ben and Mary Imdieke, was one of many children from the Orphan Train who became intertwined with the Rooney family in the Padua community. Bradley took the Imdieke name as he grew up on the family farm. He was the oldest of 10 kids. One of his siblings was Elizabeth (Imdieke) Rooney. Though the family relationship was formed more than 100 years ago, Elizabeth’s oldest son, Mike, and his wife, Lolly Rooney, still bring a pot o f red geraniums to James’ gravesite each year – front row, last one on the left – in the Padua Cemetery. “It’s just kind of tradition,” said Mike. “We go down there quite often, once a week, to water the live plants – two on my folks’ graves and one on James’.” The stories don’t come up a lot, but each year around Memorial Day, there’s talk of the Orphan Train and what it must have been like for the kids who came from a bustling city to rural Minnesota. “Talk about the Wild West,” Mike said. “When that train came in, they’d dump some kids off and you picked one up. Adoption then was a far cry from the way it is today.” James spent his youth on the Imdieke family farm where they raised cattle, pigs and some sheep, in addition to farming roughly 320 acres. He later served in WWI where, among his many duties as a solider, he played the bugle. He returned to his given Bradley name when he entered the military. When he returned from the war, he came home to the farm. By then, his siblings were all grown and handling the chores. He went to the Dakotas in search of work and became a farmhand there. In 1921, Bradley became sick and was admitted to a hospital in the Twin Cities. Mary Imdieke had not realized

ORPHANS continued on page 5

Protect what is important to you.

We are here for you. CALL TODAY!

For all of your insurance needs! WE OFFER: • Farm/Home • Business • Auto • Life • Health • Rec Vehicle ... and more!

Claire Rieland

320.351.2436 512 Main Street S, Ste 2 • Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30PM • Appointments available at anytime

GENERATORS

OFFERING

• INDUSTRIAL PORTABLES • MOBILE/PRIME POWER DIESEL • EMERGENCY STANDBYS

• PTO • 2-BEARING • VEHICLE MOUNTED

AMPS , Inc. 105 County Road 10, Albany, MN 320-845-4690 • www.ampsrs.com

New Construction

Remodel

Portable Buildings

ORPHANS from page 4 her adopted was listed as the son was ill, but received a postcard “I think these people were nephew of Michael and Margaret. Like that said he was in a Minnesota hospital. A week more about survival … but they did take him in and I James Bradley, Babcock came from NYC to later, Mike said, Bradley died of think they did their best by Padua, took the family name, stomach cancer at the age of 31. Much of the him; he called her ‘mother.’” - Geraldine Walsh served in WWI and later moved to the Dakotas. history of Padua Walsh recalls families can be gleaned from the local the stories her mother told of Robert. cemetery book which contains research “My mom said my grandmother on everyone who is buried there. The always went the extra mile for Robert local church, Mike said, served as the notifying agency to the locals that the Orphan Train was coming into town ORPHANS continued on page 6 and implored local families to welcome a child into their homes. The Rooney lineage contains variations of this same story throughout the family tree. The Rooneys came from Ireland via Canada to Minnesota in the 1860s. Then, 15 families of siblings and cousins made their way to what is present-day Padua. Geraldine Walsh is immersed in the family’s history. Walsh is the daughter of Ed Felling and Helen Rooney Felling. Helen, the daughter of Margaret Murphy and Michael Rooney, was raised in the big white house near the pub in Padua, lovingly referred to as the Michael Rooney Farm As Walsh tells it, her mother began the family research and documentation back in 1930. Her research outlines a number of additions to the family tree including Robert Babcock. Babcock, born in 1894 or 1895, was the foster child of Michael and Margaret. While PHOTO SUBMITTED This is the only known photo of Robert Babcock, who came to Padua on the “Orphan Train” and was fostered by Margaret Murphy and Michael Rooney. Babcock is pictured at the Helen thought of him as her brother, Padua Post Offi ce around 1901 he was never offi cially adopted. In the with William Murphy, Michael Ward April 1900 Federal Census, Babcock Rooney, Francis and Mary.

11 22 33

• One person operation - eliminate the need for a second hand for hook-ups • Simple drawbar mount • PT O compatible • Fast, reliable, few moving parts

Give us a call!

Gilman Co-op Creamery FEED & FARM SUPPLY STORE

• SAFER - Doesn’t require climbing on or off tractor • Meets or exceed D.O.T requirements • Available for pick-ups, choppers, tractors, wagons, etc. CA-May15-TFN-B-BL

Gilman, MN • 320-387-2770

WWW.GILMANCREAMERY.COM

All Aluminum/Stainless Steel Welding and Metal Sales. We also provided Portable Welding

CA-June19-1B-WS Brandon Petermeier 10098 County 11• Sauk Centre | 320.223.2852

Special Purchase!

10 to Choose From!

2019 Impala LT

P3389 | Heated leather seats, heated steering wheel, back up camera, remote start, teen miles, sunroof

only $19,788

2019 Cadillac XTS AWD

P3319 | Heated and cooled seats, teen miles, heated steering wheel, sunroof. 4 to

Choose From!

only $30,944

2019 Equinox AWD LT

P3380 | 2.0L, heated seats, trailer package, sunroof, power liftgate, low miles.

5 to Choose From!

only $23,499

2019 Tahoe LT 4WD

P3430 | Heated leather seats, 2nd row heated seats, cross traffic alert, blind zone alert, power folding seat, sunroof, DVD.

only $40,995

Find out more More information about the Orphan Trains can be found at www. orphantrainridersofminnesota.com/. Additionally, there’s an Orphan Train Riders of Minnesota annual reunion event held each year in Little Falls. This year’s event is currently scheduled for Sept. 26, 2020 and more information can be found on the website.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

James Bradley arrived in Padua in the late 1800s at the age of fi ve. He lived with the Imdieke family, served in WWI and died of stomach cancer at the age of 31.

– better clothes, better everything – but he was emotionally troubled,” Walsh said. Having pored over the history, Walsh has empathy toward the children of the Orphan Trains. “It was a terrible situation, putting these babies on trains and sending them out to people they didn’t know,” she said. “There had to be a lot of psychological trauma for these kids.” At the same time, she said, the children were sent into families facing hardship as they tried to build a life for themselves in an area with no infrastructure. They were pioneers. “They were fi ghting for their lives, [against] the blizzards, the cold, the locusts that came,” she said. “The obstacles they were up against were enormous but yet, they were trying to reach out and care for these orphans.” Walsh said the children became part of the household and had heavy responsibilities by the time they were 12 or 13. Even though Walsh said she didn’t think there was a lot of time to be warm and cuddly with their kids, there was a strong connection within the families. She has a note from Robert. He returned to the family farm years later with his wife. He didn’t let anyone know he was coming. “He addressed the note to Mary, my aunt. It said he’s so sorry to miss them and he had waited some time but he had to leave and wanted to give his best regards to mother,” Walsh said. “I think these people were more about survival … but they did take him in and I think they did their best by him; he called her ‘mother.’” In addition to James Bradley and Robert Babcock, Joseph B. Rooney, also of New York, was adopted by James and Anna Rooney. Henry Egan was adopted by Dennis and Mary Rooney. Additionally, not specifi cally a Rooney story but rather a Padua story, Earnest Jones was taken in by the parish priest, who also boarded the school teacher and a housekeeper. Jones was born in 1893 to a father in New York and a mother from Virginia. He attended school in Padua.

PHOTO SUBMITTED