Historical Homes

Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Andrea Warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of Lee Nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to Texas.

Francis Joseph Cassavant is eighteen. He has just returned home from the Second World War, and he has no face. He does have a gun and a mission: to murder his childhood hero. Francis lost most of his face when he fell on a grenade in France. He received the Silver Star for bravery, but was it really an act of heroism? Now, having survived, he is looking for a man he once admired and respected, a man adored by many people, a man who also received a Silver Star for bravery. A man who destroyed Francis's life.

"There's Always a Trail": When a stranger named Handy offered to track down Cass Bailey's stolen money for a stake in the CB range, Bailey has nothing more to lose. "Home in the Valley": Steve Mehan had done the impossible when he drove a herd of cattle from the Nevada range to California in the dead of winter. But Mehan had little time to rest before tragedy struck. "Monument Rock": It had been many years since Lona Markham's father sent her from the rigors of ranch life to a convent school. Now she's returned to a wary, careworn man who hardly seems like the father she remembers.

After seven years in prison, Duncan Malone has returned home to Washita, Texas, to reclaim his land that now belongs to strangers. But his homecoming isn't a warm one; his mother lies in a catatonic state, and the residents of Washita aren't taking well to a murderer living amongst them. Franki Taylor is seven-months pregnant, alone, and forced to run her grandfather's farm as he succumbs to pneumonia.

Gustav Hoglund prepares a prairie dugout to serve as a farmhouse for he and his fiancée, Maria.

WWII is over, the boys are coming home, and Kate and her sisters are ready to pursue the plans they put on hold. Will their dreams come true?

Dedicated to keeping her home immaculate and organized, Evangeline Knapp runs a tight ship, with the Knapp family constantly on edge. Meanwhile, her husband Lester, a dreamer, drifts through his bookkeeping job. Both feel depressed and out of place. Suddenly, after a near-fatal accident, their roles are reversed: Lester is confined to home in a wheelchair and his wife must work to support the family. Evangeline dedicates herself to improvement and customer service, something she learned working in her father’s store as a child.

Following the breakdown of her marriage, Theo has bought a tumbledown cottage on the banks of the river Tamar which divides Cornwall and Devon. The peace and tranquillity of Boatman’s Cottage, nestled by the water, is just what she needs to heal. Yet soon after her arrival, Theo discovers a stash of hidden letters tied with a ribbon, untouched for more than a century. The letters—sent from the battlefields of France during WWI—tell of a young servant from the nearby manor house, Abbotswood, and his love for a woman he was destined to lose.

Patrick O’Connor has seen far too much of the cruel and unforgiving world. Life has beaten him down relentlessly. Out of hope and out of options, he makes the terrifying and desperate decision to return home to the family he has lied to for years. The family he knows will never forgive him.

When war breaks out in September 1939, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. The Colonel's comfortable home in Dorset is a huge contrast to their cramped terraced house in London, where their loving parents struggle to put the next meal on the table. Though unused to having children around, the Colonel proves to be a kind and generous, if gruff, guardian until a terrible turn of events means the kids must move on.

Burke Jones began his life as a nameless orphan, dreaming of one day being a renowned doctor with a home and family to call his own. Sophie Kingston, daughter of an influential East Coast family, was destined to be an important and beloved part of Baltimore Society. Life has not gone quite as either planned. Now, living in the home of a family friend, Sophie joins the lady on a journey to the tiny town of Hope Springs in Wyoming Territory. It is unlike any place she’s ever known. And the resident doctor is a mystery as well.

Cecily Attwater specializes in hope. As a tutor to the newly blind, she has dedicated her life to helping others overcome the obstacles she herself has conquered. Her new assignment in a remote corner of Wyoming proves trickier than usual: Finbarr refuses to learn. To make matters worse, his family - and the other Irish townspeople - are less than thrilled to discover an Englishwoman in their haven. Cecily's only hope lies in securing the cooperation of her pupil's brother, Tavish, who happens to be her harshest critic.

Assuming the Lord wants her to practice medicine in a remote African outpost, Astrid Bjorklund enrolls in a missionary training school. She prays her former sweetheart will one day understand. But when a family crisis calls her home, Astrid hears of a deadly measles outbreak on a nearby Indian reservation. Feeling inexplicably constrained to help, she wonders if God might be leading her to a “mission field” that’s much closer than she imagined.

In early 1800s England, Jess Beauchene has spent most of her life in hiding and always on the move in an effort to leave her past far behind her. But when she learns the family she thought had died just might be alive and in danger, she knows her secrets can only stay buried for so long. Derek Thornbury loves the past, which has led him to become an expert in history and artifacts. He knows Jess has never liked him, but when she requests his help deciphering the clues laid out in an old family diary, he can't resist the urge to solve the puzzle.

When Katie Steury hires her old friend Harley Lambright to remodel her rundown old house into a charming bed and breakfast, she does so with trepidation. Though they are longtime friends, they’ve always had a rocky relationship, thanks to her being partly responsible for his most recent breakup. But while they may not always get along, she needs someone to trust with her secrets, and Harley is nothing if not trustworthy and loyal.

Israel Meir Lau, one of the youngest survivors of Buchenwald, was just eight years old when the camp was liberated in 1945. Descended from a 1,000-year unbroken chain of rabbis, he grew up to become Chief Rabbi of Israel--and like many of the great rabbis, Lau is a master storyteller. Out of the Depths is his harrowing, miraculous, and inspiring account of life in one of the Nazis' deadliest concentration camps, and how he managed to survive against all possible odds.

Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year as a foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him to experience combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, to walk the minefields of My Lai, to crawl into the ghostly tunnels, and to explore the ambiguities of manhood and morality in a war gone terribly wrong.

When Clara Newton became house mother of Shilling Grange Orphanage, it was only supposed to be temporary, a job to help piece her life back together again after the war had torn it apart. But five years on, Shilling Grange is more than just a job, it’s her calling. The orphans have given her a reason to live again, as has her handsome war hero neighbor Ivor, who is now her dashing fiancé.

When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana's life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes.

When Amy's chosen as part of a programme to resettle displaced children in Canada, her life changes tack. Her great sadness is having to say goodbye to Ruth and Ellen, the friends who became family to her during the dark days at the orphanage. As she steps on board the ship to Montreal, the promise of a new life lies ahead. But during the long crossing, Amy discovers a terrifying secret.