Foundling

Foundlings were babies left for the public to find and save. A foundling hospital was usually not a medical hospital but a children's home for them. In New York City three Sisters of Charity opened the New York Foundling Hospital in 1869.

From 1875 the Foundling sent young children west by train to Catholic families chosen in advance. Each child wore a numbered tag sewn into the clothing naming the receiving family, who held a matching card. Such placement papers may be the only record linking a foundling to a later name.