The Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society will present “The Orphan Trains - The Personal Side of the Story” by Carol Chandler on Monday, April 27.

The program will be at 7 p.m. at the LCHGS office at 113 S. Hennepin Ave. in Dixon.

The office is handicapped-accessible, and there is ample parking close by. There is no fee.

Please bring any personal family history stories about orphan train children to share. There will be a question-and-answer period after the program.

Chandler, a member of LCHGS since 2007, has researched this amazing story and how it affected area history since 2010. This story of these “throw-away kids” and how they saved local agriculture and what they accomplished after their tragic beginnings is sometimes heartwarming and sometimes almost brings tears. Yet they survived, and now, it is estimated that about 5% of U.S. citizens carry their genes.

Find out how many of these children came to be citizens of Lee County and surrounding counties.

“I have given this program many times, but have received a number of requests to repeat it”, Chandler said, “especially with the increasing interest in genealogy and what those from other countries have added to our history in the Sauk Valley area.”