Logansport woman’s legacy lives on in Kansas Orphan Train statue dedication

Last Updated on April 11, 2026 by Cass County Communication Network

CONCORDIA, Kan. – More than a century after she arrived in Indiana as part of the historic Orphan Train movement, the life of Jeanette Catherine Minneman Bender is being honored hundreds of miles from Logansport.

The National Orphan Train Complex, in Concordia, Kan., is a non-profit dedicated to collecting and preserving knowledge about orphan trains and the children who rode them.

On Tuesday April 7, the complex unveiled its 55^th statue, this time, paying tribute to Minneman – a young girl who boarded the orphan train in New York City and ultimately made Logansport her forever home.

Minneman was among 250,000 other children, between the years of 1853 and 1929, who were transported from eastern cities to rural communities. This national effort relocated homeless and orphaned children from overcrowded cities – hoping they would find loving homes and new opportunities.

Born Jeanette Catherine Veronica Knowles on Oct. 28, 1899, her early life was marked by hardship. Jeanette was one of four children, but after their mother’s death in 1903, her father was unable to work as a driver and support his children by himself. In 1905, the youngest three children were placed in the St. Joseph Orphan Asylum in New York. After her father died in 1908, Jeanette was considered an orphan and became eligible to be put on a train in 1909 bound for the Midwest.

Jeanette was first placed with a family in Huntington, Ind. before being adopted by Christopher and Catherine Minneman of Logansport, where she would spend the rest of her life.

Jeanette married George “Bus” Bender in 1925, and together they had six children, one of whom passed away at birth. Two of her children, Madonna Benson and Jim Bender, both of Logansport, were at the statue dedication, along with some of Jeanette’s grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

“My mother would just be overwhelmed knowing there’s a statue in her honor,” Benson said. “She was such a hard worker throughout her life, so having her family at the ceremony was just a wonderful thing.”

Throughout her life, Jeanette worked with several Logansport non-profits. She was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Church, the Fraternal Order of Eagles 323 Booster Club, the Daughters of Isabella, the Lafayette Eagles Auxiliary, and the St. Vincent de Paul Rosary Society.

Jeanette’s granddaughter, Ginny Sharpe of Phoenix, Ariz., spent many years researching her grandmother’s life – looking for a birth certificate, baptism records and other information. Sharpe researched locally in Logansport and contacted churches in New York City. Sharpe also worked with the National Orphan Train Complex for information – eventually gathering a variety of records that helped complete Jeanette’s story.

“Since I’m the eldest grandchild, I knew her better and longer than any of my cousins had a chance to, so it only makes sense for me to write her story and share it with the family,” Sharpe said. “My family is so very important to me. She was my only grandma, and I’ve valued her love and guidance for as long as I can remember.”

The statue was sponsored by Concordia natives Cathy Ceder Galaway and Susan Ceder Riddle King. The sisters now live in Indiana and Missouri but wanted to give back to their hometown of Concordia.

Jeanette passed away Dec. 14, 1979, but the new statue stands not only as a tribute, but as a symbol of thousands of children whose lives were forever changed by the Orphan Train movement.

SOURCE: News release from the family of Jeanette Catherine Minneman Bender, written by her great-grandson, Seth Tocco