Foundling Past Story Archives - The New York Foundling

Robert Sensale

Robert Sensale
Foundling Adoptee

“You couldn’t find two luckier people than my sister and I, that we ended up with my mom and dad,” says Robert. “Jimmy Stewart got the movie, A Wonderful Life, but I got to live it.”

Adopted from The Foundling in 1959, he has kept up a lifelong connection with the organization. Along with his sister, many of his other neighbors and friends growing up had been adopted from The Foundling. And 20 years ago, after seeing a Foundling publication featuring Sister Mary DeSales – the woman who had placed him with his family – he reconnected with her. She remembered Robert and his family, and the two ended up having weekly phone calls. Additionally, Robert and his family would visit with her and the other Sisters of Charity at the retirement home where they lived.

“We all went to The New York Foundling’s 140^th anniversary, and there were a number of women there that were nurses in that era,” Robert says. “And you could see them all looking at us – ‘I wonder if I took care of this child, did I hold this child, did I change his diaper?’ It was a really wonderful bonding experience. And to see Sister for the last years of her life was an absolute blessing.”

Robert currently lives in New Jersey , and works as an attorney for a Wall Street investment bank. With his late wife, he has one biological son and three adopted daughters. “Life is good,” he says.

July 20, 2021/by Elefant Design

Foundling Past Story

Greg Markway

Greg Markway
Foundling Descendant

“I found [my grandfather’s] World War 1 draft card, and under place of birth it said ‘unknown’. That just hit me, to just not really know where you came from. It just struck me in a personal way. I felt like I was meant to be doing this search,” says Greg.

Greg’s search for his grandfather’s past has been a long and rewarding experience. “The entire family knows that he came from The New York Foundling and on an Orphan Train, but we knew nothing else about him… I’ve always wanted to know his history.” In recent years, Greg and his relatives have embarked on a journey to learn more – and through DNA testing and extensive research, he has been able to piece together the story.

He learned that his grandfather rode the Orphan Train in 1901, coming to central Missouri. He was adopted by the Markway family, where he was one of 12 children. “One of the interesting parts of the story is that somewhere in 1920, he had returned to New York and found out who his mother was,” Greg says. “I think it always weighed on him that he had been left at The Foundling, but at the same time, he always had a connection to The Foundling.”

The search has not only brought Greg closer to his family, but has provided a newfound community as well. Greg has met others involved in Orphan Train history, started an online group for Foundling Orphan Train descendants, and now enjoys helping others with their own historical research. As Greg says, “Everyone’s story is different. It’s just fascinating to me because I’m a history buff, and a psychologist, and all my interests come together here… And I think we’re all searching for something about where we came from.”

Learn more about Greg’s search for his family history on his blog.

July 20, 2021/by Elefant Design

Foundling Past Story

Nicole Munhoo

Nicole Munhoo
Foundling Adoptee

Nicole was adopted in 1980 from The Foundling as a 5-month-old baby. “My mother has a story about how she fell in love the first time she saw me as an infant,” she says.

Growing up with her adoptive parents in Long Island, NY, and in Florida, Nicole gravitated toward music and the arts at a young age. “As an adoptee, the arts really engaged me, they helped me emotionally, and I didn’t feel lonely because the arts programs filled a void,” she says. Nicole played French horn throughout school, and found a job as a professional player with the U.S. Army during college. While she is still engaged in the arts, Nicole attended graduate school for business, and now works as a program analyst in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

“My parents were great parents, they raised me very well and were supportive of my artistic endeavors and me pursuing college,” Nicole says. However, she has been committed to finding her biological family – particularly after the birth of her son, Cortez. “Until I was in my early 30s, I didn’t know any of my biological relatives,” she shares. “My adoption was ‘closed’ so I only had non-identifying information available to me. I called The Foundling, and I searched records—I decided it was time to find out more.” Nicole has found some answers through DNA testing, but is currently still searching for her immediate biological family.

April 29, 2021/by Elefant Design

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