"This may sound like a really dumb question, but does anyone have any idea how one can track where/and by whom immigrant children were met and resided upon their arrival in the U.S., specifically in my case in 1854?" Have you checked ships arriving in Canada? Some of the immigrant children could be 'British Home Children', brought to Canada and United States by Dr. Bernardo, Annie MacPherson, Maria Rye associations. You can look here: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/home-children/index-e.html In summer, the ships went to Montreal and the children were trained to various cities. In Summer, the ships came in at Nova Scotia, sometimes Massachusetts. The children were either trained to various Provinces or stayed in the US. Hope this will be of help. Pat Corney BHC Descendent x2