When the orphan train pulled into Opelousas in 1917, Mantorde Dupre was waiting. He was there to pick up Agnes Thompson and her brother, George, who were among the many children aboard. Each child had a name tag. Dupre found Alice, and found a George, but not the right one.

"She could speak no French, and the people that took her could speak no English," said Hennrietta Perry of Krotz Springs. She is Agnes Thompson’s daughter. "So, when she tried to tell them they didn’t listen to her. They had another little boy by the name of George, and the man that took my mother thought that was her little brother. They (the children) didn’t put up much of a fuss because they were scared."

Her brother went to another family, also named Dupre. He grew up a few miles away. Only 3 years old when he arrived, George soon forgot his sister. Agnes, 5 at the time, did not forget.

"I think that she was definitely old enough to remember that this was the case," said Harold Dupre of Opelousas, George’s son. "We have no proof of it outside of her. She was very firm in her thoughts. He was too young to remember." A Foundling Home representative sent to check on the children’s welfare discovered the mistake, Perry said, but the siblings were not reunited.

Still, Agnes never forgot her brother. They lived within 25 miles of each other as adults, and she made a point to find out about him. One of Agnes’ sons worked with George for a while. "I don’t know what kind of conversations were exchanged then, but I’m sure they did converse about these things," Dupre said.

In 1970, Harold Dupre arranged for them to get together. They kept a close relationship until George Dupre’s death in 1980.