Complex sentence: Brace's vision of migrating children to live with the western Christian farming families was widely supported by wealthy New York families--the first $50 was given by Mrs. John Astor in 1853.
Split into simpler sentences: Brace's vision of migrating children to live with the western Christian farming families was widely supported by wealthy New York families. The first $50 was given by Mrs. John Astor in 1853.