While understanding the experiences of your ancestors can greatly help you understand both them and yourself, as time goes on, it’s often difficult to separate the facts from the family legends. Did great-grandpa really come to the United States through Ellis Island? Was his name really changed at Ellis Island? What was great-grandma’s time at Ellis Island really like? When we begin separating the facts from the myths, we can begin to better understand our ancestors, and ourselves.
Entering Through Ellis Island The first fact that must be determined is, “Did my ancestor really pass through Ellis Island?” The first step to answering this question is determining when your ancestor immigrated to the United States. Ellis Island opened in 1892 and ran for sixty-two years until it closed in 1954. If your ancestor immigrated during those years, it is very possible they went through Ellis Island. However, it is still not yet a fact. As New York was the most expensive port, many immigrants chose less expensive routes, such as first migrating to Canada or going to any other US port. If records linking your ancestor to New York cannot be found, these other options should be searched. Perhaps your ancestor skipped New York. The second fact to be determined is, “Although my ancestor entered through New York while Ellis Island was in operation, did my ancestor have to go through Ellis Island at all?” While a common myth is all immigrants that entered the United States through the Port of New York had to go through Ellis Island, the truth is very different. There were two tiers of immigration in the Port of New York:
You have found your ancestor did enter the United States between 1892 and 1954 and they were Second or Steerage Class. Then you’re in luck . . . they did go through Ellis Island. But, what was their life there like? Life On Ellis Island For The Vast Majority One of the biggest myths about Ellis Island is that life there was tough. Family stories are full of cases where names were changed, most people spent days at a time on the island, and people were mistreated. But how does this match up with the facts? At its peak, 1900-1914, Ellis Island had between 5,000 and 10,000 people a day enter the Island. However, life was not as it has often been portrayed. Of these, eighty percent passed through in a single day. So what did this day look like for them? Let’s walk you through the footsteps of your ancestor. While there were some variations, the basics were the same for everyone. Upon arrival, you entered the bottom floor where all your personal belongings were taken with the promise you would receive them back when you had completed processing. You were then directed to a staircase on the far end of the building. Little did you know, these stairs were the beginning of your medical examinations. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, and entering what was called the Great Hall, you found men waiting for you. If you were winded, simply from walking up the stairs, one of the men placed an X on your coat in chalk. Upon entering the Great Hall, you were directed to cross the room and take a seat. If you looked confused or disoriented, men would walk around placing an X on your coat in chalk. Now, when you are in a new country, in a crowded room (likely larger than anything you have seen before), and full of people speaking more languages at one time than you have ever heard before, who wouldn’t be a little confused? By now you might be asking, “Why are men placing an X on my coat?” This is actually part of the medical examination. The X identifies people for various additional medical screenings. However, this is just the beginning, not the end, of your time here. There are some who have been through it before and are trying to help people pass through the system. For instance, you might have someone notice an X on your coat and advise you to turn your coat inside out, thus hiding the further screening mark. As you sit on a bench on the far side of the Great Hall, you hear your name called and you approach a podium. A man stands there with the manifest for the ship you sailed on. This is the record used to verify your name. For the vast majority, remember eighty percent pass through in just one day, no other record will be made. This means your name was recorded at your port of departure and any changes to the spelling of your name were made when you left your home country, not at Ellis Island. Here the experience begins to differ for some, and what some perceive one way others experience a different way. If you are a wife traveling, either alone or with children, to be united with your husband, who is already in the United States, you are pulled out of the Great Hall by Ellis Island security. Now to some bystanders, this might look like you are being mistreated for traveling alone; however, to you, the case appears very different. You and your children, if you have any, are taken to a separate room where your husband is contacted. You are told a wife’s place is with her husband and you are escorted off the island so you can be reunited with your husband. A myth has just been created that wives traveling without their husband are treated poorly. When, in fact, the wife was processed more quickly and escorted to the main land to be with her husband. Perhaps you were one of the twenty percent that did not pass through the island in a single day. The two most likely causes were either you were discovered to have an illness or you were labeled LPC, Likely Public Charge. If you were determined to have an illness, you were sent to the infirmary and treated. Or, in cases where there was no treatment available, you were deported back home at the shipping company’s expense. If you were labeled LPC, it was determined you were likely to become a charge of the government because you either did not have the required funds on you, you had no friends or family in the United States, or you were incapable of working to support yourself. While on the surface this might appear to be immediate grounds for deportation, there were charitable organizations to help. If you could get one of them to vouch for you, you would be released to the organization. This typically would take several days to arrange. While stories about how families migrated to the United States get passed down from generation to generation, some details tend to change through various telling’s. As important as it is that we continue to tell these stories, it is equally important that we make sure we fully understand the experiences our ancestors lived, as they shape the way we live our lives today through traditions we create around these stories. By learning the true story of Ellis Island, many family stories can be reshaped to more fully tell the family story today.
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Larry De Pew
Is a professional genealogist with an Associates Degree in Applied Science n Family History Research from Brigham Young University-Idaho. His areas of focus are military and great plains research. Archives
October 2023
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