On November 12th, 1954...Ellis Island closed it doors...the last detainee being a Norwegian merchant seaman.....
The "Gateway to America" had been a welcome harbor for over 12 million immigrants for over 62 years. It is estimated 40% of all Americans today can trace its family roots to their ancestors walking through the gates of Ellis Island.
Ellis Island, located in the New York harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River, right off the New Jersey coast, had originally opened on January 2nd, 1892. Ellis Island derived its name because the owner who sold the land to the federal government was name Samuel Ellis. He had purchased the island in the 1770's to open a tavern on the island, to accommodate fishermen and sailors in the surrounding region.
President Benjamin Harrison had designated Ellis Island as the first federally funded immigration center in the year 1890. Prior to that, immigrants were accepted as they arrived at individual states.
The first person to pass through Ellis Island?... Annie Moore of Ireland. Annie was a 15 year old girl from County Cork, Ireland and arrived at Ellis Island aboard the steamship "Nevada". As "Annie" passed through and stepped on the United States soil, she was given a $10 dollar gold piece by an American official in commemoration of "Annie" being the first to pass through its gates.
Annie was accompanied by her 2 brothers Phillip and Anthony, while her parents were waiting for them at the harbor. Annie's parents, a Matthew and Julia Moore, had come to the United States in 1888 and established themselves so their children could join them. They lived at 32 Monroe Street in Manhattan, New York.
Annie Moore married a German immigrant named Joseph Augustus Schayer, who was employed by Manhattan's famous "Fulton Fish Market". Annie and Joseph had at least 11 children, and it was a sad day when Annie passed on December 6th, 1924 from heart failure.
Annie was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY, and her grave marker was found unmarked in September 2006. Soon after, on October 11th, 2008, there was a dedication ceremony at Annie's grave site and her grave was marked by a Celtic Cross...made of Irish blue limestone.
Today there are bronze statues at the Ellis Island museum and in the Irish seaport of Cobh in honor of her. There is a song entitled "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" dedicated to her, written by the Irish novelist and composer Brendan Graham, who wrote numerous Irish songs including "You Raise me Up". Various musical groups performed the "Annie Moore" song, including the popular female Irish group known as "Celtic Woman".
During the time of Ellis Island being used for immigration purposes, not all immigrants were required to go through Ellis Island. 1st and 2nd class passengers aboard ships could simply go through a brief shipboard inspection, and then sent to the piers of New Jersey, where they could easily go through customs.
It was the 3rd class passengers that went to Ellis Island, and went through medical and legal inspections, making sure no contagious diseases were prevalent and to check passengers to see if they would be too much of a burden on American society. Even with these inspections being exercised, less than 2% of all immigrants coming to America were denied entrance.
Ellis Island was initially only 3.3 acres, and saw its greatest traffic between the years 1892 to 1924. Landfill was added in the 1930's and expanded to 27.5 acres.
The busiest year recorded was in 1907, where over 1 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island.
World War l caused immigration to decline and Ellis Island was used as a detention center for suspected enemies of the U.S. After WWl, Congress passed the "Quota Laws and Immigration Act" in 1924, and caused reduction of immigrants coming to Ellis Island, and immigrants began being processed at various U.S. consulates in their native countries.
Ellis Island continued to serve in various roles including a detention and deportation center for suspected enemies in World War ll as well as being a hospital for wounded soldiers during the the 2nd World War. Ellis Island became a Coast Guard training center...and was officially closed on November 12th, 1954.
Other Facts:
1. Before becoming a federal immigration facility in 1892, Ellis Island housed military weapons and ammunition.
2. Although very few were denied entrance to the U.S. through Ellis Island, immigrants because of a risk of rejection, referred to Ellis Island as "Heartbreak Island".
3. Ellis Island is the home of the "Statue of Liberty".
4. In the 1600's, Ellis Island was called "Gull Island" as birds were its only inhabitants. For a while after that it was called "Oyster Island" because of the oysters found in the sands. In the early 18th century it was called "Gibbet island" because of the execution of state criminals.
5. An average process form at Ellis island consisted of 29 questions, taking anywhere from 2 to 5 hours for an immigrant to complete.
The "Gateway to America" had been a welcome harbor for over 12 million immigrants for over 62 years. It is estimated 40% of all Americans today can trace its family roots to their ancestors walking through the gates of Ellis Island.
Ellis Island, located in the New York harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River, right off the New Jersey coast, had originally opened on January 2nd, 1892. Ellis Island derived its name because the owner who sold the land to the federal government was name Samuel Ellis. He had purchased the island in the 1770's to open a tavern on the island, to accommodate fishermen and sailors in the surrounding region.
The first person to pass through Ellis Island?... Annie Moore of Ireland. Annie was a 15 year old girl from County Cork, Ireland and arrived at Ellis Island aboard the steamship "Nevada". As "Annie" passed through and stepped on the United States soil, she was given a $10 dollar gold piece by an American official in commemoration of "Annie" being the first to pass through its gates.
Annie was accompanied by her 2 brothers Phillip and Anthony, while her parents were waiting for them at the harbor. Annie's parents, a Matthew and Julia Moore, had come to the United States in 1888 and established themselves so their children could join them. They lived at 32 Monroe Street in Manhattan, New York.
Annie Moore married a German immigrant named Joseph Augustus Schayer, who was employed by Manhattan's famous "Fulton Fish Market". Annie and Joseph had at least 11 children, and it was a sad day when Annie passed on December 6th, 1924 from heart failure.
Today there are bronze statues at the Ellis Island museum and in the Irish seaport of Cobh in honor of her. There is a song entitled "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" dedicated to her, written by the Irish novelist and composer Brendan Graham, who wrote numerous Irish songs including "You Raise me Up". Various musical groups performed the "Annie Moore" song, including the popular female Irish group known as "Celtic Woman".
During the time of Ellis Island being used for immigration purposes, not all immigrants were required to go through Ellis Island. 1st and 2nd class passengers aboard ships could simply go through a brief shipboard inspection, and then sent to the piers of New Jersey, where they could easily go through customs.
Ellis Island was initially only 3.3 acres, and saw its greatest traffic between the years 1892 to 1924. Landfill was added in the 1930's and expanded to 27.5 acres.
The busiest year recorded was in 1907, where over 1 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island.
World War l caused immigration to decline and Ellis Island was used as a detention center for suspected enemies of the U.S. After WWl, Congress passed the "Quota Laws and Immigration Act" in 1924, and caused reduction of immigrants coming to Ellis Island, and immigrants began being processed at various U.S. consulates in their native countries.
Ellis Island continued to serve in various roles including a detention and deportation center for suspected enemies in World War ll as well as being a hospital for wounded soldiers during the the 2nd World War. Ellis Island became a Coast Guard training center...and was officially closed on November 12th, 1954.
1. Before becoming a federal immigration facility in 1892, Ellis Island housed military weapons and ammunition.
2. Although very few were denied entrance to the U.S. through Ellis Island, immigrants because of a risk of rejection, referred to Ellis Island as "Heartbreak Island".
3. Ellis Island is the home of the "Statue of Liberty".
4. In the 1600's, Ellis Island was called "Gull Island" as birds were its only inhabitants. For a while after that it was called "Oyster Island" because of the oysters found in the sands. In the early 18th century it was called "Gibbet island" because of the execution of state criminals.
5. An average process form at Ellis island consisted of 29 questions, taking anywhere from 2 to 5 hours for an immigrant to complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment