Category: Ellis island

True Immigrant Tales: The Many Interpreters at Ellis Island

January 20, 2015

With thousands of immigrants were arriving daily, Ellis Island officials were hard pressed to find enough interpreters to process the many nationalities.  In 1911, Commissioner William Williams reported to his superior in Washington on how many interpreters knew how many languages and pleaded for more multi-lingual personnel: “Languages known by interpreters: Arabic (2), Albanian (2), … More True Immigrant Tales: The Many Interpreters at Ellis Island

True Immigrant Tales: After Ellis Island

October 22, 2014

The travail for immigrants wasn’t limited to the journey and Ellis Island processing. They could still be exploited and/or treated harshly before reaching their final destination as this 1910 report to the Presidential Commission on Immigration reveals. “At Ellis Island, the inspection by the doctors and the officers of the Immigration Service was quickly completed.  … More True Immigrant Tales: After Ellis Island

True Immigrant Stories_25: American Men Did Not Wear Beards

September 11, 2014

[In 1907 at age 10, Edward Corsi arrived with his family at Ellis Island. Twenty-four years later in 1931, President Herbert Hoover would appoint him as Commission of Immigration at the Port of New York. Three years after that, after leaving the Immigration and Naturalization Service, he wrote him memoirs. This is an excerpt from … More True Immigrant Stories_25: American Men Did Not Wear Beards

True Immigrant Stories _24: H.G. Wells Visits Ellis Island

July 16, 2014

[British novelist H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds) visited Ellis Island in 1906 and described his impressions in his book, The Future in America: A Search after Realities. Here is an excerpt.)  I visited Ellis Island yesterday. It chanced to be a good day for my purpose. For the first time in its history this … More True Immigrant Stories _24: H.G. Wells Visits Ellis Island

True Immigrant Stories_17: “Are you a polygamist?”

March 26, 2014

[In 1913, Scottish travel writer Stephen Graham (1884-1975) left Liverpool, England, as a steerage passenger. This is another excerpt from his book, With Poor Immigrants to America (1914). In the previous installment [#16], he described events leading up to his inspection at Ellis Island. Here, he tells of his observations on the island itself.] “Once … More True Immigrant Stories_17: “Are you a polygamist?”

True Immigrant Stories_16: “It Was the Tombstone of Columbus”

March 12, 2014

[This is another firsthand immigrant account in a continuing series. This entry comes from Scottish travel writer Stephen Graham (1884-1975), who in 1913 left Liverpool, England, as a steerage passenger. This is an excerpt from his book, With Poor Immigrants to America (1914), in which he described events leading up to his inspection at Ellis … More True Immigrant Stories_16: “It Was the Tombstone of Columbus”

True Immigrant Stories_20: Smiling Through the Tears

February 26, 2014

[Maud Mosher worked for the Indian Health Service for eight years before accepting a position as a matron at Ellis Island. After serving from 1903 to 1907, she left and, in 1910, wrote several articles about her experiences in Coming Nation, a well-known periodical of the times. This is an excerpt.] “It was as surprising … More True Immigrant Stories_20: Smiling Through the Tears

True Immigrant Stories_18: Waiting Without Food and Water

February 19, 2014

[This is Part 2 of American journal Broughton Brandenburg’s account of a 1903 steamship voyage with immigrants in steerage, taken from his book, Imported Americans.] “. . . In mid-afternoon. . . when we reached the slip at Ellis Island we merely tied up, for there were many barge-loads ahead of us, and we waited our … More True Immigrant Stories_18: Waiting Without Food and Water

True Immigrant Stories_15: Reaching the Promised Land

February 12, 2014

[This is another firsthand account from my collection of immigrant memoirs. Here, American journalist Broughton Brandenburg recounts his traveling on a German steamship with Italian immigrants in October 1903. This excerpt appears in his book, Imported Americans.] “Sunday fell on the 11th, and it was a pleasant day till afternoon, when it began to get … More True Immigrant Stories_15: Reaching the Promised Land

True Immigrant Stories_14: “I Was Weak in the Knees”

February 4, 2014

      [This is another firsthand immigrant account from my oral history collection.  Louis Adamic was a prominent Slovene-American writer who migrated to America in December 1913 at age 15.] “Now and then I glanced at the noisy, picturesque, garlicky crowd on the steerage deck; people of perhaps a dozen nationalities milling around the … More True Immigrant Stories_14: “I Was Weak in the Knees”