Tag: Guardians of the Gate

True Immigrant Tales 30: Leaving Ellis Island by Train

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 taking trains to 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 … More True Immigrant Tales 30: Leaving Ellis Island by Train

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_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”

True Immigrant Stories_13: “We All Stood There Naked”

January 27, 2014

[This is another firsthand immigrant account from my oral history collection. Here, a Czech immigrant woman tells of her journey from Prague to Rotterdam and then in steerage to America in 1920.] “Three days and three nights were spent riding in local trains from Prague to Rotterdam. At Oldenzaal, four stations distant from Rotterdam, all our … More True Immigrant Stories_13: “We All Stood There Naked”

True Immigrant Stories_11: From Tipperary in 1920

December 10, 2013

[This is another in a series of firsthand accounts from my immigrant oral histories collection] “Like many more immigrants like myself, I came to this country to seek a living, because living over there [in Tipperary, Ireland] was very, very poor.  Work was scarce and hard.  I worked on a farm.  I would get up … More True Immigrant Stories_11: From Tipperary in 1920

True Immigrant Stories_10: Jordan’s Adventures Continue

November 19, 2013

[This is a continuation of last week’s blog, which you may want to read first.  Jordan’s story comes from my oral history collection.] “When we were taken to Ellis Island, naturally, there were hundreds of us and we were led, almost like sheep, here and there, and we didn’t know where we were going.  Each … More True Immigrant Stories_10: Jordan’s Adventures Continue

True Immigrant Stories_8: Hunger in the Ellis Island Cages

October 28, 2013

[If you didn’t read last week’s post, I suggest you do so first, as this is a continuation of Helen’s immigrant experience. This is a true story, told in her own words. This material comes from my research for my historical novel about Ellis Island in the 1890s, Guardians of the Gate, and its sequel, … More True Immigrant Stories_8: Hunger in the Ellis Island Cages

True Immigrant Stories_7: Scottish Teen in Steerage

October 21, 2013

[From my immigrant oral histories collection during research for my historical novel, Guardians of the Gate, and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. Helen sailed from Glascow, Scotland, in 1921.  She was 14 and traveled with her mother and three brothers to rejoin her father who had left for America a year earlier.] “It may sound … More True Immigrant Stories_7: Scottish Teen in Steerage

True Immigrant Stories_4: Young Teenager at Ellis Island

October 9, 2013

[This is another true immigrant story from my oral history collection.  In 1925 at age 13, Heinz sailed alone from Bremen to live with his aunt and uncle in the United States. “We arrived on Election Day and our ship was supposed to be guided in by the U.S. pilot, but that’s the one day … More True Immigrant Stories_4: Young Teenager at Ellis Island