[This is another firsthand immigrant story from my oral history collection.] “My story about America begins even before I was born in Calabria in 1920. When my uncle was eight years old and the oldest among seven brothers and sisters, his parents told him they could no longer take care of him and he would … More True Immigrant Tales_19: “There Was Prejudice Everywhere”
[This is another firsthand immigrant account from my oral history collection.] “I was born in Queens County, Ireland, in 1911. I was one of thirteen children, with six brothers and six sisters. I attended school until 10th grade, which was the maximum education offered at that time. On the farm where we lived, I helped … More True Immigrant Stories_12: “I Knew It Was a Good Country”
[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
[This is another true story from my oral histories collection of immigrants who came through Ellis Island. Elzbieta came from Russia in 1923 at age 15.] The closer we came to the United States, the better we felt after being so dizzy and nauseous. The trip took us ten days and we landed in Ellis … More True Immigrant Stories_5: Her Father and His “Palace”
[This is another true story from my immigrant oral histories collection. When Wilhelm retold his story–even 65 years later–the emotional level and tears during his narration were quite moving to this listener.] “I came by myself to the United States from Germany in 1910 when I was 16 years old. I had been on small … More True Immigrant Stories_6: A Teenager at Ellis Island
[This is another true story from my oral histories collection of immigrants who came through Ellis Island .] Ida Napolitano was just three years old when her father emigrated from Italy into the United States, with the plan to earn enough money for the family to join him. During the three years it took for him … More True Immigrant Stories_3: Ida and Thomas Jefferson
[If you didn’t read last week’s post (below), I suggest you do so first, as this is a continuation of Tanya Arden’s immigrant experience. As in the first part, this is a true story, told exactly as it happened, without embellishment.] Once their ship docked, Tanya, her family, and other passengers were transported directly to … More True Immigrant Stories_2: Tanya at Ellis Island
Last week’s blog—about the 1890s immigration setting of Guardians of the Gate compared to today—promised next time to give some surprising facts about the impact of immigrants on American society, both past and present. Here goes. Demographers measure the immigration impact in different eras by using an immigration rate. Similar to other rates—the crime rate, … More Immigration Then and Now
Ellis Island today bears little resemblance to the Ellis Island of the 1890s, which is the primary setting for the historical novel, Guardians of the Gate and its sequel, Defenders of Freedom. First, the island back then was much smaller, about one third its present size. In 1899, construction began of Island No. 2 with landfill from … More Ellis Island: Then and Now
Vince Parrillo 