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
[This is further testimony about sexual harassment and abuse in steerage class, taken from testimony given by a female government inspector, disguised as an immigrant aboard ship, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission.] “There was an outside main deck and an upper-deck on which the steerage were allowed. These were each about 40 feet wide … More True Immigrant Stories_26: Sexual Abuse in Steerage
[Steerage conditions varied greatly, depending on the steamship line and the ship’s size, but all were unpleasant to say the least. Below is more testimony from a government inspector, disguised as an immigrant, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission about eating facilities on a smaller ship that carried less than 200 immigrants.] “Each … More True Immigrant Stories_22: Steerage Challenges in Getting Fed
Steerage conditions varied greatly, depending on the steamship line and the ship’s size, but all were unpleasant to say the least. Below is testimony from a government inspector, disguised as an immigrant, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission about the poor sanitary conditions on a smaller ship that carried less than 200 immigrants. … More True Immigrant Stories_21: Traveling in Steerage
[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?”
[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”
[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
[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”
[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”
Vince Parrillo 