Tag: steerage

True Immigrant Stories _28: The Quality of the Food in Steerage

December 11, 2014

This is an undercover government inspector’s report to the U.S. Immigration Commission about the food served to steerage passengers on a ship that sailed from Europe to Baltimore in 1908. Breakfast always consists of a cereal, coffee, white bread, and either butter or prune jam. In the afternoon coffee and dried bread were served. The … More True Immigrant Stories _28: The Quality of the Food in Steerage

True Immigrant Stories_26: Sexual Abuse in Steerage

September 30, 2014

[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

True Immigrant Stories_23: Sexual Harassment in Steerage

June 13, 2014

[Unpleasant steerage conditions often extended to sexual harassment and abuse, as described by a female government inspector, disguised as an immigrant aboard ship, reporting in 1909 to the Dillingham Immigration Commission.] “From the moment we boarded the steamer until we landed, no woman in the steerage had a moment’s privacy. One steward was always on … More True Immigrant Stories_23: Sexual Harassment in Steerage

True Immigrant Stories_22: Steerage Challenges in Getting Fed

May 15, 2014

[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

True Immigrant Stories_21: Traveling in Steerage

April 8, 2014

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

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”

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”