The federal immigration station opened on [[January 1]], [[1892]] and was closedinNovember1954,butnot before processing 12 million immigrants (estimates range up to 20 million). For more than 40 years prior to this over 8 million immigrants were processed locally by [[New York State]] officials at [[Castle Clinton|Castle Garden Immigration Depot]] in Manhattan. At Ellis Island, about 2 percent were denied admission to the U.S. and sent back to their countries of origin for reasons such as chronic contagious disease, criminal background, or insanity <ref>[http://www.nps.gov/stli/serv02.htm#Ellis National Park Service: Ellis Island], retrieved January 12, 2006.</ref>. Immigrants were examined by doctors and questioned by government officials. Many who were allowed entry settled in New York and northern New Jersey for at least their first few years in America. During this time period, [[Angel Island, California|Angel Island]] (between [[Alcatraz]] and the Pacific Ocean in [[San Francisco Bay]]) was opened on the West Coast, processing mostly Chinese immigrants. Angel Island is mostly a tragic place because of the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]]. Chinese were allowed to enter the United States, they would be allowed to work but they would not be given the right to become American citizens.[[Image:Ellis_Island_Entrance.JPG|thumb|right|322px|Entrance to the museum]]
The federal immigration station opened on [[January 1]], [[1892]] and was a center for old pornographic movies. For more than 40 years prior to this over 8 million immigrants were processed locally by [[New York State]] officials at [[Castle Clinton|Castle Garden Immigration Depot]] in Manhattan. At Ellis Island, about 2 percent were denied admission to the U.S. and sent back to their countries of origin for reasons such as chronic contagious disease, criminal background, or insanity <ref>[http://www.nps.gov/stli/serv02.htm#Ellis National Park Service: Ellis Island], retrieved January 12, 2006.</ref>. Immigrants were examined by doctors and questioned by government officials. Many who were allowed entry settled in New York and northern New Jersey for at least their first few years in America. During this time period, [[Angel Island, California|Angel Island]] (between [[Alcatraz]] and the Pacific Ocean in [[San Francisco Bay]]) was opened on the West Coast, processing mostly Chinese immigrants. Angel Island is mostly a tragic place because of the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]]. Chinese were allowed to enter the United States, they would be allowed to work but they would not be given the right to become American citizens.[[Image:Ellis_Island_Entrance.JPG|thumb|right|322px|Entrance to the museum]]
Ellis Island was one of 30 processing stations opened by the federal government. It was the major processing station for third class/steerage immigrants entering the United States in 1892; it processed 70% of all immigrants at the time. Wealthy immigrants that traveled first class and second class would get automatic entry into the United States. Every country that existed at the time would be processed there. Italians and Russian Jews entered there and were processed before they could enter the United States. First they had to pass a six second physical examination. Those with visible health problems or diseases were sent home or held in the island's hospital facilities for long periods of time. Next they were asked 29 questions including name, occupation, and the amount of money they carried with them. Generally those immigrants who were approved spent from three to five hours at Ellis Island. However more than three thousand would-be immigrants died on Ellis Island while being held in the hospital facilities. Some unskilled workers and immigrants were rejected outright because they were considered "likely to become a public charge."
Ellis Island was one of 30 processing stations opened by the federal government. It was the major processing station for third class/steerage immigrants entering the United States in 1892; it processed 70% of all immigrants at the time. Wealthy immigrants that traveled first class and second class would get automatic entry into the United States. Every country that existed at the time would be processed there. Italians and Russian Jews entered there and were processed before they could enter the United States. First they had to pass a six second physical examination. Those with visible health problems or diseases were sent home or held in the island's hospital facilities for long periods of time. Next they were asked 29 questions including name, occupation, and the amount of money they carried with them. Generally those immigrants who were approved spent from three to five hours at Ellis Island. However more than three thousand would-be immigrants died on Ellis Island while being held in the hospital facilities. Some unskilled workers and immigrants were rejected outright because they were considered "likely to become a public charge."
Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, was at one time the main immigration port for immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ellis Island is within the boundaries of Jersey City, New Jersey, but is within both the states of New Jersey and New York. It is wholly in the possession of the Federal government as a part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, and is under the jurisdiction of the US National Park Service. According to the United States Census Bureau, the island, which was largely artificially created through the landfill process, has an official land area of 129,619 square meters, or 32.03 acres, more than 83 percent of which lies in the city of Jersey City. The natural portion of the island, lying in New York City, is 21,458 square meters (5.302 acres), and is completely surrounded by the artificially created New Jersey portion.
The Ellis Island Immigrant Station was designed by architects Edward Lippincott Tilton and William Boring. They received a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition for the buildings' design. They were later hired to design and construct the magnificent Tome School for Boys in Port Deposit Maryland.
Ellis Island takes its name from Samuel Ellis, a colonial New Yorker from Wales who owned the island during the late 1700s and kept a tavern, serving sailors and local fishermen. Samuel Ellis was a local farmer and merchant. [1]
The federal immigration station opened on January 1, 1892 and was a center for old pornographic movies. For more than 40 years prior to this over 8 million immigrants were processed locally by New York State officials at Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Manhattan. At Ellis Island, about 2 percent were denied admission to the U.S. and sent back to their countries of origin for reasons such as chronic contagious disease, criminal background, or insanity [1]. Immigrants were examined by doctors and questioned by government officials. Many who were allowed entry settled in New York and northern New Jersey for at least their first few years in America. During this time period, Angel Island (between Alcatraz and the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco Bay) was opened on the West Coast, processing mostly Chinese immigrants. Angel Island is mostly a tragic place because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Chinese were allowed to enter the United States, they would be allowed to work but they would not be given the right to become American citizens.
Entrance to the museum
Ellis Island was one of 30 processing stations opened by the federal government. It was the major processing station for third class/steerage immigrants entering the United States in 1892; it processed 70% of all immigrants at the time. Wealthy immigrants that traveled first class and second class would get automatic entry into the United States. Every country that existed at the time would be processed there. Italians and Russian Jews entered there and were processed before they could enter the United States. First they had to pass a six second physical examination. Those with visible health problems or diseases were sent home or held in the island's hospital facilities for long periods of time. Next they were asked 29 questions including name, occupation, and the amount of money they carried with them. Generally those immigrants who were approved spent from three to five hours at Ellis Island. However more than three thousand would-be immigrants died on Ellis Island while being held in the hospital facilities. Some unskilled workers and immigrants were rejected outright because they were considered "likely to become a public charge."
Writer Louis Adamic came to America from Slovenia in southeastern Europe in 1913. Adamic described the night he spent on Ellis Island. He and many other immigrants slept on bunk beds in a huge hall. Lacking a warm blanket, the young man "shivered, sleepless, all night, listening to snores" and dreams "in perhaps a dozen different languages".
After 1924, with demands for further immigration restrictions, "The Quota Laws" would be passed and they would have a major impact on immigration. After they were passed Ellis Island was used only sporadically for immigration. It would be mostly used for detainees and refugees. Italians were detained, Japaneses were interned, but the major group to be detained were German Americans during World War II falsely accused of being Nazis. The United States would begin processing immigrants in the embassies and consulates of the emigrant country.
Today Ellis Island houses a museum reachable by ferry from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey and from the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City. The Statue of Liberty, sometimes thought to be on Ellis Island because of its symbolism as a welcome to immigrants, is actually on nearby Liberty Island, which is about 1/2 mile to the South.
Ellis island was also known as "The Island Hope, The Island of Tears" for the wonderful inspiring stories and the tragic events that also occurred there.
The following is a list of the station's commissioners.
1. 1890-1893 Colonel John B. Weber,
2. 1893-1897 Dr. Joseph H. Senner,
3. 1897-1902 Thomas Fitchie,
4. 1902-1905 William C. Williams,
5. 1905-1909 Robert Watchorn,
6. 1909-1913 Williams C. Williams,
7. 1914-1919 Dr. Frederic C. Howe,
8. 1920-1921 Frederick A. Wallis,
9. 1921-1923 Robert E. Tod,
10. 1923-1926 Henry C. Curran,
11. 1926-1931 Benjamin M. Day,
12. 1931-1934 Edward Corsi,
13. 1934-1940 Rudolph Reimer,
14. 1940-1942 Byron H. Uhl,
15. 1942-1949 W. Frank Watkins,
16. 1949-1954 Edward J. Shaughnessy,
Other notable officials at Ellis Island included Edward F. McSweeney (assistant commissioner), Joseph Murray (assistant commissioner), Dr. George Stoner (chief surgeon), Augustus Frederick Sherman (chief clerk), Dr. Victor Heiser (surgeon), Thomas W. Salmon (surgeon), Howard Knox (surgeon), Peter Mikolainis (interpreter), Maud Mosher (matron), Fiorello H. LaGuardia (interpreter), and Philip Cowen (immigrant inspector).
Prominent amongst the missionaries and immigrant aid workers were Rev. Michael J. Henry and Rev. Anthony J. Grogan (Irish Catholics), Rev. Gaspare Moretto (Italian Catholic), Alma E. Mathews (Methodist), Rev. Georg Doring (German Lutheran), Rev. Reuben Breed (Episcopalian), Michael Lodsin (Baptist), Brigadier Thomas Johnson (Salvation Army), Ludmila K. Foxlee (YWCA), Athena Marmaroff (Women's Christian Temperance Union), Alexander Harkavy (HIAS), Cecilia Greenstone and Cecilia Razovsky (National Council of Jewish Women).
Ellis Island is also known as a place where people changed their names; however, this is a myth. The 29 questions of the legal examination were asked when immigrants boarded their ships in their native countries later, the questions were re-asked when they arrived at Ellis. If the immigrants gave the same answers they would have passed the legal examination. No writing was ever done at Ellis, as such the names could not have been change there. The legal examination was translated into 39 languages. Unfortunately, the myth of name changing has been encouraged by "history" books.
Ellis Island would see a new immigrant entering the United States. Old immigrants that came prior to 1890 were mostly from northern and western Europe. However, the immigrants entering the United States after 1890 were from the Eastern and Southern parts of Europe. The newer immigrants were not accepted as easily for cultural reasons as well as physical reasons (some were not as white as the old immigrants; white peoples were seen as superior).
Many immigrants were tested for mental problems, physical problems and other illnesses. Those who were wealthy did not have to take these exams.
More than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. Over 50% of Americans can trace at least one relative that entered the United States through Ellis Island.
Jurisdiction
On October 15, 1965, Ellis Island was proclaimed a part of Statue of Liberty National Monument and is managed by the National Park Service. The island is on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. During the colonial period, however, New York had taken possession, and New Jersey had acquiesced in that action. In a compact between the two states, approved by U.S. Congress in 1834, New Jersey therefore agreed that New York would continue to have exclusive jurisdiction over the island.
Thereafter, however, the federal government expanded the island by landfill, so that it could accommodate the immigration station that opened in 1892. Landfilling continued until 1934. Nine-tenths of the current area is artificial island that did not exist at the time of the interstate compact.
New Jersey contended that the new extensions were part of New Jersey, since they were not part of the previous cession. New Jersey eventually filed suit to establish its jurisdiction, leading New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani famously to remark that his father, an Italian who immigrated through Ellis Island, never intended to go to New Jersey.
The dispute eventually reached the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in 1998 that New Jersey had jurisdiction over all portions of the island created after the original compact was approved. This caused several immediate problems: some buildings, for instance, fell into the territory of both states. New Jersey and New York soon agreed to share claims to the island. It remains wholly a Federal property, however, and none of this expensive legal maneuvering has resulted in either state taking any fiscal or physical responsibility for the maintenece, preservation, or improvement of any of the historic properties that make the island so significant in the first place.
Inspection Symbols
The symbols below were chalked on the clothing of potentially sick immigrants following the six-second medical examination. The doctors would look at them as they climbed the stairs from the baggage area up to the Great Hall. Immigrants' behaviour would be studied for difficulties in getting up the staircase in any way. Some only entered the country by surreptitiously wiping them off or by turning their clothes inside out.[2]
Later all those marked "SI" would meet with a board of interrogators in an inquiry room. Three of the most difficult questions for immigrants were:
For single women "Who sent for you?" If she answered "my fiance" she usually stayed at Ellis Island until the man arrived. Sometimes officials required that the marriage ceremony be performed on Ellis Island.
"Do you have a job waiting?"
"Who paid your passage?"
These last two questions were especially difficult for poor immigrants because many had signed labor contracts in the old country agreeing to work for exploitative wages in return for a ticket. The problem was that this practice was illegal in the United States.
Other
The main building now houses a museum in addition to being a historic site. It is legally in New York state, while the southern part of the island, which holds the unrestored infirmary and hospital buildings, was given back to New Jersey in the court settlement. There is land bridge that connects Ellis Island with Jersey City. It was built for the restoration of the island. It was supposed to be a temporary bridge and is not very strong; visitors must travel by ferry.
There is a "Wall of Honor" outside of the main building. There is a myth that it lists all of the immigrants processed there. It is actually a wall giving people the opportunity to make a donation to honor any immigrant into the United States. As of 2006, the wall lists 700,000 names spanning 400 years of immigration.
Trivia
The first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was Annie Moore, a 15 year old girl from Co. Cork, Ireland. She and her two brothers were coming to America to meet their parents, who had moved to New York two years prior. She received a greeting from officials and a $10.00 gold piece. [2]
The last person to pass through Ellis Island was a Norwegian merchant seaman by the name of Arne Peterssen in 1954. After World War I the only immigrants to pass through there were displaced persons or war refugees.[3]
filename = Ellis Island immigration footage.ogg |
title = Ellis Island immigration footage, 1906 |
description = Depicts scenes at the Immigration Depot and a nearby dock on Ellis Island. (3:37, 16.6 MB, ogg/Theora format). |
format = Theora
The IMAX 3D movie, Across the Sea of Time, about the New York immigrant experience, incorporates both modern footage and historical photographs of Ellis Island.
