Island of Hope, Island of Tears

Statue of Liberty circa 1960, six years after Ellis Island closed, courtesy http://www.nycvintageimages.com/category/old-new-york-photo-catalog/statue-liberty.

As immigrants arrived in New York Harbor on ships from Europe or Asia, they caught their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of "the land of the free and the home of the brave".  In Liberty's shadow sat Ellis Island, where the newcomers would debark.  America represented a refuge for immigrants fleeing persecution, poverty or war.  But when they first arrived, they felt both hope and fear.  The immigration process could be quite daunting.

1. 

http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/ellis_island.htm

The sounds that greeted the recent arrivals at the immigration station were an assault to the senses.  "Various languages blended into a confusing roar, and the colorful clothing so many immigrants wore gave the appearance of a costume party.  Pushing and surging crowds, along with the sounds of babies crying, mothers wailing in search of missing children, and staff barking out orders to go this way or that, little of which produced any understanding, all prevailed." (https://www.amazon.com/Encountering-Ellis-Island-European-Immigrants/)

http://www.greeknewsonline.com/the-ellis-island-immigration-museum-part-iii-name-changes-setting-the-record-straight/

The smells were equally overwhelming.  "Looking down from the balcony surrounding the iron maze, one could describe a sea of people packed together.  The combination of food, sweat, vermin and the crowds of bodies gave the place, as one immigrant observed, "a foul odor."

The questions posed by the immigration officials were daunting, especially to someone who didn't speak English.  One wrong answer could be the difference between a yes and a no.  Questions raced through the immigrant's mind:  "Should a bribe be offered as was the custom in the Old World?"

http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/imm-hai-trachoma.htm

The medical exam was nerve racking.   Parents make a valiant effort to hide their children's rashes, injuries, illnesses or strange behaviours.  Even so, some were still taken off the line, an X marked in chalk on the back of their coat. 

"The immigration machine moved along regardless of fear or hope, relentlessly spitting out those deemed unacceptable and pushing along those allowed entry."  Known for its efficiency, Ellis Island processed as many as 5,000 new arrivals each day, an endless queue filing past, endless paperwork being stamped, an endless list of names being entered into a ledger.

http://www.genealogyintime.com/articles/Ellis%20Island%20Immigration%20Facts%20page5.html

Ellis Island by Numbers

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gregkrenzelok/Ellis%20Island.html

Here are ten things you may not know about Ellis Island:

1.  Ellis Island was originally called Gibbet Island after a gang of pirates was hung by gibbets (aka gallows) there.

2.  Officials posed 29 questions to the immigrants which they had to answer correctly.  

Augustus F. Sherman photo of the REgistry Room circa 1910 courtesy https://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/second-floor.htm.

3.  Two percent of immigrants were turned down due to disease, criminal records or other undesirable responses.

Undesirables awaiting deportation courtesy 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/ellis-island-history-facts.html.

4.  The immigration station dining room was capable of housing 1,000 people at a time.

5.  The immigration station processed its last group of immigrants on November 12, 1954.

An endless queue circa 1892 courtesy 

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/439034/theres-nothing-wrong-carefully-screening-immigrants

6.  During World War I, with immigration at an all time low, Ellis Island was used as a way station for the U.S. Army and Navy.

7.  A kitchen fire in 1897 destroyed the entire immigration station, originally built of wood.  A new brick structure was opened in 1900.

8.  At its peak in 1907, a record 1.25 million immigrants were processed.  In a single day, 11, 747 immigrants were processed.

Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island circa 1908 courtesy 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Island.

9.  A total of 11,000 Germans and German-Americans were detained during the Second World War, some at Ellis Island.

10.  Lee Iacocca spearheaded a fundraising campaign to restore both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  The former was reopened to the public in 1990 and now receives about 3 million visitors per year.

"Snow covered corridor" courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/pin/491947959266281290/.

Sources:  http://visual.ly/8-facts-about-ellis-island; 

http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-ellis-island

Ellis Island

Germans, Italians, Irish and Chinese stood in long queues, all with hopes for the Promised Land.  Exhausted from their arduous journeys, they had to undergo a registration process including a six second medical exam and a language test.  Many would pass the tests, others would fail, returning to their homeland with their hopes dashed.  Still others would find a way to cut through the red tape (see "The Memory Coat" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/05/may-27.html).

The rust coloured brick building, resembling something from 19th Century Russia, served for 32 years as the portal to America for 12 million immigrants (see /"The Ghosts of Ellis Island" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/08/august-10.html).  Now the 27-acre island is the site of an immigration station which traces the history of the immigrants and serves as an archive for their data.

U.S. Stamp courtesy http://www.zazzle.ca/gifts