Ellis Island

By
Greg Barber, Joey Essma, Nicholas Marrone

Background Information about Ellis Island

Opened in 1892
Federal Immigration Station
Served for more than 60 years
Immigrants came from Europe
About 40% of U.S. citizens can be traced back to Ellis Island

Fig. 1. Ellis Island Map.

Parkasaurus

History of the Island

1630-1770

Gull Island according to the Mohegan Indians

Michael Paauw acquires island in 1630s, Oyster Island
Gibbet Island in 1770s
Used to hang convicted pirates

Fig. 2. Photo gallery. National Park Service

History of the Island

1775-1865

1775, Samuel Ellis acquires island and builds tavern

NY state buys island in 1808 for $10,000
Military use during War of 1812 and Civil War
First wave of immigration in 1814
Castle Garden, immigration depot, opens in 1855

Fig. 3. Photo gallery. National Park Service

History of the Island

1865-1892

Castle Garden closes in 1890

$75,000 put toward Ellis Island federal immigration depot
January 1, 1892, Ellis Island opens
Seven hundred immigrants pass through the first day

Fig. 4. Photo gallery. National

Park Service

First Immigrant

The very first immigrants through the island were 3

unaccompanied children
First immigrant was 17 year old Annie Moore
Was not the first in line, pushed to the front because she
spoke English
Did not want to do it
Newspapers wrote about her
The commissioner of the island gave her a gold Liberty
Coin
She was blessed by a Catholic chaplain
Fig. 14 Annie Moore

Oyster Island

Members of the Algonquin speaking tribes were first to utilize island

Visited the island because it had large oyster beds
Archeologists also found pottery, arrowheads, and animal bones
Probable reason for going to oyster island was food
Hunted animals on the island
Grew crops on island

Fig. 5. Oyster Island. National Park Service

Colonial New York (1609-1890)

Henry Hudson arrived in the New York Bay in 1609

In 1664, English took New Netherlands from the Dutch renaming it New York
During 1674-1679 Captain William Dyre was given Oyster Island
Oyster Island was renamed Dyres Island
Island went through various owners including Samuel Ellis
New York State bought property from Ellis and thus the island is named so

Post Immigration(1925-1954)

Along with the Great Depression, anti-immigration laws were passed so

immigration during this time was very low
Deportation outnumbered admissions into America
Ellis Island Advising Committee made new building
New immigration building, new ferry house, and new recreation building
Coast Guard occupied the island and made a training station

Fig. 6. Coast Guard. National Park Service

Workers of Ellis Island

Types- inspectors, interpreters, nurses, doctors, social workers

Employeed about 500 employees at a time
Inspector conducts face to face interviews for inspection
Clerks kept tabulation of number of immigrants flowing in
Interpreter translated for immigrants that didnt know English
Aid workers provided many goods and services to immigrants
Doctors and nurses examined immigrants and brought them to health

Fig. 7. An operation. National

Park Services

Geography of Ellis Island

Located in upper New York Bay

Jersey City, New Jersey
Mainly created through land reclamation
Operated by National Park Services
Public access available from Communipaw Terminal or Battery Park
Closed during hurricane Sandy, open after renovations

Modern Ellis Island

Debate on whether to open the service bridge for public use

Brings in over 3 million visitors each year

Ongoing restoration

Ferry costs 18 dollars

Restoring building currently closed to visitation

A new gallery opened on the island in May of 2015

Stops during the Immigration Process

The Passage-immigrants came from Europe

The Arrival-boat stopped in the New York Harbor
Baggage Room-I.D. tags were passed out and immigrants entered main
building
Stairs to Registry Room- immigration process began, doctors watched people
Registry Room- medical and legal inspection
Stairs of Separation - immigrants chose where they wanted to go (New York,
South)

Inspection

Numbered tags pinned to clothes

Health/legal inspection
Inspector asks questions
Placed in detention for failure
Immigrants paid 50 cents per head

Fig. 8. Photo Gallery. National Park Service

Reasons for Immigration

Political Freedom
Religious Tolerance
Economic Opportunity
American Dream
Slavery
Family Unification

Immigration through Ellis Island 1870-1920

American culture peaked between

1870 and 1914
Second Industrial Revolution
25 million immigrants came from overseas

Fig. 9. Immigration Chart.

Immigration Statistics 1892-1922

Year

Number of Immigrants

Leading Countries of Origin/

Nationalities

1892

445,987

Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungry,

Italy, Ireland, Sweden

1902

493,262

Italian, Polish, Jewish,

Scandinavian, German, Slovak,
Croat

1912

605,151

Italian, Polish, Jewish, German,

English, Irish, Scandinavian

1922

209,778

Jewish, Italian, German, English,

Irish, Scandinavian, Scottish

Fig. 10. Number of immigrants through Ellis Island by year and country. National Park

Service, U.S. Immigration Statistics: Immigration Station at Ellis Island, NY.

Ellis Island Records

Info about people on ships
were known as manifests

Manifests were used to

examine immigrants
upon arrival
To search for a
passenger; name,
arrival, ethnicity, age,
ship, port, family
Fig. 11. Ellis Island Records. AFIHC

Marrone Family Immigration

Great grandfather was Rocco Dattolico

Great Grandmother was Rose Mattaice
Both born in the town of Binetto in the province of Bari, Italy
Immigrated from their birth towns to Manhattan, New York
Had 9 children

Fig. 12. Pop pop. Cindy Marrone

Reasons for Marrones to Immigrate

Better economic opportunities

Heard from others that America was great
Social unrest and left-wing political groups in Italy
Italy went to war with Turkey
Tensions were rising in Europe
Chance for education and a good life in America

Essma Family Immigration

Great great grandfather was Raymond George Essma

Great great grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Essma
Came from Lebanon and Syria in the early 1800s
Immigrated to St. Louis, MO
Great great grandfather was a traveling salesman

Fig. 13. The original Essmas

Reasons for Essmas to Immigrate

American Dream
Severe political issues in the Middle East
Better future for the family
War torn country

Lebanon in the Early 1800s

Civil war between Maronites and Ottoman Empire and the Druze
Napoleon III of France took control
Calm until World War I

Barber Family Immigration and Reasons

Never went through Ellis Island

Immigrated in the mid 90s
Younger brother is first generation
Starting a new business
Fig. 14 ABA
Logo

Questions?

Works Cited
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Parisi, Albert J. "Celebrating Gateway to Nation, Debating Link to Jersey City." The New York Tmes. The
New York Times, 22 Dec. 1990. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
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2015.
Ryczkowski, Angela. "What Process Did Immigrants Go Through When They Arrived at Ellis Island in the
Late 1800s? | The Classroom | Synonym." What Process Dd Immgrants Go Through When They
Arrved at Ells Island. Demand Media, 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
Bateman-House, Allison. "Medical Examination of Immigrants at Ellis Island." Vrtual Mentor 10.4 (2008):
235-41. Web.

Works Cited
Fisher, Kennedy. "Ellis Island National Monument." The Immgrant Journey. Oh Ranger, 13 Feb. 2008.
Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Corsi, Edward. In the Shadows of Lberty: The Chroncle of Ells Island. New York City: Literary Licensing,
LLC, 2012. Print.
Greene, Jesse. "Immigrant Number One." New York News and Poltcs 9 May 2010: n. pag. Nymag.com.
Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Andrews, Evan. "9 Things You May Not Know About Ellis Island." Hstory.com. A&E Television Networks,
2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Goldman, Emma. "Immigration and Deportation at Ellis Island." PBS. PBS, 11 Mar. 2004. Web. 10 Nov.
2015.

Work Cited
"Ellis Island History." Ells Island Hstory. ARAMARK, 5 July 2002. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
"Welcome to Immigration." Welcome to Immgraton. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
"Ellis Island." The Workers of Ells Island. National Park Service, 21 Nov. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.