Who passed through Ellis Island a century ago (a policy worth reinstating)

Ephemeral New York ^ | January 2, 2017

[NYer]

Two percent, however, were turned back across the pond for a variety of reasons: bad health, mental issues, anti-American sentiment.

The precedent already exists to reinstate a similar policy under Pres. Trump.

[proxy_user]

The first and second class passengers just walking in unquestioned would be considered a major loophole today.

[nwrep]

I agree. Not everything that we did a 100 years ago is worth re-instating, like this genuflection to upper class immigrants. Everyone, from serfs to Dukes, needs to be processed thoroughly.

[Vaquero]

My Napolitano, born grandfather stepped of the boat, SS Algieria, from. Naples to NY in 1906 around age 12. Others in my family made the trip in the 1890s.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

That 3rd pic, she’s a cutie.

[oh8eleven]

first at Castle Garden, then at Ellis Island
My paternal and maternal ancestors made it here before either existed.
The Tenement Museum in NYC (Lower East Side) has a great website and is a "must see" if in the city.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Great grandfather, Gustavus Adolphus Svenson arrived at Ellis Island in 1902. He temporarily left his wife and infant daughter back in Sweden. The Ellis authorities couldn’t put up with Gustavus Adolphus Svenson so they changed it to Gus Swanson. Gus didn’t argue, figuring it was part of becoming an American. By 1905, Gus had saved enough money from laying bricks, digging wells and mining coal to send for his wife and daughter. The daughter became my mother’s mother in the small town of Mystic, Iowa.

[NYer]

Thanks for the ping and link. My great, great grandparents arrived from Ireland (and France) in the 1880s. Being poor Irish and Catholic, the only refuge they could find was in the tenements of Hell's Kitchen (34th Street to 59th Street between Eighth Avenue and the Hudson River) They raised 5 children in NYC's highest crime neighborhood. Despite being fluent in 7 languages, the only work my great, great grandfather could obtain was in a meat packing factory.

Have bookmarked the link for ancestry research.

[2banana]

Mine from Slovakia right after the wreckage of WWI.

Their jobs were maid and cook in America.

No welfare. No affirmative action. They could feed a family of six for a few dollars a week.

But it was white privilege.

[I want the USA back]

The people who came in got no welfare payments, no EBT cards, no obammyphones, no lodging, no job, no English lessons. They didn’t shoot people up or set bombs.

But the politicians have abandoned their descendants, in favor of the individuals now streaming in who rape our women, burn things down, steal things, take our money, and blow people up.

[2banana]

Mine from Slovakia right after the wreckage of WWI.

Their jobs were maid and cook in America.

No welfare. No affirmative action. They could feed a family of six for a few dollars a week.

But it was white privilege.

[CodeToad]

I prefer the 1925 to 1965 immigration policy of limiting immigration.

[AndyJackson]

Take a picture of me dealing with US government bureaucratic “formalities” and I will be far from smiling either.

[oh8eleven]

Being poor Irish and Catholic, the only refuge they could find was in the tenements of Hell's Kitchen
Our stories are so much alike ... and can be repeated by millions of others.
My "peeps" arrived from Ireland in 1851 as a result of the Great Famine.
They settled in the Lower East Side and lived on streets that barely exist anymore like Sheriff and Cannon Streets.
The German ancestors arrived a couple of years later and put down their roots in Kleindeutschland or "Alphabet City."
The Irish became coopers (barrel makers) and the Germans became tailors.
If you're interested in LES history, here's another great website.

[luvbach1]

My father, aged 15, arrived at Ellis Island in 1921 with his mother and sister. After processing, he told of being seated at a long wooden table eating white bread torn into pieces and soaked in a bowl of milk, I assume provided by American authorities. He and his mother and sister then proceeded by train to Chicago where they were met by my grandfather who had come to America about a decade before. He had absconded with his sister-in-law but when they separated he belatedly sent for his wife and children. My father learned English in less than a year and spoke it without a discernible accent. He loved books, bookshops, and reading, and accumulated a large book collection which he sold off during the depression to live on. That led to opening his own printing shop which he operated with my mother for the rest of his life.

[The_Republic_Of_Maine]

there is a lot in this that is simply untrue.

[oh8eleven]

Could you be more specific.

[Domestic Church]

My grandfather was one of the directors of Ellis Island. He came here after deciding in the seminary he didn’t want to be a priest (first born son in family etc) and that pretty much meant goodbye. He was college educated which was rare then.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The ideal..

The reality