My grandpop came from Ireland (Northern Ireland, now) in 1920, and several of his siblings earlier. My parents and brother and cousins have been there, but I haven’t been Up North since the early 80s, before Ellis Island was opened to the public.
Our trip turned out to be helpful in my quest for family info. I knew the name of the ship my father had arrived on, and the date the ship had docked, but what I discovered at Ellis Island was that it was a ship of the Holland America line, and they even had an old postcard of it. I was later able to contact Holland America headquarters, and they sent me historical info and a photo of a painting of the the original ship (MS Ryndam). They also sent me info and photos of two subsequent ships that bore the name MS Ryndam II and III.