[SkyDancer]

Some even needed sponsors.

[Vigilanteman]

In the later Ellis Island years, almost all of them.

In the early years shortly after Ellis Island opened (1890) until about 1920, they were a little more lienient about it because there were very few programs for wards of the state and most of them required hard work. For that reason, few would-be wards of the state even bothered to make the trip.