Ellis Island

Before 1890, The Federal Government was not in charge of immigration.  Each state processed the immigrants.  When the Federal Government took charge of immigration on April 18, 1890, they needed a Federal Immigration Station and they chose Ellis Island.  At the time, the island was only about 3 acres large, so the Federal Government decided to add more land to the island by building on landfill.  The island increased its size to just per 6 acres. The first immigration center on Ellis Island was made of Georgia Pine and was three stories tall.  Over the course of five years, 1.5 million immigrants were processed in that building.  700 were processed in the first day alone.  However, there are almost no records of these first immigrants because a fire broke out on June 15, 1897 destroying the building and all immigrant records dating back to 1855!  

The Federal Government decided to build a sturdier more fire proof immigrant processing center to replace the one of Georgia Pine.  During the construction period, immigrants were processed on a Barge Office, the same Barge Office that was used while the original construction on Ellis Island was taking place.  

The new immigrant processing center opened on December 17, 1900.  It was originally estimated that 5,000 immigrants a day.  However, this proved to be a gross under-estimation.  On the BUSIEST day 11,747 immigrants arrive.  In the peak YEAR for immigration into the U.S. 1,004,756 immigrants arrived.  Now, I've heard these numbers before, and always thought yeah - that's a lot of people I guess, but it's just numbers.  But let's sit and really think about this.  Currently in the five boroughs of the United States, there are 8.4 million people.  That means the equivalent of 1/8 of the entire population of the five boroughs arrives in one year!  Manhattan has 1.6 million people living in it.  On the busiest DAY the equivalent of about 1/100 of the current population of Manhattan arrived on Ellis Island.  In 1924,  The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed.  (This basically meant that a cap was put on the number of immigrants from each country - only the equivalent of 2% of the people of that country currently living in the U.S. could be admitted into the U.S.  It also prohibited certain ethnicities such as Chinese from entering the U.S.)  After this act was passed, the only immigrants to pass through Ellis Island were displaced persons or war refugees.  Still - one third of Americans can trace their ancestry back to someone who was processed at Ellis Island.  

Not all immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were allowed entrance into the United States.  About 2% were denied admission.  You could be denied admission for many things, but most frequently not being healthy.  All immigrants were subjected to a physical exam, and letter would be written in chalk on their cloths for potential illness.  And X in a circle meant "mental health", TC meant trachoma, FT meant feet.  Many immigrants would furtively wipe the chalk markings off or turn their cloths inside out after inspection so they could enter the country.

Upon arriving at Ellis Island, immigrants were asked 29 questions.  Here are the questions:

What is your name?

How old are you?

Are you male or female?

Are you married or single?

What is your occupation?

Are you able to read and write?

What country are you from?

What is your race?

What is the name and address of a relative from your native country?

What is your final destination in America?

Who paid for your passage?

How much money do you have with you?

Have you been to America before?

Are you meeting a relative here in America?  Who?

Have you been in a prison, almshouse, or institution for care of the insane?

Are you a polygamist?  Are you an anarchist?

Are you coming to America for a job?  Where will you work?

What is the condition of your health?

Are you deformed or crippled?

How tall are you?

What color are your eyes/hair?

Do you have any identifying marks? (scars, birthmarks, tattoos)

Where were you born? (list country and city)

Who was the first President of America?

What are the colors of our flag?

How many stripes are on our flag?  How many stars?

What is the 4th of July?

What is the Constitution?

What are the three branches in our government?

Which President freed the slaves?

Can you name the 13 original Colonies?

Who signs bills into law?

Who is the current President of the United States?

What is America's national anthem called?

Ellis Island earned itself the nickname "Island of Tears" for two reasons - firstly for the 2% that were sent back to their countries of original and secondly for the 98% that met their family members as the "kissing post" with tears of joy, hugs, and kisses.  

The very first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was Annie Moore from Ireland.  She arrived on January 1, 1892 on the ship the Nevada and was given a $10 gold piece from officials to commemorate her being the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island.  She was only 13 years old.  The last immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was Arne Peterssen, a Norwegian merchant seaman, in 1954.

Now here are a few fun facts about Ellis Island that have nothing to do with immigration - as it was not ALWAYS an immigrant processing center. 

-In 1630 it was basically a heap of mud known by the Lenape as Gull Island or to the Dutch as Oyster Island for the oyster beds surrounding it.  

-In the early 1700s it was known as Gibbets Island because they hung pirates on Ellis Island.  Lovely haunting mental image.  

-In 1776 it was owned by a man named Samuel Ellis - for whom the Island is currently named.  He had a tavern on the island that catered to fishermen.  He tried to sell the island, but it wasn't until after his death that his heirs finally were able to sell it.  

-1808 Samuel Ellis' heirs finally sold the island the New York State.  Later that year  the Federal Government bought it for $10,000.  

-1812  - Shortly before the War of 1812, a battery of guns and barracks and a magazine were placed on the Island.  

-1890 - it became the Federal Government's Immgrant Processing Center.  

-1938-1954 Ellis Island served principally as a detention center for alien enemies.

-1954 - Ellis Island was closed and was considered to be "excess Federal Property."

-1965 - Lyndon Johnson placed Ellis Island under the National Parks Service.

-1976 - Ellis Island opened up for public visits.  

Also - my new favorite Ellis Island story takes place during the 1938-1954 era where is was a detention center for enemies.  Metropolitan Opera Bass Ezio Pinza was sent to Ellis Island as a prisoner.  For two weeks he was not even told what the charges against him were.  Finally during his second trial the charges were revealed.  He was accused of wearing a swastika, owning a boat with a special radio that sent secret messages to Il Duce, being a friend of Mussolini, and altering the tempo of his voice (by which I believe they mean vibrato) during performances at the Met to send secret messages to the Italian government.  After three months, all charges were dismissed and Pinza was released.  I have to say, this was a fascinating story for me to hear about the man who originated Emile De Becque in "South Pacific."  

This article just scratched the surface of Ellis Island, but I thought it was an important part of New York history so I should write about it.  However, one last fun fact, MOST of Ellis Island, which is now 27.5 acres, mostly built on landfill, actually belongs to New Jersey.