1. Ellis Island & other ports of entry throughout the history of the US

2. American Immigration The Early Days – Early Colonial Period to 1820 – Colonies or States – About 1 million immigrants Federal Immigration Records – Customs passenger lists 1820 - 1906 – Immigration passenger lists after that date – Peak in 1907 with 1.3 million immigrants

3. Immigration: 1820 - 1970

4. Ports of Entry New York – more immigrants than all other ports combined Boston Baltimore Philadelphia New Orleans San Francisco

5. New York Established by Dutch in 1625 Erie Canal opened in 1825, providing a cheap and fast route to western interior 24 million arrivals in New York between 1820 and 1920

6. Boston Founded in 1630 Leading port in North America until 1750 Replaced in popularity by Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans Major influx of immigrants in mid-nineteenth century triggered by potato famine Received about 2 million people between 1820 and 1920

7. Philadelphia Founded in 1682 Briefly replaced Boston as leading port of immigration About 1.2 million immigrants came through Philadelphia between 1820 and 1920

8. New Orleans Founded by French in 1718 Development of steamboat travel along Mississippi led to its popularity as a port of entry Between 1820 and 1920 over 700,000 immigrants entered through this port, most prior to 1860

9. Baltimore Founded in 1729 Located in largest estuary in US Baltimore & Ohio RR linked it to Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and later to Ohio River Had no major immigrant processing station

10. San Francisco Settled by Spanish in 1776 Became part of US in 1847 because of Mexican War Between 1820 and 1920 total immigration was about 500,000 – mostly Asians

11. New York Ports of Entry Castle Gardens 1855-1890 Ellis Island 1892-1954

12. Castle Garden 8/1/1855 to 4/18/1890 1623 –Dutch settlers erect “Battery” of cannons to defend New Amsterdam Castle Clinton built prior to War of 1812 1820s – expanded & renamed Castle Garden 8/1/1855 – became America’s 1 st immigrant receiving center Welcomed 8.5 million immigrants until it closed

13. Searching Castle Garden Data Base http://www.castlegarden.org/ http://www.stevemorse.org/ellis/cg.html

14. Barge Office Temporary deport until Ellis Island opened Operated from 4/19/1890 to 12/31/1891

15. Ellis Island

16. Ellis Island 1/1/1892 to 11/12/1954 Opened 1/1/1892 Burned June 15, 1897 Re-opened Dec, 1900 1924 – passage of National Origins Act Became primarily detention center 1954 – Ellis Island officially closed

17. Searching Ellis Island Data Base http://www.ellisisland.org/ http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/i ntro.html http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/i ntro.html

18. Other Searches http://stevemorse.org/index.html