1. From Europe to “The Golden Door”
Ellis Island
From Europe to “The Golden Door”

3. 100 Million Americans Can Trace Ancestry to Ellis Island
12 Million pass through from 1892 – 1954
Peak years from 1892 – 1924
11,747 processed on one day 1907
Quotas begin to restrict immigrants 1924
Used as detention center for enemy aliens 1943
Closes doors 1954

4. America’s Premier Immigration Station
1890 – Federal Government establishes Bureau of Immigration & selects Ellis Island as site of new immigration station for port of New York
1892 – Ellis Island opens it doors January 1
1897 – Fire destroys original wood buildings
1900 – Ellis Island re-opens in its present Beaux-Art style

5. Saving Ellis Island 1965 – Taken over by National Park Service
1974 – Restore Ellis Island committee formed
1983 – Restoration begins
1990 – Ellis Island Immigration Museum opens September 10
1992- Ellis Island Centennial

7. First Wave of Immigration
1830s / 1850s – Northwestern Europeans flee starvation, feudal governments & social upheaval from the Industrial Revolution. They came here from:
Ireland
Germany
Scandinavia
As well as China

8. Second Wave of Immigration
A “Flood-Tide” from Eastern & Southern Europe
Fleeing burdens of high taxes, poverty & overpopulation, oppression & religious persecution

9. Second Wave of Immigration
A Monumental Decision
Leaving Family & Friends
Maybe to Never See Them Again
& Begin a New Life in America

10. The Ship’s Manifest
Before Boarding Ship, Each Passenger was Subjected to De-Lousing & Questioning
A Series of 29 Questions were Asked
Answers were Written on the Ship’s Manifest
In English
Documenting Information for Genealogists Today

11. The Ship’s Manifest

12. Leaving Europe for America
$12.00 Ticket
10-14 Day Journey
3rd Class Steerage
Crude Conditions

13. Onboard Ship

14. End of the Journey
“Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor. Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free, The Wretched Refuse of Your Teeming Shore… “

15. Arrival At Ellis Island
Transferred from Ship to the Island via Ferry
Sometimes Waiting for Hours to be Moved
And Reach the Golden Door to America

16. Welcome to America!

17. The Waiting Room

18. The Great Hall

19. The Waiting Is Over
Now began a series of tests that would determine your fate
Only 2 % were sent back
2% of 12 Million

20. The Inspection Line

21. The Medical Exam
Medical Inspectors watched the people & marked them with chalk
The exam was frightening & embarrassing
Many varied ailments could send you home

22. Chalk Marks Used at Ellis Island
X – Suspected Mental Defect
Circled X- Definite Signs of Mental Defects
C- Conjunctivitis
CT – Trachoma
E- Eyes
F- Face
Ft- Feet
G- Goiter
H- Heart
K- Hernia
N- Neck
L- Lameness
P- Physical & Lungs
PG- Pregnancy
SC- Scalp
S- Senility
SI- Special Inquiry

23. The Eye Exam Eyes were special treatment
Each person had their eyes examined, usually with a hook to flip them up.
They were looking for Trachoma

24. Trachoma & Fauves
Trachoma & Fauves were the 2 main diseases that would send you home
Fauves is a skin fungus
Trachoma is a version of “Pink Eye”

25. The Questions Asked a Series of 29 Questions
The Same as Were Asked Before Leaving Europe
To See if Your Story Remained the Same

26. The Mental Exam
Immigrants who Looked “Out of the Ordinary” Were Given Mental Exams
If You Failed the Exams (3 Chances), You Were Deported
Or Sent to DC to Become a Congressman

27. Making it
Once All the Testing Was Done, You Were Allowed to Leave the Island & Become an American
Or Become a “Bird of Passage”

28. The Streets Are Paved with Gold
I came here believing the streets were paved with gold.
I found out the streets weren’t paved at all,
And I was expected to pave them!

29. Nativist Resistance

30. Too Many Undesirables
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 effectively ends Chinese immigration
A growing Nativist movement grips the nation
WWI & the Russian Revolution promotes Xenophobia

32. Limiting Immigration Quota system instituted in 1922
Limits immigrants to a percentage of ethnic group already in the U.S.
Favors “desirable” immigrants over others

33. America, The Melting Pot
Our Unique Blend of Ethnicity has Resulted in a New & Distinct Culture Amongst the Nations of the World
Are We Really a Melting Pot?
Or More Like A Tossed Salad?

34. Ethnic Diversity Builds a Nation

35. Every Culture Contributed

36. To Make Us What We Are Today

41. Tracing Your Family History
Search Passenger records
Add a Relative’s Name to the “Wall of Honor”

42. The End