A Look Back on Ellis Island

By Susan Braunstein, Library Associate

“What was Ellis Island like? It was hell and it was good. For one who passed by, everything was all right. For one who was detained or sent back, oh, that was awful.”

The previous is a quote from Theodore Lubik, a Ukrainian from Austro-Hungary who arrived in 1913.  It was taken from the book, “Island of Hope, Island of Tears,” by David Brownstone, Irene M. Franck and Douglass L. Brownstone.

Lubik was one of many who left behind the lives they knew, the places they called home, and usually some of their family, to come to America with dreams of freedom and riches. Between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million people from throughout the world came through Ellis Island. In the book, “ Ellis Island: Gateway to the American Dream,” author Pamela Reeves states that four out of ten Americans can trace their heritage back to this arrival point.

A fifteen year old girl from Ireland was the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island. Annie Moore boarded a ship in Queenstown, Ireland with her two younger brothers on Dec. 20, 1891.  They spent ten days at sea and were reunited with their parents who lived in New York City on New Years Day. Moore was one of the lucky ones who was given approval to enter America and was not detained or sent back to her country.

Ellen Levine’s book, “If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island,” discusses what happens if you were detained. About twenty of every hundred immigrants went before a Board of Special Inquiry. This translates into more than a thousand people who were turned away every month for a variety of reasons. If someone was sick they could enter the Ellis Island hospital and be considered again for entry after they recovered.

Many of the people who were treated at the hospital became ill on the journey by ship to the United States . Those fortunate enough to have first or second class accommodations were treated to private rooms, decent bathrooms and food served in a dining room. For those who were poor they had to reside in the third class or the steerage area of the ship. Several hundred passengers were squashed into an area below the deck on the lowest level of the ship.

Author Martin W. Sandler writes in his book, “ Island of Hope: the Story of Ellis Island and the Journey to America ,” of sick people waiting in line for bathrooms that were broken or had standing water on the floors. There was no privacy between the men, women and children. They had no fresh air and the food was sparse or spoiled and too little fresh water was distributed.

Ellis Island was set up the same way a small city would be with a hospital, post office, banks, railroad ticket office, laundries, office areas and courtrooms. The busiest day on record, April 17, 1907, showed that 11, 747 immigrants passed through the station.

In 1954 Ellis Island was closed because it was no longer needed for immigrants; in 1965 it was renovated and became part of the nearby Statue of Liberty National Monument run by the National Park Service, and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened Sept. 10, 1990.  For more information on these, visit the National Park Service website at: www.nps.gov/archive/stli/serve02.htm.

During October’s Family History Month, the library will partner with the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra.  The orchestra will perform “Ellis Island – the Dream of America” by Peter Boyer on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Boyer worked on the Ellis Island Oral History Project, an historic collection of interviews with immigrants about their experiences. Out of this, he chose seven immigrants’ stories, and this work weaves their actual words into orchestral music. Concert goers will not only hear the music but see actors and projected historical images from the Ellis Island archives.  

The Ellis Island Oral History Project was started in 1972 by a National Park Service employee and has grown over the years to include nearly 2000 interviews. Each interview includes an extensive examination of everyday life in the country of origin, family history, reasons for coming to America , the journey to the port, experiences on the ship, arrival and processing at Ellis Island, and an in-depth look at the adjustment to living in the United States . Every year the project staff adds over one hundred interviews to the collections. All interviews are available as tapes and transcripts to researchers and interested members of the public. For further information write to the Ellis Island Oral History Project, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, New York City, New York 10004, call 212-363-3200 ext. 156 or fax 212-363-6302. Additional history can be found on www.ellisisland.org or www.ellisisland.com.

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