Ellis Island

Ellis Island& other ports of entry

throughout the history of the US

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

Immigration: 1820 - 1970

Ports of Entry

• New York – more immigrants than all other ports combined

• Boston• Baltimore• Philadelphia• New Orleans• San Francisco

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

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

Philadelphia

• Founded in 1682• Briefly replaced Boston as leading port of

immigration• About 1.2 million immigrants came through

Philadelphia between 1820 and 1920

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

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

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

New York Ports of Entry

• Castle Gardens 1855-1890• Ellis Island 1892-1954

Castle Garden8/1/1855 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 1st immigrant

receiving center• Welcomed 8.5 million immigrants until it closed

Searching Castle GardenData Base

• http://www.castlegarden.org/• http://www.stevemorse.org/ellis/cg.html

Barge Office

• Temporary deport until Ellis Island opened• Operated from 4/19/1890 to 12/31/1891

Ellis Island

Ellis Island1/1/1892 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

Searching Ellis Island Data Base

• http://www.ellisisland.org/• http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/eidb/

intro.html

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• http://stevemorse.org/index.html