Ellis Island & other ports of entry throughout the history of the US
Jan 25, 2016
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
Other Searches
• http://stevemorse.org/index.html