Ancestry.com- Shaking Your Family Tree, September 22, 1999

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Shaking Your Family Tree

September 22, 1999

Shaking Your Family Tree, by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Electronic Reunions Planned for Ellis Island

by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Sometime late in 2000, the so-called "kissing post'' -- a waiting room area at Ellis Island where so many immigrants were greeted by their loved ones -- will be part of the American Family Immigration History Center (TM). Using state-of-the-art interactive computer technology, it promises to provide electronic reunions between the immigrants and their descendants.

This will be done via a vast electronic archive cataloging the some 17 million immigrants who were processed at Ellis Island between Jan. 1, 1892, when it opened, and November 1954, when it closed. However, after 1924 Ellis Island saw few immigrants -- only those detained for further questioning, medical care, or possible deportation. Since late 1993, thousands of volunteers recruited by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been compiling information from the manifests filed by the ship captains who brought immigrants to this country.

The first phase of this center is planned to be completed late next year, with future plans calling for making the immigrant arrival records accessible via the Internet, and expanding the database to include additional years and ports of entry. More than 113 million Americans are presently engaged in family history research, according to the Ellis Island Web site, and this innovative center will provide guidance to both adults and children in the fascinating task of tracing one's roots.

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum tells the inspiring story of the largest migration in human history. The National Park Service has estimated that 12 million immigrants to America actually came through Ellis Island. However, the precise number of individuals is not known. In its heyday it handled 71 percent of the aliens admitted to United States. Between 1925 and 1954, about 56 percent of admitted aliens came through New York. However, there were immigrants who avoided U.S. officials, rules, and fees and came through Canadian ports of Quebec and Halifax.

The data for the computerized center are being taken from the microfilmed ships' passenger manifests. These records are now being digitized and for a nominal fee, visitors will be able to print out their family's information and a scanned reproduction of the original ship's manifest on which the ancestor's entry appears, plus a picture of the ship on which they arrived. Information being extracted from the manifests includes:

--Immigrant's given and surnames

--Ship name

--Port of origin

--Arrival date

--Line number on the manifest

--Gender

--Age

--Marital status

--Nationality

--Last residence (town and country)

The voyage from Europe generally took between 15 and 25 days. A newly arrived ship disembarked its first-class passengers at one of the piers along Manhattan's West Side, then the steerage-class passengers were taken by ferry to Ellis Island. Most of them were processed within a few hours. More than 40 percent of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who came through Ellis Island.

In order to raise the remaining $3.5 million necessary to complete this $15 million project, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation offers membership in a Charter Founder of the Center. As with previous Ellis Island projects, funding is coming from the private sector rather than government funds. To receive a brochure and application to support the American Family Immigration History Center, or to register a family member on the Wall of Honor, phone (212) 883-1986; visit the Ellis Island website, http://www.ellisisland.org or write to The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Foundation, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017-3898.

(c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter

Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page
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September 22, 1999
	Electronic Reunions Planned for Ellis Island by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
Sometime late in 2000, the so-called "kissing post'' -- a waiting room area at Ellis Island where so many immigrants were greeted by their loved ones -- will be part of the American Family Immigration History Center (TM). Using state-of-the-art interactive computer technology, it promises to provide electronic reunions between the immigrants and their descendants. This will be done via a vast electronic archive cataloging the some 17 million immigrants who were processed at Ellis Island between Jan. 1, 1892, when it opened, and November 1954, when it closed. However, after 1924 Ellis Island saw few immigrants -- only those detained for further questioning, medical care, or possible deportation. Since late 1993, thousands of volunteers recruited by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been compiling information from the manifests filed by the ship captains who brought immigrants to this country. The first phase of this center is planned to be completed late next year, with future plans calling for making the immigrant arrival records accessible via the Internet, and expanding the database to include additional years and ports of entry. More than 113 million Americans are presently engaged in family history research, according to the Ellis Island Web site, and this innovative center will provide guidance to both adults and children in the fascinating task of tracing one's roots. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum tells the inspiring story of the largest migration in human history. The National Park Service has estimated that 12 million immigrants to America actually came through Ellis Island. However, the precise number of individuals is not known. In its heyday it handled 71 percent of the aliens admitted to United States. Between 1925 and 1954, about 56 percent of admitted aliens came through New York. However, there were immigrants who avoided U.S. officials, rules, and fees and came through Canadian ports of Quebec and Halifax. The data for the computerized center are being taken from the microfilmed ships' passenger manifests. These records are now being digitized and for a nominal fee, visitors will be able to print out their family's information and a scanned reproduction of the original ship's manifest on which the ancestor's entry appears, plus a picture of the ship on which they arrived. Information being extracted from the manifests includes: --Immigrant's given and surnames --Ship name --Port of origin --Arrival date --Line number on the manifest --Gender --Age --Marital status --Nationality --Last residence (town and country) The voyage from Europe generally took between 15 and 25 days. A newly arrived ship disembarked its first-class passengers at one of the piers along Manhattan's West Side, then the steerage-class passengers were taken by ferry to Ellis Island. Most of them were processed within a few hours. More than 40 percent of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who came through Ellis Island. In order to raise the remaining $3.5 million necessary to complete this $15 million project, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation offers membership in a Charter Founder of the Center. As with previous Ellis Island projects, funding is coming from the private sector rather than government funds. To receive a brochure and application to support the American Family Immigration History Center, or to register a family member on the Wall of Honor, phone (212) 883-1986; visit the Ellis Island website, http://www.ellisisland.org or write to The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Foundation, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017-3898. (c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page