Most likely you’ve heard of Ellis Island, the immigrant receiving station in New York, where 16 million newcomers to America passed through between 1892 and 1954. But if you’re like me, you don’t know much more about the island than that it was the gateway to America for more than sixty years.

Now you can learn more about this important portal in American history by visiting a newly-created site at Ancestry.com called the Ellis Island Experience. It is being released in conjunction with the 70 million new names being added to the passenger lists at Ancestry.com. ( Read about the passenger list launch.)

The site walks you through the process immigrants underwent upon arriving at the island, from waiting in long lines, to being inspected by doctors, to reuniting with family and friends at the famous “Kissing Post.” It addresses the myth of name changes at Ellis Island and explains why, how, and when names were actually changed. It also includes details about what ship life was like for first, second, and third class passengers coming to the island, and includes journey maps detailing what the trip to Ellis Island was like for people coming from various countries. In addition, there are photographs, first person accounts of the trip, and a video tour of Ellis Island as it is today. Finally, there are instructions on how to search for your own ancestors among the millions of names compiled on passenger lists located at Ellis Island and other immigrant receiving ports.

FIRST PERSON ACCOUNTS
When you visit the Ellis Island Experience, you can read and hear the accounts of stories from immigrants like Edward Corsi, who was only ten when he arrived at Ellis Island. Edward left his native land of Italy in 1907 with his mother; his stepfather; his brother, Giuseepe; and his two sisters, Liberta and Helvetia. Although he was young when his family came to America, he remembered his arrival for the rest of his life. Years later he wrote:

My first impressions of the new world will always remain etched in my memory, particularly that hazy October morning when I first saw Ellis Island.

The steamer Florida, fourteen days out of Naples, filled to capacity with 1,600 natives of Italy, had weathered one of the worst storms in our captain’s memory. . . . [My family], happy that we had come through the storm safely, clustered on the foredeck for fear of separation and looked with wonder on this miraculous land of our dreams.

Passengers all about us were crowding against the rail. Jabbered conversation, sharp cries, laughs and cheers—a steady rising din filled the air. Mothers and fathers lifted up the babies so that they too could see, off to the left, the Statue of Liberty. . . . Looming shadowy through the mist, it brought silence to the decks of the Florida.

You might read the stories of immigrants like Rene Hugo Stachelrodt, who immigrated to America from England alone when he was seventeen years old. Rene was too poor to afford first or second class passage so he traveled in steerage, where he had to wear his overcoat at night to keep out the cold. When he arrived at Ellis Island he didn’t even see the Statue of Liberty because he was so busy looking for the “wild Indians” he had heard stories of in his homeland.

NOT SO PLEASANT FOR EVERYONE
While more than 80 percent of immigrants passing through Ellis Island had relatively little difficulty and were able to meet up with friends and family after a long day of waiting in lines and answering questions, some people fared much worse. For instance, while passengers who could afford first or second class passage were often inspected quickly at Ellis Island and sent into New York City without much trouble, third class and steerage passengers were usually required to wait several hours and sometimes overnight as they passed through a fairly rigorous process of medical inspections and questioning. These immigrants were required to walk twenty feet down a narrow lane while being visually inspected by a doctor. If he suspected a problem, he marked their lapel with chalk and they were taken elsewhere for a more in-depth inspection. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of immigrants were given one of these chalk marks. And approximately 2 percent of arrivals were deported because of illness or disease.

WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU
Besides being an important part of the history of America, Ellis Island has direct significance in the lives of millions of Americans. That’s because, according to some genealogists, four out of ten individuals in the United States can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island. That means chances are fairly high that you are related to someone who went through the sometimes positive and sometimes painful experiences associated with this famed gateway to America. So whether you just want to learn more about this important immigrant port or you want to search for your ancestors among the millions of those who crossed its threshold, visit Ancestry.com and enjoy the Ellis Island Experience.

Source for the Edward Corsi story: Pamela, Reeves, Ellis Island: Gateway to the American Dream. (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2002), 52.
Source for the Rene Hugo Stachelrodt story: Carol Ann Moon