Rafael Guber, a New York Jewish genealogist, wanted to know more about his family, who, along with millions of other Americans, came from Europe through New York Harbor's Ellis Island. He had heard stories about their experiences and what coming to America meant to them. For many ancestors, especially those who did not speak English, coming to America was both a dream come true and a truly harrowing experience. Bringing with them only what they could carry and just enough money to allow entry into the country, they typically felt overwhelmed and unsure of themselves. To add to their distress, once on Ellis Island, they were faced with medical examinations and official interrogations that could result in being sent back to their native countries.

Rafael hoped to better understand his ancestors' adventures and share his knowledge with others whose families had had similar experiences. He began by locating ship's passenger arrival records for his ancestors, finding photographs of the ships on which they crossed the ocean, and documenting their stories. Then, by taking the ferry from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan to Ellis Island, Rafael actually traced part of their voyage. This growing desire to walk in his ancestor's footsteps then inspired him to pursue a project that would recreate the immigrant experience at Ellis Island.

Working with Ellis Island officials, Rafael, along with 100 other Jewish researchers, reenacted the immigration process at the first federal immigration center. By walking through the buildings and going through the processes that their ancestors had gone through, Rafael and other descendants of Ellis Island immigrants found first-hand that the Ellis Island experience was as traumatic as family stories had depicted.

Ellis Island is now a national park and museum, and the Ellis Island experience is available to anyone who can come to New York City. What you will get out of the visit depends on what you bring to it. A personal connection through your own family history can bring Ellis Island and the immigrant experience alive. If you are an armchair traveler and a trip to New York City is not on your agenda, you can purchase a videotape of Ellis Island and its history, so you too have the opportunity, like Rafael, to walk in your ancestor's footsteps. You will get a chance to "meet" Rafael Guber here in Ancestry magazine, as a columnist who will share the "Ethnic Origins" by-line. You can also "meet" Rafael and the group who reenacted the Ellis Island experience in "Episode Four: the Paper Trail of Ancestors," part of the Ancestors series being presented by PBS television.

Although Marsha did not travel in a covered wagon, as did the pioneers she was researching, her Ford Explorer got a real workout. Using Gregory M. Franzwa's book The Oregon Trail Revisited, in which the author reveals the exact points where the old trail crosses the public roadways of today, the Risings were able to follow the trail closely, going over unimproved roads, dirt tracks, and pastures. Two weeks and some 2,030 miles later, Marsha had journeyed from Independence, Missouri, where the trail originates, to Oregon City, Oregon.

By following the exact route of her migration study, Marsha recreated the hardships and adventures of her Scots-Irish families. Joel Hembree of Dade County, Missouri, whose 1843 tombstone is the oldest surviving on the trail, was still a child when he fell of his family's wagon and was run over by its wheels. Locating the gravestone, which is still standing but off the beaten track, was especially important to the Risings, as Dean Rising, a pediatrician in Springfield, Missouri, treats patients who are Joel's distant cousins. Driving off-road through farmland and cow pastures to see the stone left the Risings with a strong sense of the difficult trip west and the fragility of life on this overland journey.

To walk that distance takes about four months in the best of conditions, and even by car, it is just too far for most people to take the whole 2,000-mile-trail across rugged terrain. But, Marsha assured me, it is still possible to walk in your ancestors' footsteps by walking in the original trail ruts at several Interpretive Centers and National Parks-particularly at Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, and Guernsey, Wyoming.

We gain an intimate awareness of our ancestors' history when we relive how they cross this vast country to settle in communities across America, or return to a place, such as Ellis Island, which touched their lives deeply. Knowing, in this more immediate sense, about our ancestors' experiences can add tremendous richness and detail to what we already know about our family history.

Franzwa, Gregory M. The Oregon Trail Revisited. Tucson, AZ: the Patrice Press, 1972, $9.95.