THE
ARRIVAL IN THE U.S.
THE
JOURNEY TO AMERICA
There are two important aspects to remember when researching
the arrival of our ancestors in America.
First, one must realize that most of our ancestors arrived in the thirty
year time period between1845 and 1875.
This is before the Statute of Liberty (1880s) and Ellis Island, the
stereotypical imagines painted of an immigrantıs arrival in the new land. If they arrived in New York after 1855
their first stop was at Castle Gardens, now Battery Park on the southern tip of
the island. Ellis Island did not
open until 1892; Paul Borchardt may have been the only ancestor to go through
it. As for the Statute of Liberty,
it did not open until 1886. Once
again, Paul Borchardt may have been the only ancestor to be greeted by it upon
his arrival.
The second aspect concerns where the immigrant arrived in America. The stereotypical view is that all immigrants arrived in New York. Most of ours did not. Although my information is sketchy, I believe most arrived in Quebec. The British shipping companies preferred this port as Canada, a member of the British empire, did not charge the high fees that the United States did. Thus it is easy to understand why the Conways, Cullitons, etc. arrived here. However, I also learned that many of our Scandinavian ancestors arrived here as well.
After weeks or months at sea seeing America for the first
time created great joy among the emigrants. The following is typical of what I could find. It was taken from a letter written in
1853.
At last land was sighted: the promised land, the object of
their longings! The ship moved rapidly on. They came into the St. Lawrence
River, which, like a broad silver ribbon, wound its way between green shores.
Those who had been sick during the voyage had got up and viewed with
indescribable joy the beautiful landscape on both sides of the river. One of
the jomfrus gave voice to her joy in these words, "God be praised that we
have reached America. Oh, how lovely it is!" At the quarantine station doctors
came on board, but, as no one was sick, the ship passed on without delay until
it anchored at Quebec.
http://www.norwayheritage.com/
The quarantine station mentioned in the quote was the first
challenge the immigrants faced.
Whether their first stop was at Statin Island in New York, at Grosse
Isle, 30 miles east of Quebec in the St. Lawrence River, or any other
inspection station, this stop was the final official obstacle. Ships would often wait for 3-6 days
while medical personnel inspected the passengers. Any signs of infectious diseases, especially cholera or typhus,
could mean quarantine, sometimes for the entire ship. We have no idea if any of our ancestors suffered from
disease, were quarantined, or had a family member die. However, we do know they all faced this
possibility and its widespread effects.
For example, the following describes the year 1847, known as Black 47, at Grosse Isle:
By the end of the year, there had been an emigration of over
98,000, mostly Irish passengers. Of those numbers, nearly 9,000 were admitted
to the Quarantine Hospital at Grosse Isle, with over 3,000 deaths, a mortality
of 37.26%. This does not represent those who died on ships in passage, about 5,000, or those who died
at other Hospitals or in towns, after arrival. The actual number of deaths for
the year 1847 is unknown, but estimated at over 17,000 persons.
Another site reports a similar
story.
Typhus,
cholera, dysentery. and what was called "ship fever" -- in the
mistaken belief
that shipboard conditions caused the epidemics -- were the great
killers. We now know --
and medical authorities at midcentury were beginning to realize --
that these diseases did not originate at sea but were brought aboard by either
passengers or crew. Once aboard the conditions on the crowded and unsanitary ships
were ideal for the propagation of disease. In the famine year of 1847 -- the
worst year in terms of mortality -- perhaps 100,000 men, women, and children
embarked for Canada from British ports. Some17,000 died at sea and another
20,000 died of disease after landing, mostly along the shores of the St.
Lawrence. At just one place, the quarantine station at Grosse Isle off Quebec City, between mid- May and early
November 1847, 8691 persons were admitted to a hospital whose normal
capacity was 200; 3,228 died.
http://www.thedowlings.com/Articles/history1.htm
In the United States the quarantine station was near Staten
Island. Ships would drop anchor in
the harbor. Sick passengers would
then be moved to shore while the ship proceeded across the harbor to the quays
on South Street, Manhattan Island.
Emigrant difficulties did not
end when they disembarked. An army of runners, tavern keepers, and peddlers
swarmed the ships; some literally came on board in hope of making deals with
the new arrivals. On the dock, a mob of porters followed the new arrivals to
grab their belongings. Runners solicited them for lodging houses and other
services. Steamboat and railway agents sold tickets to points further into the
interior.
Emigrants could be and were
cheated in any number of ways; they were overcharged, sold tickets for places
they did not necessarily want to go, given unfair currency exchange rates, and
subjected to distorted prices for lodging and food. Often the new arrivals were
prone to trust people from their native countries, a fact that sharp
businessmen recognized and used to their advantage.
Once
they passed the inspection, or after a stay in the quarantine hospital, most
emigrants landed at the quays on South Street, Manhattan. In 1851, an artist
drew a daily scene of the arrival of emigrants and then described what he had
drawn :
On
the left was a woman emigrant hearing of the death of a relative; nearby a man
and his wife met again after a long separation ; a son supported an aged father
; in the background two lovers greeted each other ; one man was supervising the
loading of a dray, and a dock loafer was picking his pocket.
The
newcomers had just undergone a tumultuous experience in the Atlantic and now
they had arrived in New York, the third largest city in the western world. On
arrival they were generally greeted by runners, even more villainous and much
better organised than those in Liverpool. In fact the ships which passed the
inspection were surrounded by runners even before they reached the quays.
Sometimes the captain of an emigrant ship sold his passengers to the runner
offering him the biggest bribe. The runner would give the captain anything from
one to three hundred dollars, and receive in return a monopoly of the whole
shipload of emigrants. But this was not generally worked until 1854. Another
refinement of the trade was to send a runner from New York to Liverpool where
the man passed himself off as an emigrant and came back on the same vessel,
getting to know which of the passengers were worth fleecing. Before the system
of buying shiploads developed, the various gangs of runners had an agreement to
take emigrant vessels in turn but the agreement was not always respected so
fights erupted among racketeers.
Similarly
to Liverpool, runners who plundered Irish emigrants were usually Irish-born.
Their aim was to rob the emigrants, which they did in four different ways.
First, by simply stealing luggage. Second by seizing luggage and carrying it to
a boarding house and then ask for a great fee for a service the emigrant did
not want. Moreover, once in the house, the owner of the place would charge them
extortionate rents for vile lodgings. Third by taking a cut from the
boarding-house owner for bringing customers. Four by overcharging river, canal,
or railroad tickets to take emigrants to the interior. This last activity was
the most profitable line of business. http://www.uhb.fr/langues/cei/
One of the reasons Castle
Gardens was converted from a fort into am immigrant receiving station was to
prevent this abuse. As mentioned
earlier, it opened in 1855 and remained in use until 1892. We know that the Bauers / Webers (1864)
and Meyers (1868) arrived in New York.
Thus we are positive that some of our ancestors used it.
The following quote is from
1866. It describes the process at
Castle Gardens in New York.
All being ready, the emigrants proceed in a body up the corridor
into the interior of the building, their boxes and baggage being removed to the
luggage warehouses, and here they range themselves in order on the seats. In front of them, and in the centre of
the building, which is lit by a glass dome, stand a staff of some dozen
gentlemen, all busily engaged in making arrangements for facilitating the
movements and promoting the settlement of the newly-arrived emigrants. Each emigrant, man, woman and child,
passes up in rotation to the Bureau, and gives to the registrar his or her name
and destination, as a check upon the return of the Captain of the vessel, who
gives the name, place of birth, age and occupation. One of the leading officers connected with the Bureau of
Information then mounts a rostrum, and addressing the assembled emigrants,
tells them that such as are not otherwise provided for, or prepared to pay for
their accommodation, can find shelter under the roof of that building; that
advice and information of the best and most reliable kind can be had relative
to tickets for railway and steamer to take them East, West, North or South; as
to the best means of obtaining employment, for which a register is kept in the
Intelligence Department of the Institution; also as to the best and most
expeditious routes to take, with facilities for corresponding with friends, and
of changing money at the Bureau of Exchange.
The Intelligence Department is largely resorted to by emigrants,
inasmuch as there they can obtain information as to probable situations without
fee, for which outside they are asked $2 by the employment agents. A careful supervision is exercised by
the office as to the suitability and respectability of the parties on both
sides. All this is well and wisely
done for the protection of the emigrant, who would otherwise, if left to
himself, become the prey of sharpers, boarding- house "runners",
"scalpers", leafers, et id genus omne. Such as are ill or invalid are at once sent to the State
Hospital, where they receive the best of medical treatment and general
attention.
members.tripod.com/~L_Alfano/immig.htm
Harperıs
Weekly reported on the services available in the waiting room.
Services
were provided to exchange money into US currency, purchase railroad
tickets (if the immigrant was
going on to further points), forward luggage (if needed) and generally give aid and assistance to the
immigrant. There was a telegraph office and a mail service. Many immigrants had letters waiting
for them with money enclosed for the next step of the journey.
Multilingual assistants were
available to resolve the myriad of problems that arose. A frequent problem was that the immigrant would have
the wrong or insufficient information to get him to his final destination. For example he may have the
address "Farmington, United States". How to determine which of the 21
states that had towns named Farmington was correct? How many people ended up
somewhere entirely different from what they started out for?
The
amenities at Castle Gardens included two wash rooms, one for men and one for
women. There was hot water, soap and towels, all free to the immigrant. The
garden was heated in the winter and in warm weather there was a cooling
fountain. There were no beds at Castle Gardens and immigrants were encouraged
to go on their way the same day they had arrived. People were however,
permitted to sleep in the galleries. Sometimes as many as 3,000 spent the
night. http://www.maggieblanck.com/Immigration
In using the material regarding
an arrival in New York I am also assuming that similar operations took place in
other ports. There is also the
possibility that our ancestors did not face these problems. Many immigrants had package deals. The
tickets that were either sent to them by friends or relatives in America or
purchased in the home country contained train or ship tickets beyond Quebec or
New York.
It was those immigrants who did
not have the package deals that faced the problems described in the quotes
above. These immigrants had to
find their own food, lodging, etc.
It was after one or two nights in
this setting that our ancestors began their journey west.
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The Journey Westward (next article) |
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