Some things we learned on our trip to Ellis Island:
Old Country and Journey
- Money from the old countries came in all shapes and sizes.
- You were inspected before you came by the steamship company so they would not have to pay for you to go back.
- Some steamship companies required you to come three days early for inspection.
- If you were under 16 you had to have $25 to enter alone or you had to be with an adult.
- People came from places with very different sorts of cultures. (For example, the case of baby shoes from different places.)
Arrival
- Some of the mental tests were unfair because they assumed experiences the immigrants hadn’t had. For example, people who had never drawn before were asked to draw a diamond.
- There was testing for trachoma as it was so contagious (especially before antibiotics).
- They had reading and writing tests in many different languages.
- There were money exchanges.
- They put chalk marks on people to indicate something was wrong. Each mark had a special meaning.
- If you were detained it was in another area behind a fence. Some people were separated from families.
- The dormitories were people were detained were crowded with three levels of beds. Sometimes they ran out of beds and people ended sleeping on benches or even the floor.
- They served the women and children milk, but not the men.
- If a child under 16 was sent back an adult had to go with them.
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