The Journey.....
They made the decision...
now they must make the journey. But, before they do, they would need to prepare plans and make many difficult decisions.
What to take?
For most, it would mean only what they could transport with them. They would need to decide what to discard, give to another relative, or sell to support their move to a new country.
What route, to what port?
They needed to decide what overland path they would travel to get to their port of departure. Depending on the time period of their journey, their choices might be limited by conditions of war, ethnic hostility, or other restrictions. Costs were also a consideration, the closest port may be less expensive to get to but might ship cost's might be more or have a limited number of departures to America. This was not an easy task and they would added to their already intense emotions of up rooting themselves from their motherland and relatives who be left behind.
Map of Atlantic Ocean (NOAA Photo Library) It would take many weeks at sea over the Atlantic Ocean before they would see the distant shoreline of America. (NOAA Photo Library)
Sailng ship from the 1700s. (NOAA Photo Library)
Ship from the late 1800s period. (NOAA Photo Library)
1884 painting New York Harbor scene. (NOAA Photo Library)
1903 horse and buggy scene. (NOAA Photo Library)
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What is ultimate destination?
If you were fortunate and your relatives had already made this journey, your point of destination in America would be where they live. If you were not this fortunate, you would need to decide. To do so, you would need to try and learn more about America; it's geography, it's cities, and the places that offered the best opportunity to find work. Many would begin this journey without having these answers to these questions. The weeks they would spend aboard ship will be anxious as they sought answers and direction from their fellow transients where to go new land.
What would you do?
Try to place yourself into the mind of your ancestor. Imagine having to endure this challenging and life changing event. How would you deal with these decisions? What would feelings would fill your time? Do this exercise, and you will reach a deeper appreciation of what they endured to find a better life.
Immigration to USA.....
The sites below were chosen to provide you with a varied subject matter on the subject of immigration to and in America. Read about the orphan emigrants who were sent west to find a better life, or the first hand story of an emigrant's experience onboard a ship in 1843 in route to new country.
American Immigration Center
Brief History of US Immigration
Swedes, Typical for Emigrants
Immigration Diary from Prussia
1907 Article on Immigration
NARA, Immigration Records
Immigrations: Their Stories
Orphan, Trains of Kansas
Ports of Departure.....
Several decisions confronted emigrants as to the port of departure that they would use. Costs, timing, distance to travel, and what land travel was necessary to traverse.
Germany:
Bremen:
Friends of German Emigration Museum
Hamburg:
Germany, Hamburg: Link To Your Roots
Ships, transport....
For most, this would be their first trip outside of their homeland. When they finally arrived at their port of departure, many would will see an ocean vessel for the first time. It would seem large, but small in comparison in the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean they would soon be traversing. This would be the first exerience of being at sea for most of them. The fear of drowning without ever reaching their destination may have added to the their anxiety.
Ships Encyclopedia
Guide, Ship Passenger Lists
1843, Emigrants Story Onboard Ship
NARA, Immigration Records
Ports of Entry.....
Ellis Island is the best known port of entry, but there were others, including processing centers for each state. The best source for this data is the National Immigration and Nationalization Service (NARA). All of these points of entry are categoried by their location giving the years of service, and the microfilm number. Also, information is included for emigrants who came into the USA By Way of Canada (article).
Canada:
St. Alban's List
CA, San Francisco:
Angel Island
Immigration Station
NY, New York:
Ellis Island
Ellis Island History
"On June 13, 1897 the original wooden structure burned to the ground. All the administrative records for Castle Garden for the period 1855-1890 and most of the records for the Barge Office and Ellis facilities were lost. Ellis Island's entire collection of state and federal lists were stored there and burned (even the underground record vault burned!). Fortunately, copies of the passenger lists were held by the Customs Collector and abstracts were held in Washington, DC. The Customs lists did not have as much information about passengers as did the Immigration lists, and the fire is the reason that the New York Immigration passenger lists begin with arrivals on June 16, 1897, instead of with 1891 arrivals." - This is a quote from Louis S. Alfano's web site, The Immigration Experience, which one of the best for covering the processing centers used for immigrations coming through the New York harbor.
Processing Records.....
Arriving at their port of entry, they would now need to be processed into the USA. With their own records in hand, they would generate more records before moving on to their ultimate destination. NARA provides a very good reference for understanding this process and the following links will take you to them:
Immigration Arival Records
Naturalization Records - NARA