Our Family
Morris & Rachel Ginsberg
Atlantic Crossing
First Decade of the 20th Century
In the first decade of the 20th
Century, the Atlantic crossing in an iron steamship took six to twelve days, far
better than the two to four months it took for sailing vessels in the days
before steam. By the 1880’s, almost all transatlantic passengers’ vessels were
steamships. Most immigrants booked into the less expensive ‘steerage" class,
which cost at least $25. This was about two or three weeks wages for a coal
miner. Second class cabins cost about $20 more. Steerage compartments were in
the lowest decks; along with the ships steering controls and engines. Each
steerage passenger was assigned a numbered metal berth, a canvas or burlap
mattress stuffed with hay or seaweed, a life preserver which doubled as a
pillow, and a tin pail and utensils for meals, which were often served from a
huge tank. The bunks were typically stacked two high and two side by side, and a
compartment might accommodate 100 to 400 or more passengers. Yet these
conditions in the first decade of the 20th Century were much improved over those
in previous years. After 1910 the newer ships replaced steerage class with third
class, which consisted of four-berth or six-berth cabins. Stewards served meals
in dining rooms, and the passengers had china and flatware.
During this time immigrants came to America through New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans, Key West, Galveston, and
Seattle. Some who couldn’t be admitted because of medical or other reasons
entered illegally through Canada or Mexico. Steerage class immigrants arriving
in New York after January 1892 were processed at the new Ellis Island facility.
As early as February 1890, Secretary of the Treasury William Windom moved to
close the Castle Garden facility in Battery Park, which operated as a landing
station since 1855, because immigrants were being fleeced by a barrage of
thieves and corrupt officials. The Immigration Act of 1891 brought immigration
under the auspices of the Treasury Department. The wood frame building on Ellis
Island, opened on 1 January 1892, burned down on 15 June 1897, and was replaced
by a brick structure on 17 December 1900
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Venturing to America was an adventure and a trial for most of the poor Jewish
immigrants. The steamships that the immigrants rode on were not very large, and
hundreds of people were crowded inside them. Most immigrants were poor, so they
traveled in the lowest, or steerage class. The living conditions on the ships
were horrible and disease infested. On the boat ride to America, many Orthodox
Jews ate only herring, black bread, and tea that they had brought along with
them because they feared that the ship's food was not Kosher. Often, the husband
went to America first, and got a job. When earned enough money for his family's
passage, he sent for his wife and children
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Wittekind 1894 1900 rebuilt to 5640 tons, 1917 seized by USA renamed Iroquois.
In 1900 she was rebuilt by Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne to a length
of 446ft, 5,640 gross tons. On 24/2/1906 she commenced her first voyage from
Bremen to Baltimore
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