Ellis Island: Finding Grandpa?

Question

I am going to NYC later on this summer and I want to look up my grandfather's record of coming to the United States. So 2 questions:

1. Am I going to get to see his signature?

2. What information do I need to find him? I've heard country and city of origin, birthdate and date of entry.

I just want to make sure I make proper use of my time. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

The website will give you most of the information available about him. It will also help you cut down your research time because it takes into account spelling errors, nuances in spelling, etc. You can check it out now at http://www.ellisisland.org

The other side to it is are you sure he actually came through Ellis Island. One of the things that you'll learn when you visit there is that first and second class passengers didn't have to go through Ellis Island. They were allowed to get off at a pier on the southern tip of Manhattan at a place called Castle Clinton. That center also was in operation for 50 years or so before Ellis Island and continued receiving passengers for over 30 years after Ellis Island opened. So you may find the records you're looking for there. Ellis Island's records are in much better shape when it comes to transcription. Lee Iacocca did a great job spearheading the restoration project. But the Battery Conservancy which now maintains and is restoring Castle Clinton has a wonderful project to transcripe records as far back as 1830. They're not done, buy you can research those records and learn more about your family along the way.

http://www.castlegarden.org

Have fun on your trip. Remember to spend a little time pondering how a building really that small managed to hadles the millions of Europeans immigrating to America. It is so mindboggling.

Answer 2

I found my great-grandfather who came over in the late 1800s and I very little to go on... knowing his exact name and age helps. The rest of the details help... and you don't even have to go to Ellis Island... you can do it on-line first.

The on-line version shows you a passenger list-- with signatures-- and a picture of the boat (in my grandfather's case) that he arrived on... the bonus was learning his village and seeing that he arrived without any family... you can see all of the people on that particular boat.

Good luck!