When my grandmother came through there from Ireland, it was her parents and her TWENTY siblings. Hearing how hard it was to actually get approved for entry adds a whole new level of appreciation for what she and the rest of her family went through. Thanks for the history lesson!

I took my then 10 year old daughter to Ellis Island in the late 80's. We still talk of that trip as one of the most moving experiences we have ever had. If you are in NYC, go if you can. You will not regret the time you spend there.

I visited Ellis Island in November 2017. What cannot be underestimated is the scale of the museum, and therefore the amount of information to be viewed on plaques, display cases, through their mini-documentaries and the guided audio tour. My two friends and I spent close to 2 hours there, with a rather lengthy ferry ride there and back, and there was a lot we did not get to see. For anyone wanting to visit, I'd recommend packing a lunch, taking the morning ferry, and plan to make it the day's main event. I'd really like to return to take the tour in the non-renovated section of the island, as although the museum may share characteristics with the original building, it's fresh coat of paint and other tourist-friendly don't really convey the reality of the building's history.

I'm not a descendant of an immigrant who came through Ellis Island, my Father's family came from France via Canada and my Mother's ancestors came from Ireland to help build the Erie Canal. I do however, appreciate the hardship and uncertainty that many of the people whose first stop in the new world was Ellis Island, without them America wouldn't be what it is today.

I've been to Ellis Island. It's was both overwhelmingly hopeful in parts, as well as devastatingly heartbreaking in others.

Even though I've never been to Ellis island I share a bit of history with it. My great great grandfather had bought a ticket to the US that was bound to Ellis island. When he was about to board his ship the woman he loved said she couldn't do it. He tried to persuade her to come but she could not leave her family and home. For the sake of his girl he stayed. Had it not been for that one moment, my entire family would not be here.

I still have the original Ellis Island ink and stamp documents from the first person in my family to immigrate to the US in 1920.

I love how at the end of your immigration video you casually say and that's what "made America great" And I love the shade that you throw even though some won't get it.

All 4 of my great grandparents made it through Ellis Island. 2 Daigos, 1 Limey, 1 Mick. Both great- grandfathers ended up being NYC Firefighters (Different Companies). Both families had a plethora of children. Both my grandfathers fought in WW2. 1 in the Pacific, 1 in Europe.

My great grandparents with their youngest son came to America from Italy in 1909. They made their way to Northern Minnesota so my great grandfather could work in the iron ore mines. In 1947 my Romanian grandmother came to the US with my soldier grandfather. She said seeing the Statue of Liberty filled her full of hope after just leaving her war ravaged home country.

I'm from L.A. and didn't make it to NYC until my 40th year, but everyone really should see the Statue of Liberty. It is absolutely striking up close, and no photo or video has ever done it justice. Thanks France!

In the early 1990s. It was right after desert Storm. We had been overseas for over a year. Even though only one guy in my entire unit grew up in New York. When we passed Lady Liberty, we all knew we were home.

I've been to Ellis Island twice. I was very moved by the experience and had tears in my eyes thinking of the struggles the immigrants went through, which included my maternal grandmother's parents and her older brother and sister. I was able to get copies of the actual records of them coming through there. I'm very proud that my family was part of the heritage of Ellis Island.

"On the first day of January, 1892. They opened Ellis Island and they let the people through And the first to cross the Threshold, of that isle of hope and tears Was Annie Moore from Ireland, who was only 15 years"

My Hungarian great-grandpa came through Ellis Island in 1921, with my great-grandma and then-infant great aunt following in 1923. They met up with my great-grandpa in Indiana where he was working in the Studebaker factory. Can't wait to visit here one day and see it in person. Great video!

Bob Hope at a USO performance - "I've got sand in places I didn't know I know I had places."

My grandmother on my mothers side came over in 1908 with her husband - they were 13/16 respectively from Scotland and got a land grant in Alabama to be farmers. Back then you had to live on the land and work it for 5 years before it was legally yours. It is still in the family and she lived to 101. Grandfather passed at 89. She had 12 children but only 8 made it to adulthood. She all told us what it was like and she was terrified they might be turned away as tuberculosis was common for the Scots coming over.

Coming into the Great Hall on the upper floor, the huge vaulted space opening out from the narrow hall leading up to it, is a truly glorious sight.

I love it when you use calmer music during the parts inbetween sections, since I typically watch before falling asleep! :) Love the content as always! This was a great video.

"May mix up your suname with your hometown..." That happened to my grandfather from Italy!!! HE Went through Elis Island as a 16 year old kid :)

I know that I'm coming late to this video, but I have to comment. I went to Ellis Island in 2000 because I'm a history buff and I thought it would be interesting. It was far more than that. As we got off the ferry, I remember telling my sister, "Imagine you're coming here with nothing and can't even speak the language and this huge building is the first thing you see." It was kind of awe-inspiring even to me. We were there for hours (You need to allow hours.) There are so many artifacts and displays. And, frankly, we just sat and absorbed the magnitude of what the place represented. There were lots of surprises, too. One that I remember well was coming around a corner to see a huge banner with a photo of a Japanese family and, being from Seattle, y first thought was "Why would you go the long way around?" So I learned something . I learned a lot. I highly recommend going - even though, as they announced on the ferry, you're not allowed to bring bicycles, skateboards or barbecues with you.

My paternal grandfather came to America through Canada from Scotland, but I've known so many whose ancestors came through Ellis Island over the years. Joy and tears indeed. Well done! Great presentation! Thank you for the truthfulness!

Thank you, Simon, the video was excellent! It feels good to hear a non-American appreciate and commemorate the struggles to legally immigrate back then and to happily assimilate and work hard to achieve the American Dream. America has it's flaws, no doubt, but people with dreams and ideas can make anything happen here.

When I was in 6th grade, my entire class had to do an Ellis Island project, where we got assigned characters immigrating to the US, then turned the library into the immigration center, where we went through all the steps you listed in the video. Little me though, I was so dedicated to my character, I brought all this crap I thought she would have, and I wrapped it up in a blanket because I figured she wouldn't own a suitcase? Anyway, it was a miserable experience, so hot, standing in line all day, my bag just kept getting heavier and heavier. And in that aspect, it was a very authentic Ellis Island experience. Funny thing is, only one of my ancestors did come through Ellis Island, my family first arrived in the 1600s!

My Mother was one of the last to immigrate there on her ship from Germany

Visiting Ellis Island was so much more emotional than I thought it would be. At least three of my great grandparents (possibly four) entered the US through Ellis Island and my grandpa's mom was born the year after her parents and siblings did the same. The mix of emotions they must have faced must have been overwhelming. Joy, relief, and hope after making it to a new country where they would be safer with better opportunities and at the same time worry for the friends and family they left behind and completely heartbroken not because they left (they were happy to escape the pogroms) but because they had to leave.

0:55 - Chapter 1 - Oysters, Pirates & Gunpowder 5:05 - Chapter 2 - Founding the immigration station 10:30 - Chapter 3 - Coming to ellis island 15:05 - Chapter 4 - The people of ellis island 19:00 - Chapter 5 - From annie to arne 21:00 - Chapter 6 - Ellis island today

On my mother's side, my Jewish great-great grandfather came to America in 1889. His wife & 4 children (my great-grandfather was the youngest) arrived in 1891. Thanks for educating me that they were processed in the Castle Garden area of Ellis Island. On my father's side, my Danish great-grandfather also arrived at Ellis Island, probably during the period when a lot of Scandinavians came to America since I can't remember the exact year at this moment.

Both sides of my Grandparents came through there. From Calabria, Italy on my mother's side and County Cork, Ireland on my father's side.

Although my parents moved to the US from the UK in 1980, it was staggering to see my great great uncle's name in the registry on Ellis island. I was blessed to play with my high school concert band on the lawn in front of the immigration center in 1999

A trip to Ellis Island is surprisingly inspiring! While immigrants were subjected to a medical inspection, as the video says, the number of people rejected was low, about 2% (and you could appeal the rejection)-most people, about 80%, went through the process in a few hours. And there was no paperwork-at the peak of immigration in 1907, passports were not in existence-inspectors were matching the person’s name against the ship’s manifest, nothing more. Interpreters, who had to pass a federal civil service exam in speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension, were on hand-the common languages were Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, German, Yiddish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbo-Croatian, Romanian, Swedish, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Czech, Spanish, Armenian, Arabic, Dutch, Norwegian and Chinese. Later NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia worked at Ellis Island as an interpreter certified for Italian, German, Yiddish and Croatian from 1907 to 1910. It was, for the most part, a very humane process, unlike what happened on the West Coast at Angel Island.

what a nice sweater you're wearing Simon. When I lived in San Francisco, I worse lots of sweaters, then I moved to Puerto Rico and never needed one. Now, living in Tucson, AZ, I only need one about 1 week a year. The warm weather here is getting warmer every winter along with the decreasing rainfall. It's November and I am still wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts. Occasionally, I wear sweat pants or a sweat shirt and about one week a year, I need a coat and need to wear my jeans. When I lived in the Bay Area, we went to Angel Island, the West Coast Ellis Island with lots of history as well. It is the port where most of the Asian newcomers were processed (as well as others) .. The history you can see there is wonderful and the island is absolutely beautiful.

hey Simon can we hope for a GEOGRAPHICS from the silk road?

You guys should do an episode on Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. It’s a very cool city at the center of the start of the start of the French and Indian war. The steel factories were internationally renowned as one of the best. Love to see your spin on the city, keep up the great work!

I live 2 hours north of the city and made my first visit to Ellis Island 3 years ago. The only thing missing from this video was the abandoned buildings on what I believe is the south side.

Simon- want to share my experience here. My family were poor, from the northwest of Ireland. They came in through Ellis Island. One of proud moments of my life was sailing past Lady Liberty and Ellis Island aboard the USS Kearsarge in 2015 for Fleet Week in NYC. I felt connection with my ancestors who gambled everything to see this sight. I wanted them to know that many generations on, one their sons would see the same sight, serving as an officer aboard a celebrated warship of this great experiment we call America. We are the All-Stars of the world and I’m enormously humbled and inspired by the story of American immigration. It is our story. Thank you for making this video!!

My great-grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1914. From Annow, Poland, to the port of Hamburg, then to Ellis Island. They changed his name from Andrej Mihilek to Andrew Mehalick. You can buy a reprints of boat manifests from them.

Both sets of maternal Great-Grand Parents came through Ellis Island. Austria, Germany, Poland & Lithuania in the late 1890's. One Granddad was a cobbler, the other a furniture maker. Both settled outside Chicago. Now the paternal side has been an effort, looks like one side came over via Canada and settled first in Michigan, Great-Great-Grandfather served in the civil war, the other side also came through Ellis from Austria/Germany area.

When my family and I were there we found the name of our great grandfather. It was an astounding moment! My father had imigrated out of the USA though.

My great-grear grandfather came through there in 1898. His name was Adolf Ludwig. He had his 2 yr old son August. August went on to have my grandfather, then father ... now here I am watching KZfaq. I actually found Adolf's entrance in a book on the Ellis Island website.

3 out of four of my mom's grandparents came through there from Italy. Along with their entire families. Except for great-grandad who came in via New Orleans... by himself. My grandad eventually met one of his cousins who said his dad had been estranged from the family.

My maternal grandfather came through Ellis Island in 1912 from Imperial Russia, poorly educated and not knowing a word of English. He worked in a steel foundary, married, owned a house, and raised three children. My mom, the city girl, married my dad, the country boy, in 1945, during wartime. They never attended college but understood, and passed along to my brother and me, the value of education. My brother became a physician, and I, a teacher, and I have returned to live and teach in my grandfather's city; my own children are well educated and themselves work as professionals. I am grateful to both my grandfather for his sense of adventure and yearning for a better life than he had, and to our United States for allowing him the opportunity to work hard and raise his family Such is the success of the American Dream: Why my grandfather was allowed admittance, but the same welcome is not given to many newer immigrants, is a question we should be considering. As always, Geophysics Team, thank you for the thoughtful, masterfulfully-told story. Terrific work. Thank you.

Last March when I visited New York, the main thing I wanted to do was visit Ellis Island knowing I'd had relatives that came through it. It's both fascinating and sad. The amount of "inspection" people had to go through was impressive on some levels considering the time, they had a station to test your literacy where they would have you draw a certain shape and how you drew it told them how literate you were. It's definitely a worthwhile tour for anyone interested in not only the history of the processing center but also the establishment of different groups in different cities and how this helped grow New York (and other places like Chicago) into highly culturally diverse areas.

I visited the island when I was twelve. I took the audio tour yet I don’t remember anything about it being used as a detention center during wartime.

Absolutely one of the best of the Geographics videos. Utterly fascinating.

Bob Hope was born in England not far from where I was born roughly 60 years later. He was probably doing a USO show in Vietnam for the troops, one of which was my father. After my father’s tour in Vietnam was done he was stationed in England which is how I came to be born there of an English mother and an American father. Years later we moved to New York where my fathers family lived since his grandparents had come through Ellis island. Back in the 1980’s I met Mr Hope in Southern California and discovered we lived in the same neighbourhood, It’s a small world after all. Lol

My Great Grandma age 11 in 1911 came through ellis island Ziegler, Anna from Merczifalva, Hungary on a ship named Amerika. SHe came the US legally not sneaking over, paid her dues along with her mother and siblings, learned English and became a U.S. Citizen in 1942.

My grandparents went through Ellis from Holland. I need to ask them more about it.

Never expected a Scooby-Doo reference!

I had the opportunity to visit Ellis Island on a school trip to New York City. While my classmates were excited about it and talked about their familial connections to the facility, it meant nothing to me. First, my ancestors were already established in the US long before the immigration center opened. Second, my ancestors didn't arrive willingly since they were slaves.

The retelling of the path immigrants have to take in the immigration center was the highlight of the video. Absolutely fascinating experience. The huge elephant glaring at you with a fedora and a tommy gun was the funniest line.

When I was studying Computer Science (back when that meant main frames, not personal computers) I was told that one of the things Ellis Island produced was a sorter. The amount of information that was collected was so vast that it took many clerks and many hours to collect and sort. Mistakes were high as well. A clerk who worked there used his spare time to create a system that used cards with holes punched in them to improve the process. Clerks would ask questions with a/b/c type answers. They would punch a hole in the card corresponding to the answer given. The card only had 80 columns because anything more and the system wouldn't carry the card down a moving band. As the card moved, metal pins would pass over it. Wherever there was a hole, a connection was made and a device pushed that card out of line and into a hopper. They would pass these cards through for each question, thus getting a sort for each question. Now the 80 column card is important to this story because that card was used all the way up to the 1980's to program computers and to load data into the programs. I've been told there are still some troglodytes that still use them. Those 80 columns segued into the standard for data ever since. 8/16/32/64 Anyone who has spent time around a computer will recognize that progression. Having told you all this, I'd like to ask the people here: Does anyone else remember this?

My great great great grandfather was a dutchman that came over and ended up on Ellis Island. From what I understand they sent his wife and son back for having "consumption". However being the dingbat my Ormerod's still continue being to this day, he stayed on and remarried and ended up having the American side of the family here in the US. Thing I could never wrap my head around is how my ancestors went from Ellis Island to Warwick Rhode Island. That is a bit far away when you supposedly came over with the clothes on your back and not enough money for transportation. On my fathers side my families only claim to fame is their ability to work themselves into a stupor. Which was a good thing back then. All I know about my mothers side of the family is we are french Canadian. They come from a long line of farmers and from what I hear they basically walked over the boarder to get to the US. Much past that the story runs dry because there was so much my Memere was not willing to discuss. Something really bad happened when she was a young child involving her brother and her. Whenever you asked her about her family all she'd ever say is "I'll go to my grave with what my brother did" I know for a while he was pretending to be in the military and his mother was supporting his life in anyway she could....including making my 7 year old memere work. Nobody will say what she was working as. Because of all the secrets long dead family members decided to keep I can't do a family history back further than 2 generations. Hell I only found out my memere had a brother 2 years after her death.

My grandfather was 5 years old and he came there with his mother and brother, they could only speak Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish. From what my grandfather told me about it. It was not a good place but they made it out safely and together. They where able to meet their uncle. Who took them to his place and spent A few months waiting for their father to get there. Then they movie to Indiana.

Im a 4th generation greek, my great grandparents came through Ellis Island, my Pro Yia Yia lived to be 102 and my Pro Papou wasn’t too far behind, I think in his 90s when he passed. I’m lucky I got to meet them, especially since I never got to meet my Yia Yia who died young of ALS. Im named after her, her name was Catherine Helen, my name is the de-romanized version: Catina Eleni. Although I never learned greek fluently ( the Pro Papou and Pro Yia Yia wanted to be 100% american so they never taught my Yia Yia and in turn my Mom and Nona never learned or taught us) Im extremely proud and happy to have that little bit cultural connection or background and be the 4th generation born in America. Yia Yia: grandma Papou: grandpa Pro Yia Yia/Papou: great grandparents Nona: godmother (my aunt) Sorry I forgot that that might be a bit confusing, at this point those are their names in my head. 😂

I love how Simon encourages us to leave any story we might have of our ancestors immigrating through Ellus Island.

I may be a sentimentalist but I have a hard time making it through stories about Ellis Island with dry eyes. Human history is full of dark and awful places (as this channel often documents), but Ellis Island, at least for a while, radiated with light and hope. I hope for more of these positive essays!

Several members of my family came through those walls to find a better lifer here in America. Thanks for doing this video, well done!

I'm still laughing at the surprise oyster in the first few minutes...

I visited Ellis Island for the first time last year and it was really interesting and beautiful to see. My grandparents met during WW 2. My grandfather was in the Air Force and was stationed in London. He met my English grandmother there. They had six children, and all grew up in the United States.

I owe everything to a young man named Wicenty Lalak, he risked everything and immigrated from Poland to America. He arrived at Ellis Island in 1902 on the SS Blucher and started his American dream. Without his sacrifice, I would not be here today.

I would like to see a video for how Australian imigration went during the same time. My parents were immigrants.

My paternal grandfather’s parents came from Weimar Germany through Ellis island in the 1920s. They came separately, met and married in America. I think my great-grandfather even landed on his birthday! We still have the boarding record.

I saw the World Trade Center for the only time from Ellis Island when I was a kid in August 01. I asked my dad what those ugly buildings were. Fell in love with New York that weekend. Couldn’t believe what I was watching the next week, I was pretty much obsessed with 9/11 and the coverage of it as it was happening as a kid. Shaped my life in a lot of weird and different ways, undoubtedly changed me. And as such, sadly I associate Ellis island in my mind’s eye with 9/11, although at the same time connected with reverence for my Italian grandfather’s landing at Ellis island. That’s why my parents had originally brought me to Ellis Island in the first place back in 2001.

So a channel about random things (today I found out) A channel about people a channel about places It seems that Simon really loves his nouns.

My great grandpa, Vito Cinquepalmi came to America via Ellis Island from Bari, Italy. 🇮🇹

Normally wouldn't bother with a "share your story below", but I actually think my family's migration to the United States is decently interesting. Father's side was predominately Scandinavian, gradually migrated to the British Isles over time. Our name is mentioned as far back as the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror, and some records point to our presence during each sacking of Rome. My mother's side, the Bruce's, obviously have major ties to Scottish history. The very, very long and extraordinarily short side of it is that both sides of my family chose the wrong side of different civil wars and internal conflicts that led to us plummet from medieval high society to a loose collection of steel workers and tradesmen in the US around the latter half of the 1700's to the mid 1800's. We've participated in every US war since then and have consistently maintained our pride in not only our origins but our working class mentality and values, whether we obtain large quantities of wealth or not. We're a family of principles and honor, respect, loyalty and hard work and we're proud of that. Yes, we may at one point have been considered "high society", but our multi-generational learning process has taught us that that means absolutely nothing in the face of genuine hard work and stern adherence to proper, down to earth values. I, for one, am proud of that and am proud to be an American, as imperfect as we may be.

My family and I went to New York a few years back and my bestfriend came with us. One of the places we visited was Ellis Island as we both had ancestors who immigrated to America many generations ago and since we both had pictures of their documents with showing their signatures and other information we wanted to see if any of the logs put on display had our fanilies names on them. Incredibly we found records on display of my bestfriends ancestors that immigrated here from Ireland and I found records on display of my own ancestors on my maternal grandmothers side of the family who immigrated here from Italy. It was amazing and we ended up taking pictures of everything.

I can't imagine how overwhelming it must have been to go through an experience like Ellis Island. Those were brave people.

It's ironic that I visited Ellis Island about 10 days after this video was released. After nearly everyone left the ferry at Liberty Island, my family made our way to the top deck so we could get some snap shots of Lady Liberty. When we arrived at Ellis we had no idea what it was, I originally mistook it for Governors Island due to the impressive architecture. Eager to learn where we were and why it was important we had a look around. We used the computers to find out if any of our relatives had been processed there and looked at most of the exhibits. The place certainly needed more bathrooms.

Ellis island was and is a place of rememberance of so many lives starting a fresh new life. Full of ideals and pride that helped sustain them through rugged hardships and unknown hazards yet to befall them in the new world. Unlike so many finding themselves unwilling to accept a job to better themselves throwing themselves at the mercy of government relief. My ancestors from different parts of Europe strived to make life better for themselves and their families through trial and error they made the New World their new Country. America the land of the free and home if the brave. Yes my heart, and my love for the U.S.A is foremost and without question my home. My family, friends and fellow Americans are testament to the belief hard work and perseverance always makes life worth living and fighting for...God Bless...

A much lighter video. Very nice. And, again, that ending line was just great. I appreciated this one quite a bit.

I have never been to Ellis Island. My mother's Italian side came first class straight to Boston from Naples however my father's German side came through Ellis Island. My father was just turning 10 years old at the time. They had experience as farmers and they were sponsored in America by a far-right Lutheran church group in Iowa. Just after they arrived they would suffer through the Dust Bowl and the depression yet they would all do well in the long run. They were strong, determined, and hard-working

My grandmother immigrated to the US in 1904 with her aunt. Her papers were not in order so they had to stay on Ellis Island for over a week to have proper papers sent from her father in England. It was not very pleasant because they could not use their beds during the day, had very little to do, and only had porridge to eat. After the papers arrived, they then left the Island and moved to Los Angeles. As an aside, they came over in steerage and all they had to eat was peas porridge on the ship. After that, she never ate peas again, but she always had a bowl of peas on the table for others.

I went to Ellis Island in 1995 and found my original family who came over from Germany in the early 1800's. You would have to know exactly how to spell it to find it. I have heard they have touch-screens now and it is very easy to find one's ancestors. Nice to know! Excellent video!

"... made America great." I see what you did there. 😁🇺🇸

I'm a decedent from Irish US army man & a Kiowa Tribal member. They married and had 10 kids (her 1950s resistance)😂😎. I visited Ellis Island in 1980s. As a child when we road the ferry it was the scariest part but we also seen the most chewing gum, and the Statue of Liberty wasn't as big as we were dreaming of on the long road trip. We circled back that summer and seen Niagara Falls. A big deal for a few kids in elementary school. Most memorable vacations of my life. As a Native American I also held resentment about how people just took over and being young I understood the worst of humans and best of humanity that summer. - I want to take my daughter one day, and also to my tribal land in Oklahoma. There's nothing like stepping foot on ancestral stomping grounds. Like butterflies in your stomach, an unexplainable feeling.

Grandpa came thru Ellis in the late 20’s from Italy. He worked and saved for years and sent for my grandma, my dad and uncle. They came in thru Boston in the 30’s. The goal was to escape Mussolini. From Boston it was a train ride across the US to the Kent valley in the state of Washington and right to work on the farm. Italians were looked down on as basically third class citizens. Thru an extremely hard work ethic and thick skin they did well for themselves - there was no government assistance back then, they were on their own after being “sponsored”. Thankfully I got their work ethic and thick skin. The crap I dealt with was a fraction of what they went thru. Whatever success I have today is built in their hard work, trials and tribulations. America is an awesome country if you’re willing to work for it.

Like many Americans, my ancestors came into America through Ellis Island. This was a really cool video because I often think about my 3x great grandparents.

I wish I had more information on my family from when they came through Ellis Island from Italy. Sadly, it seems as though my family didn't find talking about or passing on most of this information was worth doing. But maybe I can go back to New York one day and find some written information. Sadly, there isn't any one left alive I could ask.

13:55 nice 'The Godfather' reference.......

Around 1915, I think, my great grandfather (my mother's paternal grandfather) fled to the US to avoid being drafted by the....Ottoman Empire (my home town was then part of the Ottoman Empire, now it is the northeasternmost part of Greece). I never knew him, he died 12 years before I was born, and my grandpa was born after his father returned home. He must have gone through Ellis Island, settled briefly in Buffalo, NY (I have seen old papers from employment he held there, barely legible in the early '80s) and then he....was drafted by the US and ended up fighting in France!! Returned home a couple of years after the end of WWI. Even though I have never been in the US, this little bit of family history gives me a kind of connection to Ellis Island. If only great grandpa had stayed, who knows?

I am a descendant of an Irish immigrant and we still have family reunions every year for over 70 years.

i visited the museum... it was awesome! as in truly, awe-inspiring. amazing. a must see

I don't know of any of my ancestors hailing from there, most of my ancestors immigrated to America from Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and England in the mid to late 1700's

It must have been a dark, depressing situation arriving in a strange place on a rainy day/night with no money in your pocket, your few belongings in your hand and not knowing where and if you will be allowed entry + find shelter/food/work. It is arriving in an unknown rainy town while traveling and no hotel booked times ten thousand.

Members of my family were denied entry in June of 1939 at Ellis Island after also being denied entry in Cuba. They went to Canada and again were denied entry. They finally wound up in Belgium and some of my relatives eventually made their way to the UK. Germany overran Belgium and sent many of those from the ship to concentration camps, where more than 250, who were turned away by the US Government, were murdered by the Nazis. If it were not for an organization called HIAS they would have never made it into England.

Geographical should cover Angel Island, which could be called Ellis Island’s darker cousin. Of particular interest are the walls within the immigrant housing (barracks) featuring poems carved into the wood. On top of that, Cold War missiles, a fort system protecting San Francisco Bay entrance, and a rich history of Native Californians.

Thank you .

I've been fortunate enough to visit the Ellis Island visitor center a couple of times. It's a fascinating place with an aura of history around it.

I'm a descendant of immigrants from the UK, Germany, and Russia. The ones from Germany came to escape Nazi persecution shortly after Kristallnacht. The ones from Russia came to escape Czarist pogroms. The ones from the UK came for less dire reasons but knew that there was more opportunity in America. I also have relatives everywhere from Australia to Israel to France in what is more or less a family diaspora.

I have enjoyed numerous episodes of the presentations by Simon Whistler, but this is an exceptional episode. Bravo!

My great grandparents on my father's side came through Ellis Island in 1905 and 1906. The settled in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

By way of contrast, I know my ancestors in North America, son to father, for 11 generations to 1670. I still don’t know where Richard Omohundro (no apostrophe) came from. My Bavarian ancestors also arrived before Ellis Island opened. I did find family on a trip through Europe. I hope people who find their “old country” at Ellis have opportunity to travel and find distant family!

My entire family pre-dates Ellis Island (all ancestors but one were here by 1850 and the last arrived in 1868) but I found it very moving when I visited.

My great grandfather and his 9 brothers and their Father came through Ellis Island. I don't remember the date but I believe it was late 19th century. They came over from Ireland. Their descendents make up a large portion of the sir name Donnelly in the US today. When I visited the island 20 years ago or so, we were able to find them listed on the wall of names of immigrants who came through there. I only wish that more US citizens realized the significant changes to immigration policy made over the last century. Entirely too many claim their ancestors came through legally using the system and hate on those who are getting screwed over by the very BROKEN system that exists today.

I am from New York and I have visited Ellis Island and lady liberty . Most of my family earlier history did not go through Ellis Island but I think some maybe did in latter in latter times . When I was a child in the 1970s no body could visit there . My only visit to Ellis Island in 2011 . I took my wife there to see it . My wife is not from the USA .

Ah man, I teared up when they said it was a museum! As an American it sometimes feels like we don't have any history worth remembering... I'm crying

Great episode!

My mother’s side of the family came from Poland through Ellis island pre world war 2. One had the last name stempianowski but it was changed to just stempian. My grandfathers family had the last name Isyk, which is a polish spelling of a Jewish last name. This made them targets had they stayed in Poland after nazi rule. Thank god they passed their medical exams.