By 1901 the steamship company was required to provide a manifest that showed: full name, age, sex, married or single, occupation, able to read and or write, nationality, last residence, seaport of arrival, destination in the US, whether having a ticket to final destination, who paid passage, amount of cash, relative in US, whether ever in US before, whether ever imprisoned or in an alms house, whether a polygamist, whether under contract to perform labor in US, condition of health (mental and physical).

When the ship arrived in New York Harbor first and cabin passengers and any US citizens in steerage were discharged on the pier. The rest were taken by barges to Ellis Island where they were divided into groups based on the ship's manifest. Each immigrant was questions to verify that his or her answered were in agreement with the manifest. If the answers matched the immigrant was released. If they did not match he or she was brought before a board of inquiry.

The cleared immigrants who were not remaining in New York City waited in a room on the first level until the railroad agents arrived to forward them to their final destination.

Released Italians Awaiting the Boat for New York

(Left) Just From Holland - (Right) A Polish Woman

Waiting in one of the Railway Detention Rooms

In the Detention Pen

Men sho will be deported as not desirable

A Typical Italian Family

Note the tags around their necks.

Peasants from Norway on the Roof Awaiting Deportation

Young Irishmen Ready for Politics

Russian Jews

Dutch Peasants

Mother, son daughter-in-law and grandchild come to make a home in the West.

Swedish Girls on Their Way to Wisconsin

On Ellis Island

Polish women going from a barge to the immigration building.

Coming To A New Land In Her Old Age

Until Her Friends Arrive

Immigrants Showing Their Credentials

At the Gate of the New World : American Immigration

Immediately upon arrival in New York harbour aliens are taken direct to the United States Immigration Office in Ellis Island, where they undergo a rigid examination before being permitted to pass through the gates into the New World. Thumb-marks are taken, and with names, heights and weights, are recorded for the immigration index."

Harmsworth History of the World

Examining The Eyes of Would-Be American Citizens

Waiting Their Turn : A Typical Batch of Alien Immigrants

The Book of History: The United States. Canada. Newfoundland. The West Indies

A Russian Jew

Irish Types

Hungarian Types

Italians

A German

A Native of Poland

Joseph Stella was born in Potenza, Italy in 1877. According to his naturalization papers he immigrated to New York City March 1, 1896 on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse from Naples. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse II arrived in New York from Naples, Genova and Gibraltar on March 5, 1896. The manifest is damage and most of it is illegible. Joseph Stella died in 1946.

Scotch - Swedish - Irish

Greek - German - English

Italian - Spanish/American - Spanish

French - Jewish - Cuban

Syrian - Moorish - Chinese

Macedonian - Albanian- Arab

Slovak - Polish - Bulgarian

Russian - Finnish - Dutch

Many of the immigrants who arrived in New York went on to live in the tenements of the Lower East Side. For more information on and images of life in the tenements, go to New York City Tenement life

Many of the immigrants who arrived in New York, such as several of my ancestors, left from the German port of Bremen. For images of and information on Bremen go to Bremer/Bremerhaven

For pictures of the Immigration Experience go to Immigration