Interesting Facts About Ellis Island

1. It was originally called “Gibbet Island” which was a reference to the gallows used to execute pirates, criminals, and mutinous sailors on it. After the last hanging in 1839, it took the name of its last private owner –  Samuel Elllis.
2. The first immigrants were processed on Ellis Island on Jan. 1, 1892. The ship carried 124 immigrants.  The first ashore was a teenage named Annie Moore.  She crossed the Atlantic from Ireland with her younger brothers.  They came to reunite with their parents.  There is a statue of the trio in the museum today.
3. Ships actually landed at Manhattan because of the shallow waters around Ellis Island. First and second class passengers were given a cursory exam and allowed into the city.  Steerage passengers were taken by boat to Ellis Island.  You might bribe an official for $1 or $2 to be treated like a first class passenger.
4. On Ellis Island, potential entrants were given a brief physical exam. Those that were red-flagged were marked with chalk and sent for a more stringent exam.  People with contagious diseases, poor physiques, simple-mindedness, or insanity were disapproved.  Criminals and people with low morals were deported also.  But only about 2% were sent back to their home countries.
5. Contrary to myth, names were not forcibly changed by immigration officials. Some immigrants voluntarily changed their own names before leaving home or after arriving at Ellis Island.
6. The island was used as a detention center in both world wars. In WWI, it was used of suspected enemy aliens.  In WWII, Nazi sympathizers were detained there.
7. It was phased out in the 1920’s as immigration was greatly restricted. By the time the last processing was done in 1924, over 12 million immigrants had come in through it.  By 1925, it was mainly being used as a detention and deportation center.  Communists and radicals were commonly kept there until it was closed in 1954.
8. Attempts to sell the island to private developers failed. It was fixed up and reopened as a tourist attraction in 1976.
9. It is estimated that around 40% of Americans today can trace their ancestry to Ellis Island.
10. The dining room could sit 1,000.
11. The peak year was 1907 when 1,004,756 came in.

https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-ellis-island

https://www.softschools.com/facts/us_national_landmarks/ellis_island_facts/779/

New York Public Library