gateway to America Imagine leaving the only home you have ever known You get on the biggest boat you have ever seen For weeks you live on that boat as you travel across the ocean seeing nothing but water A Russian family aboard a steamship headed to America The steamship Prinzess Irene arriving in New York 4
Finally you hear people calling Land Everyone is excited You rush up onto the ship’s deck and see the shore Many tall buildings stand along the water But your eyes are fixed on a large stone and brick building right in front of you You have arrived at Ellis Island the Gateway to America Over the next few hours you will be poked and prodded People will ask you many questions Finally if you are lucky you will be free to go You are in America now And whether you are alone or with your family you know this is the start of a brand new life IT’S A FACT Almost 40 percent of Americans today had at least one ancestor pass through Ellis Island For millions of Americans between 1892 and 1954 Ellis Island was the first thing they saw when they came to America This building was a place of many hopes and dreams It is an important part of American history 5
sam ellis and his island Before the immigrants came Ellis Island was just a tiny strip of mud and clay a mile south of New York City Native Americans called it Gull Island because seagulls nested there In 1634 Native Americans sold Gull Island to the Dutch West India Company The island had several owners after that Finally in 1775 a British merchant named Samuel Ellis bought the island He named the island after himself Sam Ellis caught fish and oysters in the waters around the island Ellis Island today 6
In 1785 Sam Ellis moved to New Jersey A few years later he gave the U S government permission to build a fort on his island After Sam Ellis died the island was sold to New York State Finally in 1810 New York State sold the island to the U S government IT’S A FACT Sam Ellis sided with the British during the American Revolution After the British lost the war Sam was not very popular in New York City so he moved to New Jersey instead 7
