Prior to 1820 statistics for immigration
into the United States were not officially recorded. Immigration
control was not even considered to be a Federal responsibility, and the
individual States handled immigration as they saw fit. by John Cofrancesco
with contributions by Pacifico Cofrancesco
Photo Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
In 1820 the federal Department of State began to keep official statistics, but there was still no federal control as such. During the period 1860-1865 National sentiments was favorable toward foreign immigration. Immigrants played an important part in our expanding need for labor, and in 1864 the importation of contract labor was sanctioned. This proved to be unpopular however and in 1868 the 1864 act was repealed.
This was the start of an anti-immigrant movement, because the States were seeing problems among the foreign born of pauperism, vagrancy, crime, and care for the insane, and they looked to the Federal government for assistance with the immigrant problem. In 1874 a Federal investigation found that foreign governments were deporting convicts, paupers, those with mental problems, and others who were not able to support themselves. In 1876 the Supreme Court ruled that all State laws regulating immigrants were unconstitutional, and that this was a Federal area of responsibility. However it was not until 1882 that the first Federal immigration law was enacted. A more comprehensive Act was passed in 1891 that, among other things, prohibited the immigration of people with certain mental problems or communicable diseases, provided for the deportation of those who might become a public charge, created an Office of Immigration in the Treasury Department, and required medical examination of arriving aliens by officers of the United States Marine Hospital Service.
The United States Marine Hospital Service had been established on July 16, 1798 when John Adams, the second President of the United States, signed the Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen. The Service was responsible for the medical care of seamen, including every officer and sailor of the United States Navy, and was authorized to construct and operate hospitals. It was natural therefore to place responsibly for medical examination and care of arriving immigrants with this Service in 1891 with the passage of expanded federal law. In the ensuing years the authority and responsibility of the Service was greatly expanded, and it was renamed the United States Public Health Service on August 14, 1912.
Italians immigrants on the cover of a popular Italian magazine (1901)
While there were a number of United States ports receiving immigrant ships, the port of New York was by far the biggest and busiest, and more Cofrancescos entered through New York than any other port.
The Port of New York (Currier & Ives print) in the 1850s
Castle Garden, which was then being used as a public cultural center
and theater, is in the center
Prior to 1855 there was no facility to receive immigrants. The captain simply presented his ship’s manifest to the Collector of Customs, the immigrants made a customs declaration similar to what is done today when US citizens return from outside this country, and that was it!
New York Immigrant Centers Timeline
1.
Castle Garden August 1, 1855
April 18, 1890
2.
Barge Office
April 19, 1890
December 31, 1891
3.
Ellis Isand 1
January 1, 1892
June 14, 1897
4.
Barge Office 2
June 15, 1897
December 16, 1900
5.
Ellis Island 2
December 17, 1900
Late 1956
Castle Garden
In 1855 the State of New York opened the first facility designed for
the processing of immigrants. It was Castle Garden, located on a small
island off the southwest tip of Manhattan. Its prior use was as a public cultural center and theater.
Subsequently
the space between the island and Manhattan was filled in and the Castle
Clinton National Monument now marks the site of Castle Garden.
Castle Garden was the first facility opened in the State of New York
for the processing of immigrants
As noted earlier the Supreme Court ruled in 1876 that immigration was a
federal responsibility, but the states continued to operate their own
immigration program until 1882 when the Federal Government began to
contract with the states to enforce the newly enacted Federal law. The
Secretary of the Treasury entered into a contract with the State of New
York to handle immigration at Castle Garden as a joint Federal/State
operation until 1890, when the Federal Government ended the contract
and assumed direct control. The State of New York refused to let the
Federal Government use Castle Garden so they established a temporary
facility in the old Barge Office.
While the Castle Garden facility was in operation 13 Cofrancescos entered the United States through this station. The first to enter was Raffaele (Raffael) Cofrancesco in 1881 while the station was under
direct State operation. The last to be processed there was Pietro
Cofrancesco (I1189) in early 1890 in the era of joint Federal/State
operation.
Castle Garden at the end
of the 19th century
Castle Garden, now Castle Clinton National Monument
The Barge Office No. 1
The Barge Office, located at the end of Whitehall Street near the
southeast tip of Manhattan, was in operation from April 18, 1890 until
December 31, 1891 when the newly constructed permanent facility on
Ellis Island was completed.
The Barge Office opened on April 18, 1890
While the Barge Office was in use 6
Cofrancescos were processed there. The first was Filippo Cofrancesco on
May 1, 1890 and the last was Anna Cofrancesco Sarro (I1194) with her
son Marco Sarro on December 30, 1891.
The Barge Office in an old print
Ellis Island No. 1
Ellis Island, which in reality was three small islands in Upper New
York Bay, owned by the Federal Government since 1808, was transferred
to the Immigration Service to be used for the site of a major facility
to receive and process immigrants. One island was used for an
administration building, a second for a very large general hospital,
and the third for a small communicable disease hospital. An annex for
mental patients was later built at the general hospital.
The first Ellis Island station (1892)
In the five and one half years that the original Ellis Island facility
was in operation 5 Cofrancescos passed through its halls. The first to arrive was Michele Cofrancescoon April 26, 1892 and the last was
Pasquale Cofrancesco (I1969) on June 8, 1896.
Walter Wyman, Surgeon General of the Marine Hospital Service took
charge of directing the medical inspection of all immigrants. He
detailed surgeons as inspectors at four ports; Baltimore, Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia. The new Ellis Island facility became operational on January 1, 1892.
Arriving immigrant ships continued to dock in New York. First and
second-class passengers were processed by immigration staff on board
ship but the third class (steerage) passengers were transferred to
barges that took them to Ellis Island. It was not unusual for more that
1000 immigrants to arrive daily. The senior surgeons taught the young
doctors on their staff how to separate on sight the victims of leprosy,
ringworm, and trachoma. They learned to detect diseases responsible for
epidemics; smallpox, plague, typhus, cholera, and yellow fever. They
also wrote letters or symbols on the immigrant’s clothing with chalk to
designate any medical problems.
Passengers who showed no obvious signs of mental or physical illness or
disease, and met all administrative requirements, were loaded back on
the barges for transfer to New York and admission to the United States.
Those not so fortunate were detained for further questioning and
examination. If problems were not resolved the individual could be
denied entrance to the United States, or for those with medical
problems, admitted to the general hospital or the communicable disease
facility. While admission to a hospital was a traumatic experience for
immigrants due to family separations and language difficulties, the
quality of medical care was good, and state of the art treatment was
provided. Many patients were admitted to the United States after
successful treatment, while others were deported.
There was great concern that immigrants suffering from a contagious
disease could start a major epidemic in the United States. In fact in
August of 1892 cholera started to appear among the steerage passengers
arriving at Ellis Island, and one death occurred. Surgeon General Wyman
blocked the importation of rags used to make paper because they could
carry the cholera organism, and ordered all ships and passengers to be
disinfected before they departed for this country. The public demanded
that all immigration be temporarily suspended until pre-departure
control mechanisms were in place, but it was found that there was no
law that could make this possible. However Surgeon General Wyman found
authority in the National Quarantine Act of April 29, 1878 to
quarantine arriving vessels for at least 20 days. Since no ship line
could afford to allow its vessels sit in the harbor for 20 or more days
before discharging their passengers, all shipping was disrupted. This
had the effect of stopping immigration for about 10 weeks. Thus the
possibility of a major cholera epidemic in the United States was
avoided.
On June 13, 1897 a major fire engulfed Ellis Island, burning the
original wooden buildings to the ground. It destroyed all
administrative records for Castle Garden from 1855 to 1890 as well as
most Barge Office and Ellis Island records. Fortunately copies of the
passenger lists were held by the Customs Collector, so many partial
records remained available.
Surgeon General
Walter Wyman
The Americans asked for laws restricting the access of immigrants
to the USA
The Barge Office No. 2
The Barge Office was again pressed into service from June 14, 1897 to
December 16, 1900 while the Ellis Island facility was being rebuilt.
During this period of time 22 Cofrancescos arrived. The first was
Alessandro Cofrancesco on April 19, 1897 and the last was Emilio
Cofrancesco (I1611) on October 3, 1900.
Ellis Island No. 2
Ellis Island No. 2 The Ellis Island Immigration Station was rebuilt
with brick and other fire resistant materials and reopened on December
17, 1900.
The second Ellis Island immigrant station
after the re-opening on December 17, 1900
It was used to process immigrants until July 1924. After this
date only those immigrants who were detained went to Ellis Island. The
majority of immigrants were processed on board ship.
"View of the interior of the main building, Ellis Island,
showing detention pens, and emigrants passing doctors
for examination, etc." (Original caption from an Ellis Island brochure)
After 1954 Ellis Island was not used for any immigration purposes, and fell into disrepair. In 1990 a program to preserve and restore the buildings was started. While much work remains to be done, some buildings have been restored and they are open to the public as a museum and visitors center.
More Cofrancescos
arrived here than all other immigration ports and stations combined.
During its lifetime 146 Cofrancescos were processed here. The first was
Raffaele Cofrancesco on April 5, 1901 and the last was Vincenzo
Cofrancesco on December 20, 1926.
Ellis Island plan with the structural development
from 1890-1935
In darker green the natural island.
Ellis Island today
DVD AND BOOK
Conway, Lorie Forgotten Ellis Island
This
DVD and book tell the extraordinary story of the hospital built on
Ellis Island and the immigrants who were examined and treated at the
facility. They include actual interviews with elderly immigrants who
tell in their own words their experiences on the Island.
To read about or purchase this DVD and book click on:
Boston Harbor was not a main port of entry for immigrants until the
Irish Potato famine of 1847 brought a wave of Irish immigrants. By 1875
Boston was second only to New York as a port of entry. By 1900 the
Irish immigrants waned and the Italians predominated. The first
Italians to arrive were the Genovesi, who were merchants selling
foodstuffs. The Southern Italians who started to arrive late in the
19th century displaced them. The immigrants arrived and were processed
at Long Wharf. An excerpt from a letter written by George B. Billings
in 1909 provides a comparison of the immigration process between New
York and Boston, with a description of the facilities in Boston.
The Long Wharf as it appeared in 1927
"One of the great
advantages Boston is supposed to have over New York - - and one which
is widely advertised by the steamship companies of this port, is the
fact that incoming passengers are not obliged to go to one central
point like Ellis Island. To illustrate this point, for instance:
Passengers arriving on incoming vessels at the port of New York - -
this is, steerage passengers - - after arrival at the dock are conveyed
on barges to Ellis Island, entailing quite a delay in procuring baggage
and being conveyed across the bay to the Island. After passing the
inspection on the Island those passengers who are discharged and
destined to Western points must be again transported on these
flatboats, or barges to the various railroad docks. Not only does this
consume a great amount of time, but it is not at all relished by the
passengers. Here, the conditions are deemed much better. Upon the
arrival of a vessel at Boston the steerage passengers are landed at the
dock, inspected, and those detained given a hearing before the Board of
Special Inquiry. Those still detained by the Board are conveyed to the
Immigration Station at Long Wharf, while those admitted either at the
primary inspection or at the first Board hearing, walk out into another
part of the steamship dock where they receive their baggage and
directly proceed to the city proper or suburbs, excepting those
passengers bound for the West. These, right there on the dock are
placed aboard special trains, or cars, as the occasion demands,
regulated by the number of people, and proceed directly to the West."
Letter from George B. Billings,
Department of Commerce and Labor, Immigration Service, Boston to the
Commissioner-General of Immigration, Washington, D.C. on May 11, 1909,
accessed NARA, Northeast Region, Waltham, MA, August, 2008
Fourteen Cofrancescos arrived in the United States by way of Boston.
The first to arrive was Silvestro Cofrancesco (I1533) on March 13, 1906
and the last was Erminio Cofrancesco (I0322) on August 20, 1920.
The Shawmut Peninsula of early Boston had many wharves that jutted out into the Harbor like fingers.
Long Wharf, as its name implies, was the longest of those wharves.
In the 18th century Philadelphia was a very important immigrant port. In the 19th century New York was becoming the Nations chief port of immigration. One reason for this was ice. The waterways used to reach Philadelphia froze over in winter while New York remained accessible year round. Also it took longer for trans-Atlantic ships to reach Philadelphia, compared with New York and the approach was more hazardous, particularly for sailing vessels.
Docks of the Philadelphia harbor
Never-the–less by the late 19th century and the advent of more seaworthy steamships, there was a re-growth of immigrant ship traffic and Philadelphia resumed its place as the 4th largest immigrant port. In the 19th century small groups of Italians from Northern Italy moved into South Philadelphia. However it was not until after the Risorgimento before large numbers of immigrants began to arrive. By 1900 there were 45,000 immigrants. This was the third largest Italian community after New York and Brooklyn.
Only two Cofrancescos arrived at the Port of Philadelphia. They were Giovanni Cofrancesco
and Alfonsina Cofrancesco (father and daughter?) on September 4, 1913.
The difficult route from the Atlantic Ocean to Philadelphia Harbor