Know Them at a Glance: Immigrants at Castle Garden

Without a doubt the most common myth in immigrant genealogy is the name change at Ellis Island. Family stories usually include the notion that staff at Ellis Island could not communicate effectively with confused immigrants. When asked for their names, the immigrants might say something odd and the Ellis Island staff member, not knowing any better, would say, "That will be your name from now on!" 

The immigrant, not knowing any better, would keep the newly assigned name in perpetuity [I do find it interesting that the communication was bad enough to generate new names, but good enough that immigrants understood they had to keep their new American names!].

I cannot count the times I have had to try to dispel this myth with those who heard it from their grandmother or grandfather. I am never quite sure I have been successful. Many people just do not want to believe that Zeidie did not tell the truth about how and when the family name was changed.

We do know that passenger manifests were created by shipping company clerical staff at ports of embarkation and that information for each immigrant was provided when tickets were purchased - whether in the United States, in the immigrant's hometown, or at the port of embarkation. 

Ellis Island staff were told to check information with the immigrant. They were not authorized to change any information on the manifests provided by the shipping companies. I have read that about 45 languages were represented among the Ellis Island staff. And since the staff knew which ships from which ports were to dock on a particular day, the processing center would have had staff with the appropriate skills on hand. 

A couple of days ago I searched for historic articles about immigration on some newspaper websites and located the following 1889 article from the Beverly Citizen on Genealogy Bank.

This article talks about Castle Garden, the precursor to Ellis Island (which opened in 1892). Castle Garden, run by authorities in New York, was known as chaotic place. Ellis Island, a federal facility, was designed to remedy some Castle Garden short-comings as a processing center. So, it is safe to assume that Ellis Island actually improved the processing and experience of immigrants as depicted in this article.

Citizen (Beverly, Massachusetts), 30 November 1889, p. 3; image, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 29 January 2017).

His name was changed at Ellis Island!

I have found a name change on an Ellis Island manifest. Yes, I know I have written about how names were definitely not changed at Ellis Island. I have spoken to groups and explained why name changes could not have occurred at Ellis Island.[1] So, what can we make of these two associated emigration records?

My grandmother's first cousin, David, traveled from Hamburg and arrived in New York in 1907 as "Duvid Wenkert." This is a portion of the manifest developed in Hamburg by the shipping line. The red arrow points to his name on the image.

"Hamburger Passengierlisten, 1850-1934," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 May 2014), manifest, S.S. Amerika, Hamburg to New York, departing 31 October 1907, line 1111, David Wenkert (image 267 of 286); citing Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 195; Page: 2829; Microfilm No.: K_1802.

 

Name detail from Hamburg manifest

Prior to his voyage to New York, Duvid Wenkert, 17, had been living in Uscieczko, Galicia, Austrian Empire (today, Ustechko, Ukraine).

Town detail from Hamburg manifest

The first page of his Ellis Island manifest, however, is a bit different. The red arrow points to the location for the same passenger.
   

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Amerika, Hamburg to New York, arriving 10 November 1907, list 37, line 8, Duvid Ett, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715.

Name detail from Ellis Island manifest

The names before and after this entry were the same on both the Hamburg and the Ellis Island manifests: Adam...Markus...Abram...David...Peter. This is definitely the entry for the same passenger, also from Uscieczko, on the Hamburg list.

Town and closest relative detail from Ellis Island manifest

 

In the name column a surname starting with the letter W had been obscured and "Ett" written in its place. The previously written first name was also blocked out and "Duvid" was written in its place. 

Marian L. Smith from United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) prepared (along with Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien) a JewishGen InfoFile regarding the meanings of markings one may find on manifest records: "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations."[2] 

Under the section heading "In the Name Column..." Smith provides clues regarding the possible meanings of markings found in the manifest column where passenger names are located. Names may have been clarified by a steamship company clerk prior to departure (in this case, unlikely, since the Hamburg manifest was not also changed); by a ship's purser while the ship was at sea, or by an immigration inspector at Ellis Island. It seems that usually this kind of change resulted in a line through the original name and alternative names or spellings written above or next to the original name. I have found this with, for example, a manifest page with Raya and Leja Grinfeld, a detail of which is shown, below.[3] 

Detail from Raya and Leja Grinfeld manifest

The complete blacking out of the name in Duvid Wenkert's case, does not seem to track with this explanation.

Smith goes on to explain more deliberate name changes (as this one seems to be). A more official correction could have been effected.  This may have included official paperwork perhaps associated with David's naturalization process.[4] Since David Ett's name did not match the name under which he immigrated, he may have applied for a correction of the passenger list. Once approved, a government clerk would officially correct the record by crossing out the old name and writing in the new one.

Of particular interest is the code written above his name on the Ellis Island manifest: VL 151 Leg 223291. According to Smith, the VL stands for "verification of landing." This could have been done if David had requested proof of legal admission to the United States. Unfortunately, the files created during this verification no longer survive. 

But it is interesting, knowing David Ett's military record and convoluted path to citizenship, to consider why and when such verification may have occurred. In summary, he first declared his intent to naturalize on 17 September 1912.[5] Based on his World War I military service (aborted by the federal government because he was from Austria - an ally of Germany), he applied for expedited citizenship on 16 December 1927.[6] That petition was rejected since he had been deemed an enemy alien and removed from military service. On 18 July 1939, he was finally granted citizenship.[7] So, David's landing record may have been verified during his several attempts at naturalization, or associated with his aborted military service.

In a typical naturalization procedure for those who'd arrived after 1906, the information David provided in his declaration of intention (first papers) would have been checked against his manifest stored at his port of entry - Ellis Island.  

We do know from another marking on his manifest (near the occupation column) that his manifest was checked in both 1936 and 1938. 

These checks were associated with his 1939 petition. According to the Smith's Manifest Markings section "In the occupation column," the number starting with 2 would indicate that the processing office had been in New York City. 

The 6-17-36 (corrected from 6-16-36) corresponds to the date his Certificate of Arrival was issued.

But also note that his name on the Certificate of Arrival is shown as Duvid Ett. So, the V.L. check and the complete blacking out of his name occurred before the Certificate of Arrival was issued.

David Ett's 1939 petition does indicate a change of name from Wenkert to Ett. 

Detail from David Ett's Petition for Naturalization [7]

I do not know if additional paperwork may exist in his C-File at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (something I may have to check).

It is also interesting to consider why David arrived as Duvid Wenkert in the first place. Names on manifests reflect the name given when steamship companies sold their tickets for a voyage.[8] On column 15 of his Ellis Island manifest, David indicated that he'd purchased his ticket himself. 

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, at the time David was born, required that marriages be registered with civil authorities. If religious marriages were not registered with the civil authorities, children born of those unions would be considered illegitimate and children's surnames would, for official purposes, be that of their mothers.[9]  

The second page of the Ellis Island record indicates that David had been born in Tluste (now Tovste, Ukraine). While we do not have birth records from Tluste, I do have a birth record for David's younger sister, Jutte in 1894 in Skole. That record indicates that Jutte's parents were married only in a religious (not a civil) ceremony. Her mother was Perl Wenkert and her father Leib Heth [Ett].[10]

Perl Wenkert Ett died in 1895 in Skole. Her husband's name on her death record was Hersch Leib Ett.[11] On the Ellis Island manifest, David's father is identified as Leib Wenkert of Uscieczko. It appears that on the manifest, Leib was given the surname that matched his son's. Wenkert was, in fact, his wife's maiden name.

So, David Ett's name was likely changed at Ellis Island. Exactly when he changed his name from his mother's surname to his father's, is a good question. Based upon what we know about the procedures of processing immigrants as they arrived at Ellis Island, it is unlikely that his manifest record was altered from Wenkert to Ett at that time. But, it was definitely changed, in an unequivocal fashion, sometime later.

Notes:

1. Vincent Cannato and Marian L. Smith state a strong cases for this conclusion. Vincent J. Cannato, American Passage: The History of Ellis Island, (New York: Harper, 2010), pp.402-403. Marian L. Smith, "American names: declaring independence," Immigration Daily, ILW.com (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0808-smith.shtm : accessed 28 May 2014).

2. Marian L. Smith with the assistance of Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien, "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations," JewishGen.org (http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Manifests/ : accessed 28 May 2014).
3. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 June 2012), manifest, George Washington, Bremen to New York, arriving 5 December 1921, list 8, Raya and Leja Grinfeld, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715.
4. Marian L. Smith with the assistance of Elise Friedman, Flora Gursky, and Eleanor Bien, "Manifest Markings: A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations," JewishGen.org.
5. Kings County, New York, Kings County Supreme Court, digital images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 August 2013), Declaration of Intent, number 27049, vol. 55, page 49, David Ett, 17 September 1912.   
6. "New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 July 2009), Petition for Naturalization for David Ett, 16 December 1927, New York, citing United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, National Archives and records Administration Series M1972, Roll 551.
7. U. S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York, Petition for Naturalization number 259528, David Ett, 18 July 1939.
8.  Marian L. Smith, "American names: declaring independence," Immigration Daily, ILW.com.
9. Wynne, Suzan F. The Galitzianers: The Jews of Galicia, 1772-1918, Wheatmark: 2006, p. 59.
10. Stanislawow Wojewodztwa, Skole, Birth Record for Jutte Ett, 21 January 1894;  "Jewish Metrical Books, Town of Skole Deaths 1878-80 & 1883-1903," Fond 300, Sygnatura 1149, Akta 6, Archiwum Giowne Akt Dawnych (Central Archives of Historical Records), Warsaw, Poland.
11. Stanislawow Wojewodztwa, Skole, Death Record for Perl Wenkart Ett, 17 August 1895; "Jewish Metrical Books, Town of Skole Deaths 1889-1895," Fond 300, Year 1895, Sygnatura 1871, Akta 47, Archiwum Giowne Akt Dawnych (Central Archives of Historical Records), Warsaw, Poland.

Dear Abby, Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Name...

Will it never end?! Now we have Dear Abby perpetuating the myth that immigrants had their names changed by clerks at Ellis Island. [1]

I read the newspaper nearly from front to back each morning, but I usually don't even scan Dear Abby. This morning, however, the headline for the column caught my eye "Grandfather wants groom to change name." 

The question is a contemporary one regarding a grandfather who objects to his grand daughter's fiance's surname and is exerting pressure to have him change it. It is Abby's answer that continues the damage.

She describes the name changes that accompanied immigration a century ago and opines that while some people changed their names to Americanize and/or escape discrimination, others "had it done 'for' them by government officials" who didn't understand the pronounced names and, apparently, decided to wing it. [Yikes!]

Several researchers have already written about this myth so I will only summarize. [2] Many surnames and first names were altered with immigration. But it is likely that this was the result of personal choice and occurred after arrival, not as a result of big government ignorance or an American sense of superiority.

The fact is that manifests were created near or at ports of departure and not in the United States. [3] Clerks at Ellis Island checked the information on manifests, but did not change names. [4] The clerical staff at Ellis Island represented skills in more than 30 languages. Interpreters were available help emigrants upon arrival.

In my family I have relatives who arrived with their European names and never changed them (Garber and Liebross). I have others who changed their names after arrival (Mazewitsky --> Morris; Malzmann --> Myers; Wilensky --> Wilson). With subsequent chain migration, their loved ones sometimes followed under the new family name. Likely this was because the first family immigrant bought the tickets for the rest of the family.

One has to wonder how this myth arose and why it persists. There is an interesting article by Dara Horn in the Summer 2010 issue of Azure. She's analyzed the persistent name change myth against Jewish history. If one doesn't have the patience to read through the entire article and its discussion of Spanish and Polish Jewish history, after reading the first few paragraphs, skip down about half way through the article to get back to the Ellis Island discussion.  

I find this fascinating, but question whether the myth is really only Jewish. Other immigrant families seem to have embraced the same story. What do you think? Why did this Ellis Island name change myth start? and, why has it persisted?

Notes:
1. Van Buren, Abigail (Jeanne Phillips), Dear Abby, syndicated column appearing in the Arizona Republic, 13 May 2013, page D6.
2. A selection of online posts:

http://genealogy.about.com/od/ellis_island/a/name_change.htm
http://www.genealogy.com/88_donna.html

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/04/no-family-names-were-not-changed-at-ellis-island.html

http://blog.mocavo.com/2012/09/the-myth-of-ellis-island

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/lesson8_text.html

Even better, read Marian Smith of the USCIS History Department:

http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/imm_names.htm#changing_names

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0808-smith.shtm

3. Sack-Pikus, Sallyann Amdur.  “Just How Were Passenger Manifests Created?” Avotaynu XXV: 1 (Spring 2009), 7-12. 

4. Colletta, John P. They Came in Ships, third edition. Orem, Utah: Ancestry 2002, pages 127-128.

They arrived at Ellis Island . . . or maybe not

Ellis Island from Trevor Harmon on Vimeo.

This video about the current temporary closure of Ellis Island, part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, while Hurricane Sandy repairs are effected, got me thinking about some other times since Ellis Island opened (1 January 1892) when immigrants might have entered the United States through the Port of New York, but not through Ellis Island. It is important to check the dates immigrants arrived and their cabin class.

15 June 1897 - 16 December 1900: 

Original wood Ellis Island Immigrant Processing depot

If an immigrant arrived at the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924 when Ellis Island was open as an immigrant inspection station, the only clue the intrepid genealogist has for determining whether an immigrant actually experienced Ellis Island is the date of arrival shown on the manifest.

On 15 June 1897, shortly after midnight, a fire started in the main building of the first Ellis Island processing facility, within two hours reducing the wood buildings to ashes. [1] [2]

Miraculously, no lives were lost. There had been 222 people sleeping in the detention area. They were roused from sleep and ferried to the Barge Office on the southern tip of Manhattan. 

Charitable organizations provided clothing for immigrants who'd lost their belongings. For several days, the Barge Office was used as quarters for the immigrants until other lodging could be found. Immigrants on incoming ships were examined and discharged on board. 

Barge Office, circa 1901 [3]

Congress appropriated money to build new fire-proof buildings and the government commenced the process of rebuilding. During that time, the Barge Office was pressed into service, as it had previously (19 April 1890 - 31 December 1891) when the first Ellis Island facility was under construction. It was not until 17 December 1900 that Ellis Island was again open for service. 

My Liebross relatives who arrived in New York on 1 July 1898 were likely processed at the Barge Office, not Ellis Island. Only the date of arrival on the manifest is my clue.

Second Class

A cousin of mine noted that her mother, my great aunt Feigah Garber Buchman, always said that when she'd arrived in New York in 1922, she didn't go through Ellis Island. I was glad my cousin mentioned that tiny mystery because is forced me to go back and take another look at her mother Feigah's manifest.

While "second class" today has the denotation of sub-standard, in the case of the throngs coming through the Port of New York, second class meant higher class (i.e., better treatment). First and second class passengers were given cursory inspection for entry to the United States onboard ship. When the ship docked at the pier, first and second class passengers (i.e., those who had no legal issues) were allowed to disembark, pass through customs and be on their way. The thought was that these apparently more affluent passengers were less likely to become public burdens. [4] Steerage or third class passengers, however, were ferried to Ellis Island for medical and legal inspection.

My relatives, Feigah and her brother Aron, were the last of the Garber siblings to emigrate. Their older siblings must have decided to upgrade their fares. Feiga and Aron traveled second class aboard the Lapland to New York Harbor. [5] 

Second page of the manifest. Note "SECOND-CABIN PASSENGERS ONLY"

In this case, the manifest provides the answer. On the second page (see above, circled in red) it indicates that this particular sheet was for "Second-Cabin Passengers Only." [6]

So, look closely at relative's manifest pages. One may learn that an immigrant's arrival might have been a bit different than imagined. 

Notes:
1. "The Ellis Island Blaze," The Herald-Tribune (New York, New York), 16 June 1897, page 5; digital image, Genealogy Bank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 4 March 2013).
2. Cannato, Vincent J. American Passage: The History of Ellis Island (New York: Harper Perennial, 2010), 107f.
3. Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, "Barge Office, New York" digital image, circa 1900, (http://www.loc.gov/pictures : accessed 27 February 2013).
4. http://www.ellisisland.org/genealogy/ellis_island_history.asp
5. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7 February 2009), manifest, Lapland, Antwerp to New York, arriving 2 April 1922, list 7, Feiga and Aron Garber, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial T715.  
6. I have not found information specific to second class accomodation on the White Star Line's S.S. Lapland in 1922, however, this link provides an idea of second class  acomodations on the S.S. Majestic in 1922. I believe the Majestic was probably a bit fancier than the Lapland at that time.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Liebross Family Manifest

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 May 2009), manifest, Britannic, Liverpool to New York, arriving 1 July 1898, Libros, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 25; Lines: 20-28; Page Number: 2.

Early on in my family history work (circa B.A., i.e., Before I had an Ancestry subscription), it was this record that made me start to think that one must have a knack for success at this genealogy stuff. Liebross is one of those surnames that make genealogists salivate: it's unusual. But, it's also been spelled every which way and can be a challenge to find.[1] As I struggled through the Ellis Island database seeking Liebross, I started to get creative. I tried several variations and then "Libros." Bingo!

It looked like the bugs got there before the microfilm photographer. There were no longer any first names on this portion of the manifest.

Surname: Libros
Ages: 30, 10, 9, 8, 7, and 5. It was clear there had been more children listed, but that portion of the page was gone.
Nationality: Galicia
Last Residence: Radautz 
Final Destination: New York
Person who paid for their tickets: husband
Relative would they join in the USA: Husband (and father) Leiser Libros, New York

I knew there had been 8 children in the Leiser and Breindel Liebross family. Only 5 were visible. The 10 year old was about the correct age to be the oldest child, my grandmother Tillie. But this was no easy call. Yes, it looked right, but considering the paucity if information, one could not be certain.

About a  year later I was able to confirm that this record did, indeed, record the arrival of Bertha (Breindel) Leibross and her children. Lucky for us, they'd started their trans-Atlantic voyage from Liverpool. Find My Past held two images of manifest pages for the Britannic kept in the United Kingdom. All the family except the youngest child, Irving (listed on another page of the manifest as Isaac) were on one page with names and ages listed. [2] [3]

Breindel Libross, Tovi, Regina, Marcus, Sigmunt, Hermann, Janos, Zila

Breindel (30), Tovi (10), Regina (9), Marcus (8), Sigmunt (7), Hermann (5) Janos (3), Zila (4)

It is an interesting list, however, since it is the only indication we have, thus far, of the names that they went by in Radautz when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The main language in Bucovina area at that time was German. Breindel became Bertha in the United States; Tovi - Tillie; Regina - Rose; Marcus - Max; Sigmunt - Sidney; Hermann - Harry; Janos - Joseph Jerome; and Zila - Celia. Isaac became Irving.

One other interesting note: the family was processed for immigration at the Barge Office, not Ellis Island. On 15 June 1897, the buildings at Ellis Island suffered a devastating fire. The old Barge Office (which had been used for a short time previously as an immigrant processing center) was pressed into service until Ellis Island was reopened 0n 19 December 1900.

Notes:
1. Over the years of research I've located 24 different spellings of the name. 
2. The UK, at that time did not require the same depth of information on their manifests that the United States did. The British pretty much listed names and ages and not much else. But, in this case, it was all I needed! 
3. "Passenger List Leaving the UK, 1890-1960," digital images, FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 1 January 2009), manifest, Britannic, Liverpool to New York, departing 22 June 1898, Breindel, Tovi, Regina, Marsus, Sigmunt, Hermann, Janos, and Zila Liebross, citing The National Archives, London England; page 2, ticket number 24282.
"Passenger List Leaving the UK, 1890-1960," digital images, FindMyPast.com (http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 1 January 2009), manifest, Britannic, Liverpool to New York, departing 22 June 1898, Isaac Liebross, citing The National Archives, London England; page 3, ticket number 17724.