Ellis Island was an unforgettable destination in world history, though it may be less famous now outside of New York City and the United States. It is estimated that over twelve million people entered the U.S. through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.
Ellis Island will always be more than a museum alone: it is a symbol of the bright American dream. As well as the stories of those who crossed the ocean to pursue a better life, there is an ongoing genealogy an dual citizenship myth.
According to legend, people working at the Ellis Island immigration inspection stations were unfamiliar with different cultures and nationalities. They tended to make changes to the names and details of some immigrants.
Many immigrants changed their names themselves to what they imagined were American-sounding names. On arrival at Ellis Island this further confused the name issue when their “new” name did not match the name on the ship manifest. The Ellis Island employee often just assigned a new name rather than try to figure out a difficult one. The immigrant therefore arrived with a new American name.
Many immigrants also arrived in the US with a new birthdate because the inspectors liked to assign Christmas Day (December 25) as their American birthdate.
We will never know exactly how much of this confusion was created by the inspectors and how much by the immigrants themselves. What we do know is that this helps to confuse everyone who looks to Ellis Island records for answers about their own family history!
MY LAWYER IN ITALY®‘s team of English-speaking attorneys and document specialists will help you find a way through if you do find the Ellis Island legend gets in your way.
Read more articles on our website:
- Italian American Dual Citizenship: most common problems and how to overcome them
- The Minor Case: which Italian Dual Citizenship petitions are getting rejected?