Friday, September 25, 2015

Ellis Island Portraits: 1906-1912

Ellis Island closed in 1954, but not before they processed 12 million immigrants. In 1907 almost one million immigrants were processed - or about 2,700 people each day.

The chief registry clerk at Ellis Island was Augustus Francis Sherman. He was an amateur photographer and had access to the immigrants where were temporarily detained on Ellis Island for various reasons. He was able to persuade some of the immigrants to pose for his camera, many of them in national dress. You can see a collection of some of these photographs online at http://mashable.com/2015/09/07/ellis-island-portraits/.

It is a fascinating look into the faces of people flocking to this country in search of a better life.  Who knows, you might spot one of your own ancestors among them!


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