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From: Herbert Lazerow <>
Subject: [Phly-Rts] letter from Fannie and immigration procedures
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 10:12:13 -0700
References: <mailman.519.1315465241.1682.philly-roots@rootsweb.com>
In-Reply-To: <mailman.519.1315465241.1682.philly-roots@rootsweb.com>


<A letter to Adele Kite Stockham Ayres (wife of Edward Clifford Ayres) from
Fannie Bockius Fitzgerald Stockham and her sister-in-law Adele Annie Kite
STOCKHAM. They were both widows while young, and traveled together via Ellis
Island overseas. Any insights welcomed!>
Three comments.
It does not appear that this letter was sent to Adele, as the letter says that "Aunt Dell" was with her on the trip.
It is unlikely that these people ever set foot on Ellis Island. Ellis Island was for steerage passengers. A steamer incoming to New York would pick up a pilot and customs inspector off Sandy Hook. The customs inspector would process the cabin class passengers while the pilot brought the ship through Upper New York Bay and into the Hudson River to its berth at a dock on the west side of Manhattan. The cabin class passengers would then be discharged onto the dock. One suspects from the rest of the letter that Fannie and Adele were cabin class passengers. Then the steerage passengers were loaded onto a ferry and brought back down through the harbor for processing at Ellis Island. If you just look at the immigration manifest, you get no clue about this, and the Ellis Island website lists all passengers arriving at the port of New York during the relevant time period, whether they actually went through Ellis Island or not.
Like another writer, I am interested in the date of the letter. It appears that the Biddles were sufficiently concerned about their comfort or the unavailability of cars in Europe that they brought their own Packard with them on the transatlantic voyage (and presumably on the return).
Bert
Herbert Lazerow
Professor of Law and Director,
Institute on Int'l & Comparative Law
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego CA 92110-2492 U.S.A.
+1(619)260-4597, fax +1(619)260-2230



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