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Archiver > TheShipsList > 2000-04 > 0955940547


From: "Kathy Woodside-Freiburg" <>
Subject: Re: [TSL] Re: Ellis Island (What about Hoboken, NJ?)
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 20:02:27 -0700


Regarding Ellis Island . . .
>From 1855 to 1890 Castle Garden was in operation. Until 1892 immigration
and the Port of New York was controlled by the State of New York. In the
Immigration Act of 1892, Congress transferred immigration and control of the
Port of NY to the Feds. Until 1890, the Feds contracted with the State to
jointly operate Castle Garden; prior to 1855 all the Ships' Masters simply
filed their passenger lists, etc with Customs and/or the Harbor Master. In
1890 the Feds claimed proprietary control over immigration and moved the
operations to the old Barge Office near the Custom House on Manhattan since
State authorities refused the Feds use of Castle Garden. In 1892, the Feds
opened Ellis Island. All of the Castle Garden records from 1855 to 1890
were transferred to the underground vault on Ellis Island which burned in
1897 with all of the station's buildings. The only surviving records are
passenger list abstracts received in Washington from the Customs Collector.
Hence, NYC port passenger lists only begin in 1897 when the Barge Office was
again pressed into service until Ellis Island was reopened in 1900.

(See http://members.tripod.com/~L_Alfano/immig.htm . This site has a nice
concise history of NY Immigration activities and Ellis Island.)

Now to my question . . . !
My husband's grandmother, Gertrude BECKER, insisted until her death that she
did not enter the country in 1903 from Germany through the Port of NY and
Ellis Island but, instead, came into America at Hoboken, NJ. At the time
she was a teenager travelling in company of a German priest who was
escorting her to her Uncle, an immigrant German priest, residing in
Pittsburgh, Allegheny, PA, there to assume duties as his housekeeper. I
don't know that any of this makes a difference but has anyone heard of
immigrants entering through Hoboken in 1903? If so, where might one begin
to search for records; passenger lists and/or ships, etc? I've tried the
NARA with no results.

Kathy Woodside-Freiburg
(or) mailto:
"Take a Stand and Make a Mark!"

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