Century Old Photos of Ellis Island Immigrants Show What They Left Behind

Today almost a 100 million Americans can trace back their ancestry to Ellis Island immigrants.
Century Old Photos of Ellis Island Immigrants Show What They Left Behind
A family of seven sons and one daughter, country o origin unknown, 1904. (Sherman, Augustus F. /NYPL)
Ingrid Longauerová
4/22/2016
Updated:
9/23/2016
From 1892  to 1954, Ellis Island saw over 12 million immigrants pass through its inspection station. The first person to go through was a 17-year-old Irish girl on Jan. 1, 1892. But many got stuck on the island, waiting for money, an escort, or a transportation ticket. 
 
Personal stories of these American wannabes inspired the amateur photographer Augustus Sherman. As Ellis Island’s office clerk, he had a unique opportunity to capture immigrants in their national dress. Most of the immigrants were Europeans that had left home because of financial deprivation or persecution.
 
 
During years 1906 to 1914, Sherman created unique portraits that were just recently rediscovered.
 
Today almost a 100 million Americans can trace back their ancestry to Ellis Island immigrants. What their stories were is left unanswered.
 
 
Russian Cossacks, 1906. (NYPL)
Russian Cossacks, 1906. (NYPL)
 
Ruthenian (Ukrainian) woman, 1906. (NYPL)
Ruthenian (Ukrainian) woman, 1906. (NYPL)
 
Albanian soldier, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
Albanian soldier, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
 
German stowaway, 1911. (NYPL)
German stowaway, 1911. (NYPL)
 
Algerian man, c1910. (NYPL)
Algerian man, c1910. (NYPL)
 
Slovak women. (NYPL)
Slovak women. (NYPL)
 
Bavarian man, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
Bavarian man, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
 
Danish man from Svendberg, 1909. (NYPL)
Danish man from Svendberg, 1909. (NYPL)
 
Dutch women, circa 1910. (NYPL)
Dutch women, circa 1910. (NYPL)
 
Romanian piper, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
Romanian piper, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
 
17-year-old Hindu boy, 1911. (NYPL)
17-year-old Hindu boy, 1911. (NYPL)
 
Lapland children, possibly from Sweden, circa 1910. (NYPL)
Lapland children, possibly from Sweden, circa 1910. (NYPL)
 
Three women from Guadeloupe. (NYPL)
Three women from Guadeloupe. (NYPL)
 
Sami woman from Finland, 1905. (NYPL)
Sami woman from Finland, 1905. (NYPL)
 
Norwegian woman, 1906-1914. (NYPL)
Norwegian woman, 1906-1914. (NYPL)
 
Romanian women. (NYPL)
Romanian women. (NYPL)
 
Romanian shepherd, 1906. (NYPL)
Romanian shepherd, 1906. (NYPL)
 
Greek soldier, 1911. (NYPL)
Greek soldier, 1911. (NYPL)
 
Italian woman, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
Italian woman, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)
 
Dutch siblings from the Island of Marken, holding religious tracts, 1905. (NYPL)
Dutch siblings from the Island of Marken, holding religious tracts, 1905. (NYPL)
 
Cossack man from the steppes of Russia. (NYPL)
Cossack man from the steppes of Russia. (NYPL)
 
Turkish bank guard, 1912. (NYPL)
Turkish bank guard, 1912. (NYPL)
 
Romanian shepherds. (NYPL)
Romanian shepherds. (NYPL)
 
Gypsy family, 1905. (NYPL)
Gypsy family, 1905. (NYPL)
 
 
Slovak woman and children, circa 1910. (NYPL)
Slovak woman and children, circa 1910. (NYPL)
 
 
Ingrid Longauerová is a long time employee at the Epoch Media Group. She started working with The Epoch Times as a freelance journalist in 2007 before coming to New York and work in the Web Production department. She is currently a senior graphic designer for the Elite Magazine, a premier luxury lifestyle magazine for affluent Chinese in America produced by the EMG.
facebook
Related Topics