Bella <3 asked:
I need an Answer Quick! They are Irish Immigrants going to Ellis Island. I know they didn’t bring a lot of luggage, maybe one little suit case. so what did they mainly bring?
What did Immigrants bring with them to Ellis island?
The HOPE of a life of freedom…. wealth (from hard work)…… prosperity (from hard work)… self determination…. and the deep desire of RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
….. and a suit case.
They generally brought the clothes on their backs, and when they got out Ellis Island, they got and received no help except for what they were able to work for.
All of the culture the US has today.
Determination, work ethic, good morals, and a love for this country that took them in, a love that few born americans will ever know. They came here, worked hard instilled that in their children born here( 100% americans ) They built this country and started the “american dream”
In the floating commune of the big ship, status symbols were few but well defined. A suitcase, however battered, was most likely the mark of a city man. To a poor peasant, a wicker basket was elegance enough. Most people tied everything up in a blanket or a sheet. They brought with them what they thought to be vital to a decent life afloat. First, the need of a pillow, goose-feather, if they were lucky – a point of pride, a relic, and a symbol that some families kept throughout their lives. The religious usually took with them tokens of their faith, the Bible or a cross; a member of a close-knit family would cherish a heirloom yielded up in the moment of parting. It could be nothing more pretentious than a brass candlestick or a lock of hair.
My grandmother arrived in Boston with her Belique (Irish) china breakfast set of 2 tea cups, 2 saucers, and 2 egg cups. That was in 1896
Vito Andolini, for example, arrived on Ellis Island with only a desire to become an olive oil criminal and a vendetta against a Sicilian mafiosi.
Tammany Hall