This week I took a virtual tour of Eilis Island. I did take an actual tour of Ellis Island many years ago with my family. I learned more in this virtual tour than I did went I went to the island. Even though the immigration process only took a few hours, parts of the process were gruesome or terrifying. A part of the medical examination included a button hook that was used to lift up the eyelids to examine the eye. Even though the immigration process was very brief, it was still very intimidating for some.

Something I didn’t know was that people who failed the evaluations were kept in the building until they recovered, had their case reviewed, or were sent home. Also, people that were of higher classes often didn’t have to go to Ellis Island, they were approved on the ship and were able to leave the ship and start their new lives. On this tour, there were fun facts on the sidebars and some of them were very interesting, the first person to immigrate through Ellis Island was a fifteen-year-old girl. Another fun fact is that 350 babies were born on Ellis Island. This was a really fun tour, the pictures, audio, and video provided added to the experience!

Article by Becka Bloom