A Visit to Ellis Island and A Wake Up Call

I stood at the foot of the famed Registry Hall in Ellis Island’s Main Building and took myself back in time to the day my great-grandmother, Maria Fagnano, arrived.  The red clay colored floor before me was perfectly shined to museum quality and the white terra cotta ceiling tiles brought in much needed light and heat from the bright afternoon sun.  It was too pristine, too showcased.  What would it have been like on that hot New York afternoon in August of 1912?

The hall before me was empty save for a few tourists milling about (most of the exhibits were damaged from Hurricane Sandy and under repair).  Maria most likely arrived to a hall filled with plain wooden benches, thousands of immigrants exhausted from the long voyage, the ripeness of the human body after days at sea, and a flurry of foreign tongues.  Children huddling against their mother.  Men pacing from nerves.  She was by herself.

Registry Hall at Ellis Island

The audio guide equated the Main Building and the Registry Hall, built in the French Renaissance Revival style, to the grandeur of a European palace.  “How grand their arrival to this new country,” it said, “In the lavishes of royalty.  Luxuries the thousands of immigrants most likely never saw in their homelands as they escaped famine, oppression, and poverty. ”

I didn’t see it that way. 

I only imagined how scared my great-grandmother must have been as she traveled by herself to start a new life in a foreign land.  Upon her ship’s arrival, her luggage, containing everything she owned, was left under the care of a stranger.  She was then ushered into the Main Building and up the stairs to the Registry Hall with the rest of her shipmates.

As she ascended the stairs, a medical examiner evaluated her walk to spot any obvious illnesses.  She then waited for hours on the hard wooden benches that filled this vast, now empty room.  Soon, it would be her turn for the interview and medical examination conducted in a foreign language. She sat hoping that her papers and the scar under her left eye (as described in the ship manifest) wouldn’t prevent her entry.

“She looked so brave.  Like she wasn’t afraid of anything”

These words were uttered by a child on the audio tour of the Statue of Liberty as she described her impression of Lady Liberty.  I think these words also fit Maria.  How brave she must have been to toss fear aside, leave everything and everyone she knew behind, for the hope of a brighter future.

Brave Lady Liberty

Her journey was just beginning at Ellis Island.  After her examination and interview, she then awaited the Stairs of Separation.  The stairway to the left led to New York City and points north, the stairway to the right led to thewest and south, and the center stairway was for immigrants being detained to the medical ward.  Maria took the stairway to the right where she traveled by train to Ohio to reunite with her brother-in-law, Fabiano.

I focus mainly on Maria’s story because it was her record I found in Ellis Island’s American Family Immigration History Center located on the first floor in the west wing of the museum.  A quick search for Maria Fagnano from Southern Italy brought up 7 records.  Two were from our family village of Valsinni.  Both were headed to the same town in Ohio.  The first record wasn’t correct as it showed her arriving with three other siblings that I hadn’t heard of before.  The second was more plausible as it closer matched her age.  I wasn’t able to confirm for sure until I arrived home and compared the date of her arrival to an immigration date on the 1930 census for her and my great-grandfather, Dominic.

Gateway to the Land of Opportunity

I also searched for my great grandfather’s record while at Ellis Island, but had no luck.  I continued my search at home (Ellis Island offers free access to their records from the Internet), but his records continued to elude me.  Guerra is too common of a name, even for a small village like Valsinni.  Once home, I spoke with my Uncle Fred, the only living child of my great-grandparents.  He told me the immigration officials didn’t write Dominic’s last name correctly and nobody knew what was actually recorded.

Uncle Fred was halfway correct.  There was a name error, but it wasn’t his last name that was misspelled, it was his first name.  With the same 1930 census, I narrowed the search to Guerra’s from Southern Italy that immigrated in 1910.  The search produced a Dco. Antonio Guerra from Valsinni.  His final destination was Youngstown, Ohio.  I had found my great-grandfather Dominic’s record.

Intrigued, I also searched for my great-grandmother’s brother, Rocco Fagnano.  His record brought a whole new meaning to the Stairs of Separation.  Uncle Rocco was directed down the center stairwell where he spent a month in the medical ward on the island before continuing his journey to Ohio.

The Stairs of Separation at the End of the Registry Hall

I’m awed by the incredible bravery of Maria, Dominic, and Rocco.  Each of my three ancestors overcame harrowing circumstances to reach their final destination in the Land of Opportunity.  Maria traveled halfway across the world by herself as a single female, Dominic was so crippled by the language barrier that the official couldn’t even understand his first name, and Uncle Rocco spent a month in the medical ward wondering if his fate would ever allow him to enter the United States.

I am saddened that their bravery is lost in me.

If I take a hard look at my life, nothing in my 35 years compares to their bravery.  Never have I risked everything to pursue a dream as audacious as theirs – a dream that they achieved!  I have always taken the easy road, the expected road, the risk free road.  And what do I have to show?  A job that I hate and continuously postponed dreams.  But I enjoy many comforts.

Is this why Maria and Dominic risked everything?  So that I could be comfortable?  Somehow I doubt it.  I look around my family at business leaders, lawyers, a doctor, and a Congressman.  All something to be proud of.  My cousins realized Maria and Dominic risked everything so that they would have the opportunity to be great, not comfortable.  I’m sure I’d bring them disappointment.

Ellis Island

Ellis Island has done more than teach me about my heritage. 

It has inspired me to break out of my comfort zone.  The journey of Dominic, Rocco, and Maria has motivated me to pursue my Land of Opportunity.  Dear readers, please expect many changes and announcements to this blog in the coming months.  Efforts are underway for big overhauls.  I am done with being average, being comfortable.  That’s not my dream and it wasn’t theirs, either.

What’s your Land of Opportunity?  What do you want to pursue but are afraid to take the risk or leave your comfort zone?

Tickets to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are sold together as one tour.  The cost is $18 with a free audio guide provided at both attractions.  Tickets can be purchased the day of.  However, during the weekend and in the height of tourist season, it is recommended to purchase your tickets in advance.  The tour plus crown access at the Statue of Liberty costs $21.  Reservations are recommended months in advance.