Edward Steiner- Immigrant to America

http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Past.html

This website is a selection of extracts from immagrants to America. I decided to look at the first extract (under H G Well's account of Ellis island) The account is writen by a Edward Steiner who was an Immigrant to America I did some background reading on him and descovered he was born into a German-speaking family from Bratislava . In the extract he speaks of watching a father and son approach the commissioner, They were from Russia, I looked to see if I could find out why lots of Jewish Russians were leaving Russia in 1881, to see where there was a push factor to their emmigration. As the exteract says: "Ask them why they came," the commissioner says rather abruptly. The answer is: "We had to." This interested me and I discovered that the reason they 'had to' leave was because of Pogrom, meaning that they were most likely being persecuted in their home country. This extract really opened my eyes, I was shoked to see that this father and son were split up and that the father after travelling all the way from Russia to America was going to be sent back, for no particular reason. This extract really expresses the emotion the son must have been feeling, he was 'ashamed to look his father in the face' . His father had in fact done an amazing thing, believeing that life generally would be better in America than it could ever possibly be back home, he Sacrificed his happiness and even maybe his life, if he was being persecuted back home, so that hopefully his son could better himself.

Its interesting that at the beginning of the extract Edward talks about an old couple who had been invited over by their children to live there, the children are ruled to be put under 'sufficient bond to guarantee that this aged couple shall not become a burden to the public'. These children have obviously sent for their parents because they want them there and want them to live with them. They don't want to be put in sufficient bonding, but they didn't have a choice, either except the ruling or be sent back to your country.

The Immigration process was much harsher than I thought it was. It is a subject which interests me and so I had a look at the Ellis Island website to see where there was anyone with my name who travelled to America. I discovered quite a few women called Rebecca Lewis who travelled to America all of different ages. There was one girl who was 21 just a year older than me, she was a Russian Hebrew, who had lived in London and sailed on the Saint Paul ship from Southampton to New York and arrived there on May 26 1912. I think its really interesting to be able to look up these records. Finally I was able to also look up Edward Steiner from my extract, he arrived in America on April 10 1894 on the Moravia Ship from Hamburg via Havre. Its interesting to be able to look up these people, even if it only gives us a few details about them.