Through Their Eyes
"We weren't in hold. We were in a cabin. The captain and the people in the next cabin used to look out for us because we were five children by ourselves, you know. My sister said the captain used to take us into the dining room and he used to tell my brother, 'Eat, eat,' he says, 'because if you don't eat, you'll die." |
"When I was Sixteen, I was supposed to marry a man in Italy, but I didn't want him. My mama tell me, 'Either you marry this guy or you go to America.' But I told her, ‘I don’t like him,' she say, 'then you go to America!' That's why I came to America. There was nothing in Italy, nothing in Italy. That's why we came." |
"I had a great-grandmother who lived two doors away from us. She and I was constantly together. I remember, well she told me about Moses. But one thing I do remember is when I left Italy. A few days before, she and I took a walk to her land and she was very, very sad. She said, 'You're going to America now. Some day you will remember me. But,' she said, 'remember when you get there, when you reach the Battery, there is a row of fountains there. But do not drink out of it. Because if you drink from that fountain you're going to forget all about us.' So when I arrived at Battery I was looking for a row of fountains, but I didn't see the row of fountains. So, I thought it must be okay. Today, when I'm driving along, many, many times I think of her. The words echo in my memory. 'You're going to America now. Some day you will remember me." |
All photographs and quotes on this page are from the book "Ellis Island Interviews; In Their Own Words." By Peter M. Coan.
Click to enlarge photographs.
Click to enlarge photographs.