How do I find names of people that came through Ellis Island, pre-1910?

Question

My Mother In Law's parents and my Father In Law's parents both came from "County Down, Ireland." That is all the information we have. I know there are websites that have records, I just don't know who they were. Also I am not real sure if the names were changed as they came through Ellis Island. I think this was pretty common.
Thanks

Answer 1

I belong to ancestry.com which offers Ellis Island records. Ancestry.com is the most widely used of the sights but it is a subscription service. Unfortunately it is the only source thru which we can access the Ellis Island records. If you can afford it it is worth every penny. Not only can you tap into all us records, including milser & probate records, but it now offers census records for united kingdom & canada. Users can view the original handwritten records. Some records will even tell you if they own a radio!

While many people were given new names when entering us it was only because their real names were too difficult to understand or the immigrants didn't know how to spell their names.

I would suspect that names from Ireland would be correct or would "sound" correct. Good luck - genealogy is such fun as I'm sure you know.

Answer 2

ellis island website is free...but before it was called Ellis Island it was called Castle Gardens. Now depending on exactly what year they came...start with ellisisland.org then go to castlegardens.org if you can't find them...if you're still having trouble go here http://www.stevemorse.org/

some of the stuff is free and others require a subscription to Ancestory.com

Answer 3

Hey Karen,

An account at Ellis Island.com is free. You just have to sign up. It was common for people to say their names to the immigration workers, and for the immigration workers to spell the name wrong because of they way they heard the name.

Answer 4

I googled Ellis Island and Ifound my grandparents and the ship they sailed on