Ellis Island: Gateway to America

Did any of your ancestors come to America through Ellis Island? Chances are they did, as one in four Americans has discovered they can trace ancestors to and through Ellis Island. This class shows why Ellis Island is America's most famous and most important immigration reception station, having processed 70-80% of all the millions of immigrants who came to America in the 1890's to 1940. It explains how devices and procedures developed and used at Ellis Island enabled more than 35 million immigrants to be safely processed there, all the while coping with the threat of several pandemic diseases, including the infamous Spanish influenza of 1918-1919.