Immigration Story

April 1, 1875 (Olivie)
Farms are hard work. Even if you just have pigs and chickens. We, as in my family, have three pigs, and three chickens. We used to have 5 pigs, but we killed three of them yesterday to eat, and sell some at the market. We also killed a couple chickens. We need the money. We can barely survive with what we got, and that isn’t much. Mostly because we have six people in our family. Plus, my dad doesn’t work much, and my mother and I don’t work at all. And, my older brother works, but he makes the most money. My dad barely works. He is too lazy, and all he does is bring some leftover meat from the chickens and pigs to the market, because he can’t keep a real, good paying job. He is an alcoholic and when he had a job, he would always arrive drunk, so he always got fired. When I say we don’t have much, I mean it. We are luckier than people without anything, but not as lucky as the people who have a big house and all the food they want. We are lucky if we get one meal a day. And for clothing, I only have 2 pairs of pants, and 3 shirts. One pair of shoes, and they are too small and all torn up.
April 3, 1875
I don’t know why my mom hasn’t left my dad. Probably because without him, my mom, my siblings, and myself couldn’t survive. Even though he only makes a few dollars a week. They are always yelling at each other, because my dad likes to pick stupid fights. I just want to scream at them to stop, but my dad would probably hit me. Nobody could do anything about it. My brother would hurt him so bad, but he is out fixing the wooden fence. I don’t know if it is about the financial problem or what. I think I know how to solve these problems. My best friend, Ada, left about two months ago. She went to America by herself to start a new life. I think I want to do that, just get away from here. Get a life, and make money. Plus, I could get away from my parents, mostly my dad. I usually take care of my younger siblings. Adele who is two and Daniel who is five. They are a handful. I usually take care of them because my mother is usually busy with other chores. I would also have to get everyone’s opinion. My dad won’t care, but my mother would be nervous about it. Also, my brother, Luc. He’s 17, big and tall and strong and brave. I’m sure he’ll understand. It’s not like I’m the only one who can hear my parents fight.
But where would I go to stay while I’m getting started. I know my mother has a sister in America. My mother has talked about her before. Apparently they moved there about 6 years ago. According to my mom, they live in the Catskills because my aunt is an artist, and she needed somewhere to go where there are beautiful sceneries. My uncle works in a huge factory. They make oil lamps or something like that. I guess they both make good money. They don’t have any kids, but they have a couple horses. Maybe if I do end up going there, they could pick me up at Ellis Island. Eventually I will go off on my own and get a place to live, but when I first get there, I am going to have to stay with them until I can find away to make everything to work.
April 10, 1875
I wonder how America will differ from such a tiny town, Bordeaux, France. Oh, by the way, that’s where I live. It’s a boring town, but everyone is very kind. And it’s pretty quite. Although, there are a lot of urchins, which means a lot of robberies. One time, I was with my brother, and we went to go swimming in a pond near our house. When we got out, our clothes had been stolen! Momma wasn’t too happy, but she was glad we were ok. It happens a lot, not to us, but overall people get things stolen from them almost every day, if you’re not careful.
Now it’s time to go talk to Momma. How am I going to ask her? What if she says no? If she says no, there would be no point in asking anyone else. Well, I guess I won’t know until I try.
“Ma?” I asked. She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face, “Yes?” “I’ve been thinking, and you know how Ada went to America a while back? Well I was thinking, since we are poor, that I could go to America and get a job and make a living, and then when I get enough money, I can just send it back to you,” I explained. “But who would you go stay with, before you find a place to live and make money?” She wondered. My mind blanked. I forgot what to say after that. Hmmm, what was it? Oh yeah! “I could stay with your sister and her husband in the Catskills.” I answered. “I don’t know about that. It’s a lot of money, and very dangerous, but I’ll think about it...” I smiled and walked away.
There is no point and asking my dad. He would yell something stupid, then, yell at me to leave. Even though he doesn’t even care. I’ll go talk to Luc instead.
“Hello. What are you doing?” I asked. “Just fixing the rest of this fence,” Luc answered, “Is there something you need?” “What would you think about going to America?” I asked. Now that I think about it, that probably wasn’t the best way to put it. “You want me to go to America?” He wondered. “No, I was thinking of going by myself.” Before he could say anything I jumped in and kept talking to assure him that I could handle it. “I know it’s dangerous, and I know that it’s probably not the smartest decision I’ve made, but just think about it. We can barely support our selves. I could go to America, stay with Aunt Tish and Uncle Tommy. Remember them? I could stay there for a bit, make a living, get a job, and then send some money back. It would solve a lot of problems. Trust me,” I explained. Luc wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t happy about it either. “I don’t know, Olivie. But, don’t worry, I’ll think about it. It’s not a terrible idea.” I smiled and walked away.

April 12, 1875
Luc and Momma have both thought long and hard about if this is a good idea or not. One of the main reasons they are nervous, is that 3,000 people on one boat, and me being a beautiful young lady. They both just don’t add up. Terrible things happen on that boat. Of course it’s dangerous in all, but there will also be a lot of work to do before I leave, and when I’m gone. There will be twice as much things to do while I’m in America. They won’t have me there to help. My brother does all the hard work, like cutting wood, hunting, etc. He also makes most of the money. Now he would have to help out a bit in the house, like with the kids. My dad on the other hand, won’t be any help. Sometimes, on his way back from work, he stops at the liquor store and buys beer with the money he had made that day at the market. But, I have to stop getting ahead of myself. I don’t even know if I will be able to go.
April 17, 1875
“Hey, Olivie. I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day. I guess I would be ok with you going to America,” Luc said. “Really? Are you serious? You will let me go?” I asked. “As long as you stay safe and healthy. You know, a lot of people get sick,” Luc explained. “I know, I know. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I’m sooo excited. Now I just need to talk to mom.
“Momma? Have you thought anymore about my question about going to America?” I asked. “Yes. I guess you can go.” Said Momma. “Yes, yes, yes! Luc said I could go, too.” “Well then, let’s go make some money so we can get a ticket!” Momma exclaimed.
We sold the rest of our pigs and chickens, and made enough to get a ticket. We also had to use some money the dad and Luc have made over the years.
Boat Name: Orion Name of Passenger: Olivia
Arrival Time: 9 AM Date of Arrival: April 27, 1895
Departure Time: 12 PM Where To: Ellis Island, America
There’s no turning back now.
April 25, 1875
Before I leave, I need to get a lot of things done, so when I’m gone, there will be fewer things that need to be done. I helped Luc finish the fence; I also helped collect firewood, even though we won’t get snow for a while. I have been helping out with the children all the time and I also have been cooking. Momma has been teaching me to cook ever since I was tall enough to reach the top of the fire place. She also is helping me with school. I haven’t been able to go to school because it’s so far away, and there’s no way to get there. We don’t have horses, or anything. Momma helps me with English, reading and math mostly, but also a bit of history. I barely know anything in English, but it’s better than nothing.
I’m so excited, yet so nervous! Only two more days! I haven’t been able to fall asleep these past couple nights. Being on a ship, alone is scary. What if there isn’t anyone who speaks French there? How will I be able to understand what the Americans are saying? Those questions have been buzzing around my head ever since Momma and Luc said I could go. But I have to stop thinking about the future, and start thinking about the present.
I have been packing, working, and spending time with family. I want my family to be safe while I’m gone. I also want to spend as much time with them as I can. I’m not going to see them for a long, long time. I haven’t really been packing, I guess. All I have to pack is some clothing, some pictures, my stuffed horse, and some money. I have three pieces of clothing, that’s all. Also, some pictures, so I can remind myself of my family. All I’m bringing for money is $5. That’s all we have left. As for my horse, I’ve had it ever since I was three. My grandmother got it for me for my third birthday. It’s very special, so I have to make sure to keep it safe. Now, all I have to do is hope for the best!
April 27, 1875
Today’s the day! It’s about 5 in the morning, and everyone’s asleep. I told Momma they could still sleep while I’m leaving. It’s early and they are very busy today. I said goodbye last night. But, I still want to give them all I kiss before I leave. I have to make sure I’m really quiet; I don’t want to wake anyone up. I walk down the hallway a bit to Momma’s room, where Adele and Daniel are. I walk in, and I start tearing up. I walk over to Momma asleep on her bed. I kiss her forehead, and it’s smooth and warm. I’m going to miss that while I’m gone. I look over at dad on the other side of the bed. I went to kiss him on the head, and I could smell the alcohol. I picked my head back up and moved over to the cribs. Daniel is sound asleep. I’m definitely going to miss him. I give him a kiss on the head and move over in reach of Adele. She is so cute! I’m going to miss that cute curly hair of hers. I reach down and kiss her as well. I look around one last time, as though I’m never going to see it again, then I quietly shut the door, and tiptoed over to Luc’s room. I open the door, and look in. He’s snoring. I giggle a little, and then give him a kiss on his cheek. I go back in my room, and grab my sack. I get to the door, and freeze. I look back and just listen. Silence. Except for Luc who is snoring very loud. I start sobbing and turn around and walk out the door. And, that was the last time I would be able to see my family for a long time.
April 27, 1875
It’s so cold! I am at the port, waiting. I’ve been waiting for 3 hours! Where is that stupid boat?! I walked up to the man in the booth and ask him if the ship has been delayed. He said no in a grumpy tone and turns around with a grunt. I go back to the bench where I have been sitting all this time.
Finally, after three and a half hours of just sitting here in the cold, the boat has arrived! I’m sort of in the front of the line, but because there are a thousand people, I’m like a couple hundred people back. After about another hour of just standing in line doing nothing, it’s my turn. I show them the ticket, and then hop on board. I get on the boat and just didn’t move. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Until, I walk down stairs, into the steerage. I get down there, and start coughing. I couldn’t breathe. It smelt of mold, dust, and body odor. My eyes were watering, because all the dust made my eyes sting. I walked into where everyone in steerage is staying. Half or maybe more of all the people are in here. It’s very crowded and smelly. I put my sack under a girl that keeps looking at me. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She looks about 15, and I think the person across from us on the top, is her mother. I just lay down and just imagined what America will be like. Then, another girl walks in and she has dark brown hair and blue eyes. She looked about my age. She was holding a little girl’s hand. The little girl must be her sister. They looked alike. They put their sacks on the bed. The sacks are combined, they must be sleeping together.
I lay down, and closed my eyes to try to take a nap.
Sleep. Sleep. Please sleep! It’s very loud. People are crying and screaming. I just need to relax and try to block everyone out of my mind. All of a sudden, I feel a little jerk, and then I hear the whistle. Finally! People can shut up and let me sleep!
Instead of sleeping, I’m going to just write in my journal, because I can’t sleep. I notice the girl above me. She tries to get my attention by saying, “psssst.” I look up, and say hello. She must be French. “What’s your name?” She asks. I say, “Olivie, what is your name?” I ask. “Aarika, do you know who those two are?” She asks, pointing. I look over, and I see them sleeping. How can they be sleeping? It’s so loud. “I don’t know, but I think they are from France. Is that your mom?” I say gesturing to the top bunk across from us. “Yes,” she replies. We watched the girl across from us, as she began to wake up. “Should we say hello?” I whispered. “Yes,” Aarika answered. “Hello?” We asked at the same time. “Hi,” the girl replied. “What are your names’?” “Mine is Olivie, and her name is Aarika. We are both from France,” I answered. “Actually, I am from Germany, but I used to live in France when I was younger, so I know some French. What is your name?” asked Aarika. “My name is Mikayla, and this is my little sister, Annabelle.” Mikayla replied. There was a minute of silence, and then I said, “I’m getting tired; I think I’m going to go to bed.” “Me too,” says Aarika. “Goodnight!” exclaimed Mikayla.
April 29, 1875
I wake up to the sound of a baby crying. I look across, it’s Annabelle! I wonder what’s wrong. “My tummy hurts,” explains Annabelle. “You’re probably just hungry,” replied Mikayla. “Let’s sneak up to the top deck, and try to steal some food,” I said. “I will wake Ma and see if she can watch Annabelle, while we’re gone,” Aarika says. She sits up and looks over at her Ma. She woke up and looked over at us. Aarika makes an excuse of why we are leaving, and asks her if she can watch Annabelle. She says okay, and lays back down. “Ok guys, let’s go!” Aarika exclaims, and we ran out of her sight. We exit the room and enter into the long and thin hallway. “Where do we go from here?” Mikayla asks. “Let’s just find some stairs; they might lead to the next floor. We go around looking for some stairs. We walked around a corner, and right ahead was stairs. We looked at each other, and headed for them. “Shhh, guys, be quite! If we get caught, we can get in big trouble. People from steerage, aren’t supposed to be on the top floors,” Aarika whispers. We quietly tiptoe up the stairs. We have to make sure we stay sort of hidden, so we don’t get caught. When we finally make it to the top of the stairs, we can smell the delicious food. “I wish they served us food like this in steerage,” I complained quietly. “I don’t see any food. Where is it?” Mikayla wondered. “I think it’s over there,” Aarika says pointing. We tried to blend in, as we walked over in that direction. There it is! We got over to the table and stuffed my mouth. “Guys we have to bring some back for my sister,” says Mikayla. “And I have to bring some back for Ma,” Aarika says. “We should all put some in our pockets so we don’t have to come back tomorrow,” I explain. We begin stuffing our pockets with bread and crackers. All of a sudden, we hear a yell from the distance. “Hey! Those girls over there are stealing food! They must have come up from steerage. Catch ‘em!” We run toward the stairs in a panic. I can hear their footsteps behind us. “They’re following us!” I shouted. We run fast, faster than I have ever run in my life. I look behind and I notice that we are dropping food. They can follow our trail of food. As we kept running, the sound of the footsteps behind us slowly disappeared. Finally! “They’re not following us anymore,” Aarika said.
We make it back to the bunks safe and sound. “Where have you ladies been?! Annabelle has been throwing up for the past 30 minutes!” Exclaimed Aarika’s mom. “Sorry Ma,” Aarika said apologetically, “When Annabelle said her stomach her, we thought she was just hungry. So we went to get her something to eat.” “Did you go on the top deck?” asked Mrs. Koch. “We had to. That was the only place we could get decent food.” I explain. We stook our hands down our pockets. Mikayla didn’t have any left, because they had fallen out of her pocket when we were running, but Aarika and I each had one more roll. I handed mine to Annabelle and Aarika handed hers to her mother. “I don’t want you girls going up there anymore. It is too dangerous. You could get caught.” Mrs. Koch explained. “Ok,” we reply. “What should we do about Annabelle?” Mikayla asked as Annabelle throws up. “The only thing we can do is to just wait and see what happens,” explains Mrs. Koch. Mikayla has a very worried look on her face. I feel terrible!
May 1, 1875
Annabelle still isn’t feeling good. We have been trying to take care of her by putting cold, wet cloth on her forehead to try to get rid of her fever. But, she wasn’t getting any better. We saved her food that wouldn’t upset her stomach. All of the sudden, it’s like the whole world stopped. It was silent. Annabelle had stopped crying. “Are you feeling better?” Mikayla asked. No reply... “Annabelle?.....Annabelle?!” Mikayla screams. Still no reply... Mikayla gets up and shakes her. Nothing. Tears streamed down her eyes, and she falls to the ground. “No! Nooo!! This can’t be happening! Annabelle! Wake up!” “What should we do with her?” I wondered. “We will have to bring Annabelle up to the top deck. They will probably throw her overboard,” explained Mrs. Koch. “No they can’t do that to her!” exclaimed Mikayla. “There’s nothing else we can do,” I say. By now, we were attracting everyone’s attention. Everyone was staring at us. Some even came over to us. They didn’t know what was happening. I looked at Mikayla. Her face! She is balling and she is as pale as the blank walls. We brought her body up to the top deck. “What are you doing here?” The guard asks. “You know that you’re not allowed on this part of the ship.” “Her little sister just died and we brought her up because we figured you would throw her off the ship,” answered Mrs. Koch. “I’ll take it from here ma’am,” said the guard. She handed Annabelle to the guard, and he walks away. That was the last time Mikayla would ever be able to see her sister again. I was crying a bit myself. Aarika put her arm around Mikayla. “It’s going to be ok,” Aarika assured. “I just can’t believe she’s gone. I was supposed to watch her and keep her safe,” Mikayla said fighting back her tears.
May 4, 1875
It was about 7 o’clock in the morning, and Mikayla started speaking for the first time after her sister died, “Where’s your mom?” I look up and over, above Mikayla. “Probably just in the bathroom,” Aarika said. “I don’t know. She has been gone for a while now. I didn’t know if I should wake you up, until I thought it was serious,” explained Mikayla. “We better go find her!” I exclaimed. First, we went around the steerage room, and she was nowhere to be found. Then, we left the big room, and went to bathroom. We look in all the stalls, and she wasn’t in their either. “Oh no! Where could she possibly be?! I hoped nothing happened. It’s not like her to go anywhere without telling me,” explained Aarika. We walked out of the bathroom and started walking down the long, empty hallway. “Look! There, the closet door is cracked,” I said. We tip-toed over and peaked inside. There on the floor, in a pool of blood, laid Mrs. Koch. I just stood there. Shocked. I was frozen. Aarika screamed, and fell to the floor, “What happened to her?!” Aarika cried. “She was probably raped and killed because they didn’t want her to tell,” explained Mikayla. I’m still just standing there, blank. I have to calm her down. She’s screaming and just lying on the floor, as if she was dying a slow death. I put my hand on her back to try to comfort her. I started crying. I shut the door, so that Aarika didn’t have to look at that anymore. The blood was still pouring from Mrs. Koch. It started to seep under the door and out. Mikayla and I helped Aarika stand up, and we helped her back to her bed.
It’s been an hour, and Aarika is still lying there, silent. Mikayla climbs up and offers her food. She declines the offer, and lays back down. Mikayla sets a piece of bread on Aarika’s stomach, in case she wants it later.
May 5, 1875
Nobody is talking. No one. I’m alone, all alone. Nobody to talk to, nobody to listen to. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. I’m bored, bored out of my mind. It felt like the days were getting longer. And I spent each and everyone just lying in my bed with nothing to do, no one to talk to.
I have been feeling good. It started this morning with a major headache, and it hasn’t gone away, since. My brain feels like it’s going to blow up. What if I’m getting sick? What if I’m going to end up dying, like Annabelle. Speaking of Annabelle, I have been having these nightmares about what has happened. Annabelle dying of some sort of sickness, Mrs. Koch getting rapped to death. This must be a sign. But what does it mean? I think I’m going crazy.
May 10, 1875
Apparently, we get off tomorrow. Finally! I have been throwing up for a few days now, and my body is aching. I’ve been listening to stories on what happens when you get off the ship. You have to go through all of these tests, and sometimes people don’t make it, and they have to go back home on the ship. The ones who do make it are lucky. What will happen if I don’t make it? I would have spent all of my family’s money on this trip, and come home with nothing! And, if you have to leave because you are sick, you would have to ride back with all the other sick, and dying people! I have to pass, I just have to!
May 11, 1875
It’s time for the steerage to get off. It has been a few hours since the boat has landed. The guards have to inspect the ship, along with every class. They are checking for diseases. People that are almost dead get left on the ship, others exit. People in first and second class have to get checked, and get off first, then us, the steerage. I heard that the things that everyone has to go through are called customs. It’s scary, all the stories, but I have to pass through it and make it not look like I’m sick, even though I am. I have been for a couple days. I haven’t walked in a while, so I hope I will be able to, since my body is really achy.
The guards came and took everyone up and out of the ship. I walk out, and it takes my breath away. The sight and smell. I look up, and I see the Statue of Liberty, well what’s there. I’ve heard people talk about, how the French gave it to America this year. They are about a quarter of the way finished. Everyone is cheering; I guess they are cheering at the statue.
I look over, where everyone is getting loaded. What? It’s a smaller ferry boat. I thought we were finished with boats. Oh well, do I want to go to America or not.
When we got off the ferry, there were lots of officers in uniform waiting to greet us. They were shouting at us, and motioning us to walk down the plank to the main building. I walked past one of them. They smiled at me and handed me a tag. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. I think they were speaking English. I look behind me, and I see all these men and women, even children, struggling to get off the ship with their trunks, cloth sacks, and suitcases. They followed one another along a path and we all entered the red brick building.
I put on my numbered tag, and everyone entered the Baggage Room on the building’s ground floor. I was feeling nocuous, and almost faint. I pull myself back up. I look around for a bathroom so I can splash some cold water on my face. I look around. All the signs are in English. I might have to wait ‘til I get the where the translators are. I was holding my sack over my shoulder. I didn’t know what to do. I saw people in front of me drop their stuff. I do the same. Then, I kept along the line, and followed the people in front of me up a set of stairs, to the Registry Room. I walked up three steps and almost pass out again. I step to the side so people could pass. I just stand there for a minute trying to catch my breathe again. I fix my posture and stand up straight, take a deep breath, and keep climbing. The stairs keep spiraling. Are they ever going to end? I look up and I see the floor. Finally!! I also see doctors, many doctors. They seem to be watching us. Uh oh. I hope they didn’t see me almost pass out. This is where my life is, this is where I need to be. I can’t be sent home. I watch as the line gets smaller and smaller. Finally, we get to the top of the stairs.
I keep following everyone. We enter this huge room. It was the biggest indoor space I have ever seen! There are these long metal poles to keep people in line. It was huge! It was so loud! Peoples’ voices were bouncing off each wall. I couldn’t even hear myself think. There were these officers. They put people in some lines, others in other lines. I was pushed into a line that looked like everyone was going to die. People were coughing and limping. Some even dropped to the ground. I don’t know if they died or they just passed out. But, I kept walking.
We got to the Medical Exam. There was a uniformed doctor looked at everyone. I don’t know exactly what they were looking for. All of a sudden my leg gives out and I fall to the ground. I close my eyes for a second, take a deep breath, and stand up. I hope nobody saw that. I took a step and my leg gives out again. But, this time I caught myself from falling to the ground. I keep walking in line. I’m limping! If the doctors see that they will send me home! I try to keep myself from limping, but I could barely feel my leg. I can’t do anything about it. Hopefully the doctor won’t notice. My eyes started to get itchy. I rubbed them for a second, but kept walking. I get to the doctor. He watched me walk, and noticed I was limping. Nooo!! He writes something down. He felt my wrist, I don’t know why. Then, he looked in my eyes. Uh oh! I had just rubbed them. They must look red. He writes something down again. He told me to turn around, and I do, except my whole entire leg goes numb and I fall to the ground. I couldn’t get up. My heart starts beating really fast because I suddenly get really nervous. Then, I start breathing really fast. I don’t know what caused that. Then, a guard comes over and helps me up. My eyes roll back into my head. I didn’t do that, either. I open my eyelids and I feel like I just want to sleep. I become very tired all of a sudden. The guard keeps me help up. The doctor then takes a piece of chalk, and draws something on my back. I don’t know what it was, so I just walked away without any questions. Before I could walk any father, a guard grabs my arm and walks me away, and into a different room. All by myself, I stood there in the room just waiting. Finally, a doctor comes in and looks at my back. His eyebrows rise. I wonder what’s wrong. He looked at my legs and my eyes. He has a weird look on his face. Then, he takes this weir instrument and sticks it to my chest. He looks at me with a sorry face, and called in the guard that brought me in. He takes my arm, and puts it over his shoulder to help me walk. He walks me out of the building. NOOO!!!!!!!!!!! I scream and shout and shake to try to get him off of me. “You’re going to send me back!!! I can’t go home!! NOOOO!!!!!!!!! Let go of me!!” I scream. He squeezes me even tighter and walks me on a ship. He sets me down on one of the beds, and he runs out. I look around, and everyone is just lying. They all look dead. I start crying. I’m going to die! They can’t just set me on a bed and send me home. NO!!!!!!! My mind goes blank, and my eyes get squinty. I get really tired. I just lay there. My eyes shut. I see white, and only white. Where am I? What’s happening?