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Re: [TSL] diverted from Ellis Island
Sue Swiggum <swig@ns.sympatico.ca> on 08/07/2010

Good advice Allan,

I always encourage people to embrace their "oral family history" because 
there is always some truth in the story.  After about 13 years of hearing 
family stories I'm convinced that more people 'missed' the TITANIC than 
sailed on her, because of "missing baggage" etc.  There was some truth 
however, because there was a coal strike at the time, so many ships 
cancelled sailings ... other's changed schedules, so some coming to UK by 
feeder-ships missed their ship and were sadly placed on the Titanic but 
other's got luckier and missed that too.  The impact of the loss of that 
vessel was so great that it coloured memories, or the original story might 
have been "we sailed just before ... or just after" the Titanic, which 
sometimes became embellished to "we missed the Titanic because ..."  The 
biggest help from that type of story is that it probably frames the 
emigration period to about one year before to one year after the Titanic.

What I had written about the CANADA arrival in 1921 came from the official 
'Transatlantic Passenger Movement" records.

If you are interested in learning more about the 1923 Immigration Quotas 
you mention, there is a LOT here, some sad stories, some funny, some just 
plain interesting, extracted from "The New York Times ; The London Times ; 
The Toronto Globe ; The Express, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania"
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/Arrivals/1923.htm

Sue
-- 
TheShipsList Website
http://www.theshipslist.com/

At 12:22 PM 2010-08-07 -0400, Aejordan@aol.com wrote:
>Jim writes:
>
>... When her mother came to the United States on the Canada in February
>1921, she was supposed to land in New York on Ellis island. However, the
>passengers were discharged in Philadelphia because there was an eye disease
>epidemic on Ellis Island. ...  I have never heard of a ship being 
>diverted  to
>another port because of a health condition on Ellis Island.....
>
>and Sue replies .....
>
>..... it was overcrowding
>rather than health issues.  Who  knows what rumours may have abounded on
>board at the time and also maybe  added later, through embellishment or
>speculation as the oral story was  handed down.
>
>-------------------------------
>
>On these type of "issues," stories, etc. I always find it best to consult
>period materials as opposed to books written later.  The New York Times is
>fully digital and available for free in many public libraries or else for a
>fee on the Internet.
>
>I did a quick search "Ellis Island" and Philadelphia for 1921 and the first
>  story that comes up is, "Says Ellis Island Is Not Infested, Deputy
>Commissioner  Indignantly Denies Immigrant Got Typhus There.... " dated 
>Feb 20,
>1921.  Read a little further and you see the story says the steamship
>Rotterdam which was due on Monday was ordered diverted to Boston due to 
>health
>restrictions at this (New York) port.
>
>The Canada is not mentioned but it is easy to see how she too could have
>skipped Ellis Island.
>
>A further search of "diverted" and "Ellis Island" and Philadelphia brings
>up a story dated Nov 1, 1923 with the headline 11 Ships to Bring Quote Here
>As Many More Have Been Diverted to Other  Ports to Relieve Congestion.
>
>Often when someone says "I have a story" the first thing I do is plug the
>key words into a search of the newspapers of the era.  Start the search
>there and you can see how much truth exists .... or not .... in the  memories.
>
>Allan Jordan


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