Century Old Photos of Ellis Island Immigrants Show What They Left Behind

BY Ingrid Longauerová TIMEApril 22, 2016 PRINT

A family of seven sons and one daughter, country o origin unknown, 1904. (Sherman, Augustus F. /NYPL)

From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island saw over 12 million immigrants pass through its inspection station. The first person to go through was a 17-year-old Irish girl on Jan. 1, 1892. But many got stuck on the island, waiting for money, an escort, or a transportation ticket.

Personal stories of these American wannabes inspired the amateur photographer Augustus Sherman. As Ellis Island’s office clerk, he had a unique opportunity to capture immigrants in their national dress. Most of the immigrants were Europeans that had left home because of financial deprivation or persecution.

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During years 1906 to 1914, Sherman created unique portraits that were just recently rediscovered.

Today almost a 100 million Americans can trace back their ancestry to Ellis Island immigrants. What their stories were is left unanswered.

20070462070_fb7e5433c9_b — Russian Cossacks, 1906. (NYPL)

20232228186_9f03f4eced_b — Ruthenian (Ukrainian) woman, 1906. (NYPL)

albanian soldier — Albanian soldier, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)

German stowaway. (NYPL) — German stowaway, 1911. (NYPL)

algerian man — Algerian man, c1910. (NYPL)

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bavarian man — Bavarian man, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)

danish man — Danish man from Svendberg, 1909. (NYPL)

dutch woman — Dutch women, circa 1910. (NYPL)

Romanian piper, c1906-1914. (NYPL) — Romanian piper, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)

hyndoo boy — 17-year-old Hindu boy, 1911. (NYPL)

lapland kids from sweden — Lapland children, possibly from Sweden, circa 1910. (NYPL)

laplander woman — Sami woman from Finland, 1905. (NYPL)

norwegien woman — Norwegian woman, 1906-1914. (NYPL)

romaninan shepard — Romanian shepherd, 1906. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.27.55 PM — Greek soldier, 1911. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.29.07 PM — Italian woman, circa 1906-1914. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.30.34 PM — Dutch siblings from the Island of Marken, holding religious tracts, 1905. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.31.08 PM — Cossack man from the steppes of Russia. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.31.35 PM — Turkish bank guard, 1912. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.31.51 PM — Romanian shepherds. (NYPL)

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 5.32.25 PM — Gypsy family, 1905. (NYPL)

slovakia — Slovak woman and children, circa 1910. (NYPL)

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Ingrid Longauerová

journalist/graphic designer

Ingrid Longauerová is a long time employee at the Epoch Media Group. She started working with The Epoch Times as a freelance journalist in 2007 before coming to New York and work in the Web Production department. She is currently a senior graphic designer for the Elite Magazine, a premier luxury lifestyle magazine for affluent Chinese in America produced by the EMG.