Katelynn Arroyo

SSE 6115
Biography Project
Read a Biography Sources
(2015). Annie Moore. The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Retrieved
from
http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/annie-moore
Bunting, E. (2001). Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story. NJ: Troll
Communications L.L.C.
Dobbins, J. (2012). Annie Moore, the first Ellis Island immigrant. Walks of New York.
Retrieved
from https://www.walksofnewyork.com/blog/annie-moore-ellis-islandimmigrants.
How Students Would Document
For second graders, I would have students use a KWL chart to document their
research. On this chart, students will list what they know about Annie Moore from
the lessons that were instructed in my thematic unit. Then, students would list
what they want to know about her. Finally, after students have done research on
Annie Moore, focusing on the information that they would like to know about her,
they would list what they learned on the KWL chart as well as the source from where
the information they learned came from. If the source was a website, the student
could list the web address next to what they learned from that source and if the
source was a book, then the student could list the name of the book and the author.

Diary Entry # 1
December 14th, 1891
It has been three long years since I have seen my parents. I know they are trying to
make a better life for me and my brothers, but it is hard to understand how they
could just leave their children and go to another country. I am now fourteen years
old and I have had to grow up fast. I have been taking care of my brothers while
our parents have been in America. I miss them. I have been wishing that they
would come home and that them leaving was just a dream. There have been times
that I started to lose hope of having my family back together, but I just received
great news!
In two days, my brothers and I will be boarding a steamship called the SS Nevada
and we will be on our way to America to reunite with our parents. It will be a long,
difficult journey, and there are no guarantees that we will see our parents again, but
my hope has been restored. Traveling to America will be a new start for me and my
brothers. I can now understand why my parents wanted to travel there before
sending for us. They wanted to establish a life in America to make sure that they
can take care of us in our new land. I do not know what life will be like in America,
but my parents have been there for three years already, so it cant be that bad. I
will just be happy to see them again and give them a hug and a kiss and see my
brothers run into their arms. They have been asking why it has been so long since
we have seen Mom and Dad and I kept telling them that we will see them soon.
Soon is almost here. Two more days and our journey will begin to our new home. I
just have to take care of my brothers until we make it there safe. This is scary to go
through as a child taking care of children, but soon we will have our parents to take
care of us again.

Diary Entry # 2
December 16th, 1891
The day has finally arrived for me and my brothers to board the SS Nevada on our
journey to a new life and to see our family again. This is our only hope to escape
poverty and the potato famine that we are suffering from in Ireland. My parents
said that there are others reasons why we are traveling to America, but I only
understand so much. I am just a child; it is even more difficult to explain these
things to my brothers. It is going to take a long time to get to America from here.
Christmas is coming soon and we will be on the ship, but this will be the last
Christmas we spend without our parents.
It is almost time to board the ship. There are so many people lined up. I heard that
people who have a lot of money can buy a first class ticket to board the ship. My
family is poor and we do not have a lot of money. We will have to ride on the boat
in steerage. I dont know what the word steerage means, but I dont feel so bad
because I see so many other people here who are poor too and arent able to travel
in the best conditions. We arent traveling to America with much; we are only able
to bring so much luggage on the ship because there is not going to be too much
room with so many people. There is a nice lady in front of me who is asking where
our parents are. I told her they are waiting for us. She said that she will help look
out for us while we are on the ship. She is traveling with her two daughters. It is
nice to make friends. It is almost time to board.

Diary Entry # 3
December 24th, 1891
It is Christmas Eve. I miss my mom and dad. I wish they were here with me and my
brothers, but I know that they have started to make a better life for us already.
Every Christmas my parents would buy us all a gift. I wonder if they will have
something waiting for us when we arrive. A hug and a kiss from them will be the
best gift we could ever receive though. I dont want anything more than that. I
want to make it to them safe. It is very crowded on this ship. We do not have much
room to move around and there is only so much to eat. It gets cold at night and we
only have so many clothes with us. I give my blanket to my brothers at night so
that they wont be too cold. I am worried about them getting sick. We have been
on this ship for eight days now. It is a rocky ride and my stomach doesnt feel good
all the time. We have to try and stay well. I heard that when we arrive to Ellis
Island we will be checked out to make sure that we arent sick. We cant get sick.
We need our parents.
The nice lady I met the first day when we were boarding the ship has been very nice
to me and my brothers. Her name is Ellen and her daughters names are Emily and
Julia. Emily and Julie are very young. They are only six and eight years old. I think
they are scared. This journey is very scary. No one knows what will happen once
we reach America. All I can do is remain hopeful. I need to hold onto hope. It is all
me and my brothers have right now. It will be Christmas tomorrow and my wish is
to make it to America safely and see my parents again.

Diary Entry #4
January 1st, 1892
I never thought this day would come! We can see the statue called Lady Liberty!
Everyone on the boat is cheering. This is the happiest I have seen everyone. My
brothers are really excited! We were told that once we see her, we know that we
are in America! We are so close to seeing our parents again; I cannot wait. We
have to get off of the big ship to go onto a smaller boat to get to Ellis Island.
Once we arrived, we had to drop our luggage off in a baggage room. Then we went
to start the inspection. The doctors look at everyone while they walk into the next
room to see if they are sick. I told my brothers they have to look well and be strong.
They have to be strong for our parents. During the inspection one of the doctors
marked my brothers jacket with a letter in chalk because his eyes were red. If you
are sick you may not be able to go to America. We need to see our parents. I had
to think quickly. When no one was looking, I flipped his jacket inside out and wiped
as much chalk off as I could. I hope no one notices. No one can notice. We need to
get to our parents.
We arrive at the stairs that will lead us to where our parents are waiting for us.
Guess what? It is my birthday! I am 15 today! As we wait, I told a man in front of
me that it is my birthday. He is the first person in the line to go to America. We are
not far behind him. When he heard it was my birthday, he said that I should go first
with my brothers. I told him that he doesnt need to do that. I am thankful that we
made it through the inspections so that we can get off the boat. He tells me it is my
birthday gift. I will be the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island! I thank him
very much and I give him a hug.
As I walk down the stairs ready to leave this island, I am handed a gold coin worth
$10 and I am told happy birthday by the island commissioner. The hope I have
been holding onto for a new life is real. I can see only good happening from here.
This coin can help my family. Maybe we wont be poor anymore in America. A few
more minutes and I should be in my parents arms again; my brothers are anxious.
They thank me for taking care of them while our parents were gone. I love them. I
love my parents. I love America. This will be my new home.

No.

Birth Certificate - **Separate Copy Attached with Blanks Filled-in by Hand**

548

Foirm A

K
56

imh.

Form A

IRE

IRELAND

Deimhni breithe ar na h-isiint de bhun na hAchta um Chlr Breitheanna agus 1863 go 1972

BIRTH CERTIFICATE issued in pursuance of Births and Deaths Registration Acts 1863 to 1972
Breith a Clrafodh i gCeantar
gContae
Birth Registered in the District of
the County of
Wirc
h

No.
(1)

Dta agus
borad Breithe

Date and Place

of Birth
(2)

Ainm
(ind. Vagach)

Name
(if any)
(3)

igCeantar an Chlraitheorn Maoirseachta do

in the Superintendent Registrars District of

Gn
as

Sex
(4)

Ainm, Sloinne,
agus it
Chnaithe an
Anthair

Name and
Surname and
Dwelling Place of
Father
(5)

Ainm agus
Sloinne an
Mhthar agus
Sloinne roimh
Phsadh di

Name and
Surname and
Maiden Surname
of Mother
(6)

in

Cim n
Gairm
Bacahn an
Anthair

Sni, Cilocht
agus lonad
Chena the an
Faisniseoir

An Dia a
Clraithe

Rank of
Profession of
Father

Signature,
Qualification,
and Residence
of Informant
(8)

When
Registered

(7)

Sni an
Clraitheoir

Signature of
Registrar

(9)
(10)

Deimhntear gur fior Choip seo de thaifead ata i gClr-leabhar an mBreithearma in Oifig am Ard-Chlraitheora I mBaile rha Cliath.
Certified to be a true copy taken from the Certified Copies of Birth in Oifig an Ard-Chraitheora, Dublin.
Arna Thabhairt faoi Shala Oifige an Ard- Chraitheora

an

l so de

Ainm Baiste, m
leanas I ndiaidh
Clr Breithe
agus an Dta
Baptismal
Name, if added
after
Registration of
Birth and Date
(11)

Given under the Seal of Oifig an Ard- Chraitheora

18

this

Is Bhliain na Breithe sa Chip Dheimhnithe thuas na

Ath-Scrofa
The Year of Birth Shown in the above Certified Copy is Copied
Mile
gCad
athraithe
One Thousand
Hundred and
SERIOUS OFFENSE

day of
Serdaithe
Examined
Is cion trom an teastas seo a athr n a sid tar is a
TO ALTER THIS DOCUMENT OR TO UTTER IT SO ALTERED IS A

Immigration Timeline
1880 The US population is 50,155,783. More than 5.2 million immigrants enter
the country between 1880 and 1890.
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act First federal immigration law suspended Chinese
immigration for 10 years and barred Chinese in US from citizenship. Also barred
convicts, lunatics and others unable to care for themselves from entering. Head tax
placed on immigrants.
1885 Contract Labor Law Unlawful to permit unskilled aliens from overseas as
laborers. Regulations did not pertain to those crossing land borders.
1888 For the first time since 1798, provisions are adopted for expulsions of aliens.
1889 Jane Addams founds Hull-House on Chicagos Near West Side.
1890 Foreign-born in US were 15% of population (14% in Vermont); more arriving
from southern and Eastern Europe (new immigrants) than northern and western
(old immigrants). Jacob Riis publishes How the Other Half Lives.
1891 Bureau of Immigration established under the Treasury Department. More
classes of aliens restricted including those who were monetarily assisted by others
for their passage. Steamship companies were ordered to return ineligible
immigrants to countries of origin.
1892 Ellis Island opened to screen immigrants entering on east coast. (Angel
Island screened those on west coast). Ellis Island officials reported that women
traveling alone must be met by a man, or they were immediately deported.
1902 Chinese Exclusion Act renewed indefinitely.
1903 Anarchists, epileptics, polygamists, and beggars ruled inadmissible.
1905 Construction of Angel Island Immigration Station began in the area known
as China Cove.
1906 Procedural safeguards enacted for naturalization. Knowledge of English
becomes a basic requirement.
1907 Head tax is raised. People with physical or mental defects, tuberculosis, and
children unaccompanied by a parent are added to the exclusion list. Japan agreed
to limit emigrants to the US in return for elimination of segregating Japanese
students in San Francisco schools.
1910 Surrounded by public controversy from its inception, the Angel Island
Immigration Station was finally put into operation. Although it was billed the Ellis
Island of the West, within the immigration service it was known as The Guardian
of the Western Gate and was designed to control the flow of Chinese into the
country, who were officially not welcome with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

1910 Dillingham Report from Congress assumed inferiority of new immigrants

from southern and Eastern Europe and suggested a literacy test to restrict their
entry. Dillingham was a senator from Vermont.
1917 Immigration Act provided for literacy tests for those over 16 and established
an Asiatic Barred Zone, which barred all immigrants from Asia.
1921 Quote Act of 1921 limited immigrants to 3% of each nationality present in
the US in 1910. This cut southern and eastern European immigrants to less than
one quarter of those in the US before WWI. Asians still barred; no limits on western
hemisphere. Non-quote category established: wives, children of citizens, learned
professionals, and domestic servants not counted in quotas.
1922 Japanese made ineligible for citizenship.
1924 Quotas changed to 2% of each nationality based on numbers in US in 1890.
Based on surnames (many anglicized at Ellis Island) and not the census figures,
82% of all immigrants allowed in the country came from western and northern
Europe, 16% from southern and eastern Europe, 2% from the rest of the world. As
no distinctions were made between refugees and immigrants, this limited Jewish
emigres during 1930s and 1940s. Despite protests from many native people, Native
Americans made citizens of the United States. Border Patrol established.
1924 Passage of the National Origins Act of 1924 limited the number and
nationality of immigrants allowed into the United States, effectively ending the era
of mass immigration into New York.

Biography Bottle

Newspaper Article

Saturday, January 2, 1892

Annie Moore: First Ellis Island Immigrant

By KATELYNN ARROYO

The new Ellis Island immigration buildings opened up yesterday awaiting

700 immigrants anxious to pass through to a new life in America. Three
big steamships waited in the harbor to land their passengers at the new
station. The person to hold the honor of becoming the first Ellis Island
Immigrant was a rosy-cheeked Irish girl named Annie Moore who just
turned 15 years old. Yesterday was her birthday! She was one of the 148
steerage passengers aboard the SS Nevada steamship. She is now
distinguished among all European immigrants as the first registered
immigrant in the book of the new immigration station, Ellis Island.
The steamship that brought Annie and her two brothers across the
Atlantic Ocean arrived late New Years Eve night, and yesterday morning,
all of the ships passengers were transferred onto the John E. Moore transfer
boat. As soon as the transfer boat docked ashore, Annie hurried into the big
building that covers almost the entire island. Charles E. Hendley, the former
Secretary of Windom was granted special permission by Colonel Weber to
register the first immigrant. When Annie was registered, Colonel Weber
congratulated, welcomed and wished Annie a happy birthday by presenting
her with a ten-dollar gold piece. The gold-piece was the first United States
coin Annie had ever seen and the most money she has ever had in her
possession. Annie stated, I will never part with this coin. I will forever
keep it as a memory of this occasion.
As soon as Annie walked down the stairs of separation, she and
her two younger brothers joined their parents who have already been living
in New York on Monroe Street for a couple of years.

Picture

Poem
Im

one
my
My
are
I

I
my
But I will be reunited with my parents in the end.
Soon I will be free,
And I can make a life for me.
Twelve long days,
And twelve long nights,
When I finally see the statue,
I can see the lights.
On a crowded ship,
I have been here too long,
Throughout the inspections,
I must remain strong.
My brothers and I,
We know we are close,
To see our parents again,
Is what we want most.
The inspections were rough,
Caring for my brothers was tough,
But to my surprise,
Im the first at the front of the line.
No longer fourteen,
I am given a gift,
A ten dollar gold piece,
And a birthday wish!
Fifteen now,
I step off the ship,
With my brothers near me,
And all the hope that I see.
My parents await,
I see them at the gate.
I am the first immigrant to pass through,
Ellis Island, thank you.

only
fourteen
years old,
With only
place on
mind to go.
brothers
by my side,
can only
pray to
make it
there alive.
have to say
goodbye to
home,
family and
friends,

Obituary

Anna Annie Moore

April 24, 1874 December 6, 1924
First Immigrant through Ellis Island Jan. 1, 1892
Beloved wife to Joseph Augustus Schayer
Beloved mother to eleven children
Manhattan, New York

Unsatisfactory

Needs
Improvement

Biography
0
1
Student documents
No sources documented
One source
at least three
documented
biographical sources
for their person.
Diary Entries
0
1
Student includes at
No diary entries
At least two diary
least four diary
included
entries included and
entries representing a
represent their persons
time in their persons
life with some missing
life.
information
Birth Certificate
0
1
Birth certificate is
No birth certificate
Birth certificate is not
student created and
included
student created, but
is an accurate
reflects the time period
representation of the
their person lived in
time period their
person lived in.
Timeline
0
1
Timeline includes 20
No timeline included
Less than 10 historical
historical events that
events are included on
happened during
timeline and some are
their persons life, but
events about their
are not about their
person
person.
Biography Bottle
0
1
Student created
No biography bottle
Student printed a
biography bottle
included
picture of their person
about their person.
and glued to the bottle

Satisfactory

Three sources
documented, bu
missing informati

Three diary entri

included and repre
their persons life w
accurate informat

Birth certificate
student created
reflects appropria
time period, but
lacking some impor
information

At least 15 histori
events are included
timeline and none
about their perso

Most of the bottle

student created, b
some pieces are
computer printe

Newspaper Article
Student creates a
newspaper article
about the events
their person made
happen or was
involved with.
Picture
Student creates a
collage that
represents their
persons life with at
least 10 pictures.
People Poems

Student will create a

poem about their
person including details
about their persons
life.

Obituary
Student creates an
obituary celebrating
their person and puts
it on a gravestone.

Grammar,
Punctuation,
Spelling, Content
and Accuracy of
Information

No Newspaper article
included

Newspaper article
includes mention of
their person but is
primarily about the
time period their
person was alive

No collage included

Collage includes less

than 5 pictures and
some do not pertain to
their persons life

No poem is included

No elements of a poem
are included in
students writing

No obituary is included

Obituary only includes

persons name and
dates they were alive;
not placed on
gravestone

Project was not turned

in

Multiple grammar,
punctuation and
spelling mistakes and
several parts of project
included inaccurate
information

Rubric

Student Name: ___________________________________________________

Total Score: _____/30 possible points

Newspaper article
about their person
events that their pe
made happen or w
involved in but th
are some inaccura

Collage includes
least 10 pictures b
some do not pertai
their persons lif

Poem contains poe

elements but
information about t
person is inaccura

Obituary contain
persons name, da
they were alive a
limited informatio
about their person
is placed on a
gravestone

Minor grammar
punctuation and
spelling mistakes w
minimal incidents
inaccurate informa