As some of you may know, a young Irish girl named Annie Moore was the first immigrant to be officially registered and pass through Ellis Island (the main entry facility for immigrants entering the US from 1892-1954) when it opened on January 1, 1892. And that was all I knew about Annie until now.

Annie was just 14 years old when she traveled to America by boat with her two younger brothers, Anthony and Philip. (She actually celebrated her 15th birthday the day she arrived in America after the twelve day sea journey.) Since Annie was the first immigrant to be officially registered, she was awarded a $10 gold coin. According to this handy inflation calculator, $10 in 1892 is equivalent to about $236 today. After the Moore children were registered, they met their parents who were already settled and living in New York City.

Here are a few other interesting Annie facts:
1.) There are two statues today that honor Annie – One on Ellis Island and the other in Cobh, Cork Cork, the Irish seaport from which she and her brothers sailed.
2.) Annie went on to marry a German immigrant named Joseph Augustus Schayer. They had at least 11 children and some documentation indicates they had even more!
3.) Annie passed away from heart failure in 1923 and was buried in unmarked grave in Queens, New York. Her grave was only identified in 2006 and today a new marked grave compete with a Celtic cross stands in her honor.

Here’s the song Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears from the Irish Tenors featuring the story of Annie More.

Source; Source; Source; Image Source 1; Image Source 2

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