Figure 1.--A reader writes, "This statue says a lot. It is located at the waterfront in Cobh (pronounced Cove) Ireland. It was once known as Queenstown and was the main port of emigration to America. It was here that the' Titanti'c made its last port of call. The statue is of Annie Moore and her two younger brothers. Annie was 17 and the two boys were 13 and 12. They made history by being the first ones to be admitted to America through the new immigration facility at Ellis Island in New York harbor. The port had just opened. After a 12 day voyage on a steamer from county Cork the little family arrived on January 1, 1892. Annie was given a $10 gold piece for being the first to enter the complex. They moved in with their parents who had already settled in a slum area of Manhattan. Conditions were rough. Annie married and had 11 children, most dying by age three years. She died at age 50 and it is believed she never moved out of the area of Manhattan. Research is being done to this day as historians want to bring the entire story to the world. Annie and her brothers were buried in a common grave and it was only a few years ago that a stone was erected. I took the photo on a trip to Ireland. A similar statue was erected on Ellis Island." Annie's story symbolizes the experience of the Irish and other immigrants. Disingenuous woke historians used it to condemn America, purposefully not mentioning how conditions in America were so much better for working people than in Ireland or anywhere else in the world. Or the incredible opportunities that the immigrants found in America and took advantage of to build prosperous lives.

America was built by immigrants and many of those individuals came as children or youths. Few immigrant groups played a more important role than the Irish--the first Catholic groups to arrive in America in numbers. Because of the Potato Famine, the Irish were starving. Conditions the immigrants encountered were very difficult, but the Irish did not starve in America. Annie Moore may be the best remembered of all the Irish immigrants. The Irish began to arrive in great numbers because of the Potato Famine (1840s). At the time there was virtually no restriction on immigration. Gradually immigration became regularized. One of the most important entry ports became Ellis Islands in New York Harbor which was opened in 1892. The first person to pass through Ellis Island was a 17-year old girl from County Cork--Annie More. Moore and her two younger brothers, Anthony and Philip, who journeyed with her had just turned 12 and 15 years old. They made history by being the first ones to be admitted to America through Ellis Island. The reception center had just been opened. They arrived after a 12-day voyage in steerage on a steamer from county Cork--Queenstown. This as of course the final port that RMS Titanic sailed from. The little family arrived in New York (January 1, 1892). There would be 12 million people to follow Annie through Ellis Island to America. Annie was a lucky girl. She was the first person to disembarked from the steamship Nevada. The Secretary of the Treasury was there to greet her and present her with a $10 gold coin. She was also welcomed by her parents and moved in with them. Many immigrants like Annie led rough lives and conditions we difficult for immigrants--although not as difficult as in the countries from which they came. Annie spent the rest of her days within the same few blocks in Manhattan's Lower East Side. She married a clerk and had at least 11 children (although only five lived to adulthood). She died in 1924 of heart failure and is buried beside her children in Queens. A sculpture of Annie now stands in the restored Great Hall at Ellis Island. Annie Moore's experience inspired the lyrical song 'Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears' written by Brendan Graham after visiting Ellis Island.

Created: 3:40 PM 8/27/2023
Last updated: 3:40 PM 8/27/2023