Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 23.07.98, 22:43:19
Betreff: Ellis Island/Burials?

Dear Toni and Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

A couple of things you may want to keep in mind:

1. Though it has become synonymous with American immigration in the minds
of many people, Ellis Island did not open for operation until 1892.  If
someone was an immigrant arriving at the port of New York in 1855, they
would have been processed through the receiving facility at Castle Garden,
not Ellis Island.  Castle Garden opened in 1855.  Ellis Island did not
exist at that time.

2. No one is buried at either Ellis Island or Castle Garden.  The land on
which the facilities were built is not only extremely limited in scope, but
partially composed of landfill, which is unsuitable for burial purposes
because of the instability of the ground water table.  Additionally,
neither Ellis Island nor Castle Garden were intended to serve as anything
other than immigration reception and processing centers.  The disposition
of the deceased would have been outside the authority of the customs and
immigration officials who were employed at Ellis Island.  Persons who died
on board ship would normally have been buried (or their remains cremated)
locally in the New York city area, through available providers of such
services at the time---local morticians and cemeteries.  The authorities at
Castle Garden or Ellis Island would have assisted any bereaved family
members in making appropriate arrangements, but would not have performed
burials or other disposition of remains themselves.

If you believe an ancestor died en route to the United States, and you
understand he/she arrived at the port of New York, I would recommend
checking with the New York City vital records offices and perhaps the state
offices as well, who could usually tell you if a death certificate or
record is available for the person in question.  You will need the deceased
person's name and approximate date of death (at least the year) to have the
records searched.  You might want to visit the Web site below for more
information on vital records in New York:

http://www.inlink.com/~nomi/vitalrec/ny.html

There is also a helpful and interesting informational essay on conditions
and operations at Ellis Island at the following Web site:

http://www.us.net/upa/guides/insa3.htm

Hope this information is helpful to you!

Cordially,
Carla HELLER
Los Angeles
==============================
"Toni"/Greg McCreash wrote:

> Hello! I am interested in finding information about the ship called ELISE
> RUCHEKLE. One of my documents indicates that the Kroul family came over
> from Hamburg to New York June 18, 1855. A daughter was born on the voyage
> and is supposedly buried on Ellis Island (?)
>
> I would like to:
> ---snip---
> 3) find out more about burials on Ellis Island
>
> Toni