Von: carlah@earthlink.net (Carla)
  Datum: 27.07.98, 15:32:07
Betreff: Immigrant Burials in New York City

Dear Baden-Wuerttemberg List Friends,

In keeping with our recent discussions on immigration of German
ancestors, I've just this morning discovered some information concerning
the burial of immigrants in New York City, and thought I would share it
with you.

Though it is known that there were no burials on Ellis Island
(1892-1954), and none at Castle Garden (1855-1892) on the southern tip
of Manhattan (Battery Park), there was evidently an island elsewhere in
the area which was the site of a "State Immigrant Hospital."  The island
where this hospital was located was called "Ward's Island" (now called
"Great Barcut Island" in New York).  Evidently, the State Immigrant
Hospital on Ward's Island had an adjoining burial ground.

>From the information furnished to me, it would appear that the State
Immigrant Hospital and burial grounds on Ward's Island were operating at
least during the *later* part of the Castle Garden era, from about
1880.  It may have been operating before that.  Starting in 1892, since
Ellis Island had its own hospital located within the buildings which
housed its immigrant processing facility, the Ward's Island hospital may
have no longer been used.  (Again, there were no *burials* on Ellis
Island itself.)

Perhaps this information about Ward's Island burials can shed some light
on situations in which an ancestor was reportedly buried on a New York
"island" related to incoming immigrants.  Depending on the time period
of the death, the person you are researching may well have been buried
at Ward's Island.  If not buried there, such people were likely buried
elsewhere within the New York City area (unless a relative or sponsor
could afford embalming to prepare the body for transport elsewhere).

I have no additional information on Ward's Island, except for the fact
that it is now the site of a sports facility.  It is unlikely that the
hospital or access to the former burial ground still exist (unlike the
facilities at Ellis Island, which were restored and turned into a museum
open to the public).

However, if you are interested in obtaining *death records* for persons
who died in the New York City area (including Ward's Island), existing
records for the time period in question are available through the New
York City Municipal Archives.  See their Web site at:

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/serdir/html/xdoris01.html

Included in these records are persons who died before 1948 in New York
City (Manhattan), one of the four surrounding boroughs (Brooklyn, Kings,
Queens and the Bronx), or the islands in New York Harbor under the
jurisdiction of the city of New York---such as Ward's Island.  Note that
the New York City Municipal Archives handles *early* records; records of
deaths occurring *after* 1948 are maintained separately by the New York
City Department of Health (for these, see the Web site at:)

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/vr/vr.html

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE AGENCIES HAVE *NOTHING TO DO WITH PASSENGER LISTS
OR IMMIGRATION INFORMATION.*  Contact them only if you are seeking
copies or a search of vital records (such as death certificates).

Hope this information is enlightening and proves helpful in solving some
research mysteries.  Good luck to you!

With warmest wishes,
Carla HELLER
Los Angeles