Immigration Process At Castle Garden (1871)

Introduction

The article "The Immigration Process at Castle Garden - 1871" provides a detailed account of the procedures and experiences of immigrants arriving at Castle Garden, New York’s primary immigrant processing station during the 19th century. The article highlights the systematic approach taken to manage the large influx of immigrants, outlining the various steps from arrival to final departure. It offers insights into the challenges faced by immigrants, the role of officials, and the importance of Castle Garden as a gateway to America for millions seeking a new life.

Landing Immigrants at Castle Garden. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June 1884. GGA Image ID # 14bb9d02ed

The State of New York has established a Landing Depot for Immigrants at Castle Garden in the port of New York. Friedrich Kapp, former Commissioner of Immigration for the State of New York, describes in a pamphlet on immigration how to manage the many immigration departments at Castle Garden.

I. The Boarding Department

On arrival at the quarantine station (six miles below the city), an officer of this department boards every vessel carrying immigrant passengers.

He is stationed there to ascertain the number of passengers, the deaths, if any, during the voyage, and the number and character of sickness.

He examines the vessel's cleanliness and receives complaints, which he reports to the General Agent and Superintendent at Castle Garden.

He remained on board the ship during her passage up the bay to ensure that the law prohibiting communication between ship and shore before immigrant passengers landed was enforced.

On casting anchor in the stream, convenient to the Landing Depot, he is relieved by an officer of the Metropolitan Police force, detailed at Castle Garden, and the passengers are transferred to his care.

II. The Landing Department

From there, the Landing Agent proceeds with barges and tugs, accompanied by the Inspector of Customs, to the vessel. After the luggage is examined, it is checked, and the passengers with their luggage are transferred to the barges and tugs and landed at the Castle Garden pier.

On landing, the passengers are examined by a medical officer to discover if any sick have passed the health authorities at quarantine (who are thereupon transferred by steamer to the hospitals on Ward's or Blackwell's Island) and likewise to select all subject to special bonds under the law, such as blind persons, people with disabilities, lunatics, or any others who are likely to become a future charge.

This examination ends with the immigrants being directed into the Rotunda, a circular space with separate compartments for English-speaking and other nationalities.

A Clerk at Castle Garden Registers the Name of Incoming Immigrants. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, March 1871. GGA Image ID # 14b41ae410

Where the names, nationality, former place of residence, and the intended destination of the immigrants, with other particulars, are taken down. The passengers are then directed to.

The Railroad Ticket Office at Castle Garden. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, March 1871. GGA Image ID # 14b44490c8

They can procure tickets to all parts of the United States and Canada from whom they can procure tickets without the risk of fraud or extortion to which they are subjected outside of the Depot. Meanwhile, baggage and luggage are stored in the baggage room.

A brass ticket, with any letter of the alphabet from A to F inclusive and a number from 1 to 600, is delivered to the immigrant on landing, and a duplicate is fastened on his baggage.

The trunk or box is then placed in the baggage room. This room has six bins, designated by the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F, and each bin has six hundred numbers. Accordingly, when the immigrant produces his ticket, a baggage man immediately goes to the bin indicated by the letter and number on the ticket and delivers the required baggage.

On the delivery of their check, the immigrants destined inland take their baggage to the weigher's scales. After being weighed and paid for, it is sent free of charge to the railroad depot or dock of the steamboat by which they leave. Such immigrants as design remaining in this city and vicinity are directed to.

Inspection of Immigrants Baggage at Castle Garden. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June 1884. GGA Image ID # 14bba5aa87

V. The City Baggage Delivery

Which ascertains the address to which the immigrants may desire to have their luggage sent and takes their orders, exchanging the brass check *received from the Landing Agent on shipboard for a printed paper one.

The luggage is then promptly delivered to any part of this city and vicinity at a moderate rate of charges approved by the Commission. At the same time, those having gold or silver that they may wish to have exchanged for United States currency are directed to one of three.

VI. Exchange Brokers

Currency Exchange Broker's Office at Castle Garden. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, March 1871. GGA Image ID # 14b4530efa

Admitted into the Depot, they change foreign money for a small advance on the market rate, set forth in a conspicuous place for the immigrant's observation, the daily fluctuations in rates being duly noted.

These three departments are conducted by responsible parties, who, while not officers, are under the close and constant supervision of the Commission and are required to keep a record of all transactions, subject to the inspection of any member of the Board.

VII. The Information Department

When the preceding operations are completed, the immigrants are assembled in the tile Rotunda. An officer of the Commission calls out the names of those whose friends attend them in the waiting room at the depot's entrance and to whom they are directed.

At the same time, the names of those for whom letters or funds are waiting are called out, and the letters or funds are then delivered to the proper owners through the Forwarding Department. Immigrants who desire to communicate with friends at a distance are referred to.

VIII. The Letter Writing Department

Clerks who understand the various Continental languages are in attendance to write. While waiting for a reply, the immigrant, if destitute, finds a home in the institutions at Ward's Island.

IX. Boarding-house Keepers

Licensed by the Mayor and adequately certified as to character by responsible parties, they are admitted to the Rotunda after the preceding business has been completed to solicit for their respective houses such immigrants as a desire to remain in the city for any time.

These boarding-house keepers are subject to specific regulations, and every precaution is taken to guard the immigrant against the abuses and imposition to which he was formerly liable.

X: The Forwarding Department

Through the Treasurer, Receives all communications and remittances from friends of immigrants, sent either before their arrival or in response to letters written by the Letter Department.

XI. The Ward's Island Department

Receives all applications for admission to the Refuge or Hospital there. Attached to this department are two physicians whose duties are to examine all sick and destitute applicants for relief, visit all such applicants at their residences in the city, and report to the general agent.

The Labor Exchange -- Interior View of the Office at Castle Garden, New York. Sketed by Stanley Fox. Harper's Weekly, 15 August 1868. GGA Image ID # 14805c4868

When arriving, each immigrant is requested to enter his or her name, ship, date of arrival, and character of employment, while every employer is required to enter his or her name, residence, recommendations, references, and description of labor wanted.

This Labor Exchange furnishes an intelligence office, without charge, for immigrants desirous of (binding employment or service in the city or at a distance and undertakes to supply all sorts of skilled mechanical and agricultural labor to employers in any part of the United States who come with a proper guarantee of character and other necessary qualifications.

The Commissioner's account is similar. A few words from a pamphlet by a Scotch farmer give an immigrant's impression.

Impressions from Immigrants

" When the shore is reached, the passengers, baggage and all, are driven to Castle Garden, between two lines of officials, in the same manner as the railway officials in the west put the wild Texas cattle into the cars, minus the whipping.

In the passage along Castle Garden, we were met first by one government official and then by another, each of whom asked a distinct class of questions and scrutinized the appearance of every immigrant. Some of the questions were as follows:

• What is your name?
• Where is your former place of residence?
• Whither are you going?
• What is your trade?

After the government inspectors were satisfied, we were pushed farther into a large open area, where we had to remain until everyone had passed this ordeal. When this formal business was completed, we wanted to get out to a hotel to secure a bed and get rested, for we were very much used up.

The doorkeeper told us that we must remain until the business was completed. I insisted on that flag out on the plea of sickness, and I was very sick, but that had no effect.

There, along with many moms, I had to remain to be assailed by a host of what were called very respectable lodging housekeepers and to hear an almost endless string of names called over, which was only interesting to a few.

One would infer from the name of this place —Castle Garden — that he was entering into a paradise, but I could call it by another name.

It contains a Labor Exchange, a most essential and useful office for immigrants whose minds are not fixed on any particular place and especially for those who have no money to carry them farther. A meal can be bought in the building for half a dollar, and immigrants can remain in it to wait for the chance of employment.

There is only one place for them to sleep on the floor or a chair. If one possessed of money or Valuables wishes to remain about New York for a time and knows no place for their safety, he should hand them over to the General Superintendent of Castle Garden, whose hands they are pretty safe and who will rant a receipt for them.

An immigrant can leave his baggage there for days or weeks if it is not convenient for him to remove it, but he should always be careful to get a check for each box from the company's employees, which is his guarantee for his property.

Every employee is obliged to wear and exhibit a badge showing his position while on duty, which is an excellent arrangement to prevent imposition by sharpers.

All services rendered to immigrants by the servants are free of charge. The Immigration Commissioners have established a hospital for immigrants prostrated by sickness and unable to pay for medical assistance and comforts.

These and other arrangements at Castle Garden are all well meant and have done well and are possibly doing good still, but from the many complaints in and out of the place, it is evident there is a screw loose somewhere."

Handbook for Immigrants to the United States. Prepared by the American Social Science Association with Maps. Published for the Association by Hurd and Houghton, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1871.

The Immigration Process at Castle Garden

A Key to Understanding America’s Past

The article “The Immigration Process at Castle Garden - 1871” offers an in-depth exploration of the procedures and experiences faced by immigrants at New York's primary immigration station in the 19th century. For teachers, students, genealogists, family historians, and history enthusiasts, this account provides a rich, detailed narrative of the methods used to process millions of hopeful arrivals seeking a new life in America. By examining this pivotal period in U.S. immigration history, readers gain insights into the systems that shaped the American melting pot.

Why This Resource Matters

1. A Comprehensive View of Immigration History
   The article meticulously outlines the stages of the immigration process, from health inspections at quarantine to ticket purchases at the labor exchange, painting a vivid picture of the challenges and opportunities awaiting new arrivals.
2. Educational Relevance
   • Teachers and Students: This detailed account is an excellent tool for exploring themes of migration, public health, and urbanization, making history tangible and engaging.
   • Genealogists and Family Historians: The descriptions of procedures, documentation, and the immigrant experience help contextualize records, potentially illuminating personal family histories.
3. Engaging Personal Stories
   The inclusion of immigrant impressions and anecdotes brings a human element to the history, illustrating the resilience, confusion, and hope of those stepping into a new world.

Key Features of the Castle Garden Process

• Health and Legal Inspections: Immigrants underwent rigorous medical exams and scrutiny to ensure compliance with laws, particularly for those with disabilities or illnesses.
• Registration Procedures: Officials recorded vital details such as names, nationalities, destinations, and trades, creating a systematic database critical for genealogical research today.
• Labor Exchange and Ticketing: Immigrants accessed safe and transparent resources for employment and travel, safeguarding them from fraud.
• Currency Exchange and Baggage Handling: Practical measures ensured immigrants could securely convert foreign currency and manage their belongings.

Historical Significance

Castle Garden’s innovative systems were designed to manage the influx of immigrants humanely and efficiently. It set the stage for modern immigration practices while highlighting the societal and bureaucratic challenges of the time. The article emphasizes the station’s critical role in shaping America’s cultural and economic landscape.

Call to Action

Exploring this Castle Garden section provides a window into the lives of millions who helped build America. Whether you’re researching family roots, teaching immigration history, or gaining a deeper appreciation of this transformative era, the immigration process at Castle Garden is a cornerstone of American heritage. Let this resource inspire your understanding of the challenges and triumphs that defined a nation.