This is the manifesto from the ship that brought my paternal grandmother’s grandfather over from County Wicklow, Ireland to America, where he went through Ellis Island to New York to find work. He came to America on May 13th, 1892 on the Britannic. He stayed until he discovered he would inherit a farm back in County Wicklow, despite not being the oldest in the family, so he returned to Ireland. He married there and had eight children, one being my grandmother’s father, who also eventually traveled to New York through Ellis Island without any other family with him. He met my grandmother’s mother there,  and they married in 1940. However, my grandmother’s mother passed away from illness. My grandmother was almost sent back to Ireland, due to her father not being able to take care of her alone. Instead, my grandmother went to live with her father's cousin, Andy, and his wife, Helen Wolahan, at around three years old. They eventually divorced and she stayed with Helen, until she became a teenager and stayed with her father. She eventually met my grandfather. My family came from Italy and Ireland, and all went through Ellis Island. Immigration and Opportunity are very important parts of my family’s American identity, and shows how complicated and tough it was to come to America during this time. Without my grandparents’ resilience and hard work, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I wouldn’t have the love and support in my education, life, and dreams that they have given me. 

– BP

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more