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It’s a common tale you may have heard at the dinner table. Your great-grandfather or great-great-grandmother or some other relative down the line sailed into New York Harbor from Italy, Ireland, or one of the other many homelands that people left for the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Once they were processed through Ellis Island’s immigration station, they came out the other side with a new last name. But did this really happen? In our upcoming virtual talk with Stephen Lean, Director of the American Family Immigration History Center at The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, we’ll explore the immigrant’s journey step-by-step, and find out the real reasons why familial names were changed and how they’ve evolved.
This virtual talk is free and open to the public on October 18th! Register for your spot here. Gain access to even more free virtual talks and member-exclusive in-person events by becoming an Untapped New York Insider! Use code JOINUS for your first month free.
Immigrant Family Name Origins & How They Changed
For most immigrants traveling to America, name changes didn’t occur at Ellis Island. The changes were usually made in their home country. In this talk, co-hosted by Untappd New York’s Artist-in-Residence Aaron Asis, Stephen will walk the audience through the overall process of immigrating: from purchasing tickets through being inspected on Ellis Island. You’ll learn how many immigrants came through, the factors that compelled them to immigrate, and why some of those circumstances may have led to names being misspelled, voluntarily changed, or in some cases “borrowed” – all before boarding the vessel that would take them to the United States.
You’ll be taken on a deep dive into the Foundation’s archives to examine documents that illustrate common types of mistakes and spelling evolutions that appear on manifests. These examples will focus on the Italian, Russian, and Hebrew languages and how the phonemes/sounds commonly found in each language are often mistranslated on the manifests. Stephen will show examples of notable people whose birth names don’t match their legal or professional name, and explain what factors drove people to adapt to the circumstances they faced after immigrating.
You’ll also get to view spaces on Ellis Island that are rarely seen by the public when Aaron shares footage from his Unforgotten film series. The film features video of Ellis Island’s abandoned hospital complex and the baggage and dormitory building along with interviews and archival images.
Immigrant Family Name Origins & How They Changed
This virtual talk is free and open to the public on October 18th! Register for your spot here. Gain access to even more free virtual talks and member-exclusive in-person events by becoming an Untapped New York Insider! Use code JOINUS for your first month free.
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