Moore, Annie (1874-1924), was the first immigrant to pass through the United States immigration station on Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. Moore, a teenager from County Cork, Ireland, entered the facility on Jan. 1, 1892. She became a symbol of a new wave of immigration to the United States.
The U.S. government began transforming Ellis Island into an immigration inspection station in 1890. In December 1891, Annie Moore and her younger brothers Anthony and Phillip boarded the steamship Nevada at Queenstown (now Cobh), in County Cork, Ireland. The ship had earlier picked up passengers in Liverpool, England. Many of its passengers were from Russia, Sweden, and England. The Nevada arrived in New York Harbor on December 31. The next morning, immigrants from the Nevada and two other ships boarded transfer boats and landed on Ellis Island. The immigrants were questioned by government officials and examined by doctors.
Many historians believe that officials handpicked Annie to be the station’s first arrival. Officials may have viewed the rosy-cheeked Irish girl as a nonthreatening symbol of the wave of immigration. Annie received a $10 gold coin in commemoration of the event.
Much of Annie’s life remains a mystery. Annie’s parents had come to the United States with her two older siblings a few years earlier, leaving Annie and her younger brothers in the care of an aunt. Many newspapers of the day claimed that Annie arrived at Ellis Island on her 15th birthday, but she actually was 17. Annie married in 1895. She had at least 10 children, 5 of whom survived to adulthood. Annie died of heart failure in 1924.
The Ellis Island immigration station closed in 1954. In 1965, the island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. A statue of Annie stands at Ellis Island. Another statue, of Annie and her brothers, stands in Ireland at the site of their departure.
See also Ellis Island.
