Annie Moore (immigrant)
Anna Moore | |
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Born | Anna "Annie" Moore April 24, 1874 Ireland |
Died | December 6, 1924[1][2] | (aged 50)
Anna "Annie" Moore (April 24, 1874 – December 6, 1924) was an Irish émigré who was the first immigrant to the United States to pass through federal immigrant inspection at the Ellis Island station in New York Harbor.
Immigration
Moore arrived from County Cork, Ireland aboard the Guion Line steamship Nevada in 1892. Her brothers, Anthony and Philip, who journeyed with her, had just turned 15 and 12, respectively.[2][3] As the first person to pass inspection at the newly opened facility, she was presented with an American $10 gold piece from an American official.[3]
Family
Moore's parents, Matthew and Julia, had come to the United States in 1888 and were living at 32 Monroe Street in Manhattan. Annie married a son of German Catholic immigrants, Joseph Augustus Schayer (1876-1960), a salesman at Manhattan's Fulton Fish Market, with whom she had about eleven children. She died of heart failure on December 6, 1924 at age 50[1] and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens. Her previously unmarked grave was identified in August 2006. On October 11, 2008, a dedication ceremony was held at Calvary which celebrated the unveiling of a marker for her grave, a Celtic Cross made of Irish Blue Limestone. She had 11 children of whom five survived to adulthood, and three of them had children. The rest all died before the age of three.
Mistaken identity
A woman named "Annie Moore" who died near Fort Worth, Texas, in 1924 had long been thought to be the one whose arrival marked the beginning of Ellis Island. Further research, however, established that the Annie Moore in Texas was born in Illinois.[3][4]
Legacy
- The Irish American Cultural Institute presents an annual Annie Moore Award "to an individual who has made significant contributions to the Irish and/or Irish American community and legacy."[5]
- Annie Moore's story is told in the song "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears", written by Brendan Graham after visiting Ellis Island.[6][7] The song has been performed by Ronan Tynan and by The Irish Tenors, of which Tynan was formerly a member. Other artists performing the song include Sean Keane, Sean & Dolores Keane, Daniel O'Donnell, Celtic Thunder, Irish tenor Emmet Cahill, Celtic Woman,[8] Hayley Griffiths, Tommy Fleming and The High Kings.
- Annie Moore is honored by two statues sculpted by Jeanne Rynhart. One stands at Cobh Heritage Centre (formerly Queenstown), her port of departure, and another at Ellis Island, her port of arrival. The image is meant to represent the millions who passed through Ellis Island in pursuit of the American dream.[9]
- Annie is a software program named after Annie Moore. Developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, Lund University in Sweden, and the University of Oxford in Britain, the software uses what is known as a matching algorithm to allocate refugees with no ties to the host country to their new homes.[10]
Gallery
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Statue of Annie Moore and her brothers on the quayside in Cobh, Ireland.
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Annie Moore's Passenger Arrival at Ellis Island in 1892.
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Grave marker for Annie Moore at Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York, US.
See also
Arne Pettersen, the last person to go through Ellis Island.
References
- ^ a b Wikipedia, The original uploader was Ronzoni at English (Nov 23, 2008). "English: Grave marker for Annie Moore at Calvary Cemetery, Queens, N.Y." Retrieved Jul 19, 2020 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ a b Smolenyak, Megan (December 31, 2013). "Thiufhrthday -- But It's Not". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
- ^ a b c Roberts, Sam (September 14, 2006). "Story of the First Through Ellis Island Is Rewritten". The New York Times.
- ^ "Wrong Annie Moore Photo Album - by Author Megan Smolenyak". www.honoringourancestors.com. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
- ^ IACI-USA.org Annie Moore at www.iaci-usa.org
- ^ "Memorial dedication ceremony for Annie Moore. Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears sung by Ronan Tynan toward the midpoint of the video". Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
- ^ Brendan Graham, Annie Moore and 'Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears', archived from the original on 2021-12-18, retrieved 2021-09-10
- ^ Celtic Woman performing The New Ground - Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears on YouTube
- ^ "The Statue of Liberty — Ellis Island Foundation". Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
- ^ Calamur, Story by Krishnadev. "How Technology Could Revolutionize Refugee Resettlement". Retrieved Jul 19, 2020 – via The Atlantic.
External links
Media related to Annie Moore at Wikimedia Commons
- "Putting things right" by Ray O'Hanlon, The Irish Echo, September 20–26, 2006 • Vol 79 No. 38
- "Story of the First Through Ellis Island Is Rewritten", by Sam Roberts, The New York Times, September 14, 2006
- "Annie rewrites an American dream", by Sam Roberts, Scotland on Sunday via scotsman.com, September 17, 2006
- "Irish Immigrant First To Pass Through Ellis Island", from the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation website
- Reviews | Cobh "The Titanic Trail tour, Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland" by Dr.Michael Martin, includes an entire section dedicated to the Annie Moore Memorial Statue in Cobh Harbour.