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Has anyone ever successfully used the Ellis Island website? I've been trying my one query on and off for years now, but still have had no success! I'm just wondering if it's something I'm doing wrong, or if other people have similar trouble...

Hi Stephen, I have found relatives on the Ellis Island website. Who are you looking for?

I have been successful too though only very recently with an Irish lot.

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Mel

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It's my Great Grandmother; Mary Hennessy. A right mystery!

She was born in Kilsheelan, South Tipperary (according to what my Grandfather used to say).
She was born in 1881 (1911 census)
Or 1867 (according to her 1947 death certificate that my Nan wrote out)
Or 1873 (according to how old my Nan told me she was when she died!)

Sadly, her 1906 wedding seems never to have been recorded, and only exists as a church wedding...not a civil one.

But before her Tipperary wedding, my Grandfather used to say that she had gone out to America where she had contracted malaria, so had to come home again.

I'm hoping to use information from potential baptisms to match up with information from Ellis Island in order to find her parentage, as there's simply no other way of doing so!

It'll be a massive project, but Ellis Island doesn't tend to throw up much in the way of useful things!

Stephen, is it possible that your Gt. Grandma went to the US via Canada? Some of my relatives went this way.

Also, most of the Ellis Island records do not include a first name so there can be some guessing involved. Luckily, Leaver isn't that common so if I find an Ellis Island record for a Burnley Leaver, I can figure out who they were through traveling companions, age etc.

Have you looked at find my past? There are lots of Mary Hennessy's.

Would Mary have sailed for the US from Ireland, or England?
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/passengerLi ... art.action

I've had luck finding a family on the Ellis Island site, but I had definite information about them prior to their emigration. Maybe Mary sailed into Boston. There was an Irish community in that city. Also, as Kris points out, people entered the US from Canada, but unfortunately official border records began in 1908.

Do you have a record of the church wedding in 1906? Would that show her age?

Joan

Dear all, not long after this post, I had a huge breakthrough with my research. I'd always had the 1906 church wedding (which didn't show Mary's father's name), but with a bit of fiddling about, I managed to locate the 1906 civil record. Why hadn't I found it before? Because 'Hennessy' had become 'Kennedy'!

But there was a Dad...Daniel. And now there's a Mum. Two possible grandparents, and seven siblings for Mary. Wow! I suppose I can attempt to restart my Ellis Island searching with these new names to hand...

To answer the questions:
The only reason I know Mary was in America at all is that Grandad once told my Nan, upon hearing of someone who'd caught malaria, "My mother had malaria. She caught it in America and had to come home." He never really spoke of his family, so that (paraphrased) utterance is like gold-dust!

I imagine Mary sailed from Ireland. Don't know why I feel this, but it seems the most likely, I think.