A Nation of Immigrants

New Year’s Day dawned cold and blustery in 1892, but for fourteen year old Annie Moore and her two younger brothers, the austere weather belied their intense happiness. The young trio from County Cork Ireland had been traveling for almost two weeks across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the S.S. Nevada. After spending Christmas at sea and one night in New York City without any adult relatives, they were eager to finally meet up with their parents, Matthew and Mary Moore, who had emigrated to New York City two years earlier.
That morning, Annie and her brothers were among almost 300 immigrants waiting to step onto Ellis Island, America’s newest federal immigration processing center. As the ferry’s gangplank lowered, a small mob of people rushed forward, and Annie was in danger of being trampled by a “burly German immigrant.” According to a local cub reporter, a fellow Irish immigrant filled with “a spark of Celtic gallantry changed the scene,” shouting out, “Ladies first!”

Thanks to this noble gesture, not only were Annie and her brothers the first three off the ferry, they were also the first three immigrants of any nationality to be processed at Ellis Island. Interestingly, none of the trio had any idea that their family was making American history, which may explain why Annie was stunned when she was met by “a host of city, state, and federal officials who presented her with a certificate and a ten-dollar gold piece.”
According to the local papers, the grand opening of Ellis Island was actually a rather quiet affair, and so “ without any ceremony or formal opening the immigration officials of this city … settled down on Ellis Island, in the harbor, and the barge office is known to them no more. The steamship Nevada was the first to arrive at the new landing place. Her immigrants were put aboard the barge J. E. Moore, and amid the blowing of foghorn and whistles approached the pier. Charles M. Hanley … was at the registry desk when there came tripping up a fifteen-year-old-girl, Annie Moore, and her little brother.”
That morning, as Annie had the honor of being the first person named in the Ellis Island registration book, she was understandably overwhelmed. In her hands she now held a ten dollar gold coin, “the first United States coin she had ever seen and the largest sum of money she had ever possessed.”
And for quite some time, that was all that was known about little Annie Moore. Over the next sixty years, 12 million more immigrants traced Annie’s footsteps through Ellis Island until it closed in November of 1954. By the mid-1960s, people were keen to know more about the history of Ellis Island. Younger Americans attempted to trace the paths of their immigrant grandfathers and grandmothers. Soon historians were clamoring to know more about Annie… what had happened to the young Irish lass who had been so captivated by a shimmering coin in 1892.
The search was on, and experts soon located an Annie Moore who had moved “west with her family to fulfil the American dream—eventually reaching Texas, where she married a descendant of the Irish liberator, Daniel O’Connell, and then died accidentally under the wheels of a streetcar at the age of 46.”
For years this Annie Moore and her descendents were touted to be the Moore family who first trod upon Ellis Island. As recently as July 11, 2000, First Lady Hillary Clinton spoke eloquently about her and her descendents, stating: “You know, I think about the millions and millions of people who came here and the courage it took to make the decision to leave a familiar place. Some were driven out, some were fleeing for their lives with their few possessions carried and put on their backs, clinging to children. Others made the decision that there was a better life and they would go find it. And when the ferry pulled into the harbor and everyone disembarked to begin walking through these hallowed grounds, I thought about all of those people. We’ve seen the pictures, we’ve heard the stories, and I can imagine what it must have been like for the very first person to pass through Ellis Island. Her name was Annie Moore. She was 15 years old and on January 1, 1892, she came with her family in pursuit of a new life. In honor of her place in history, the New York authorities at the immigration station gave her a $10 gold piece.
Almost a hundred years later, her daughter, then in her 80’s, came from Arizona for the opening of the genealogical center, and presented a symbolic $10 bill to kick off the fundraising campaign. I am very pleased that Annie Moore’s great grandson, Ed Wood, is here today, along with his wife Barbara. And Ed, would you please stand in honor of your brave great grandmother who led the long line of immigrants who passed through this island on the way to freedom and citizenship.”
Unfortunately, Ed Wood and Hillary Clinton had their facts all wrong.
It took the bloodhound combination of detective work and genealogical acumen of Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (sic) and Brian Andersson for the real Annie to surface. Through birth and naturalization certificates, Megan and Brian were able to locate Annie’s brother Phillip, her great-niece Anna, and a great nephew. Megan took a gamble, flipped through the phone books and found the great nephew listed. She immediately placed a call and, “As soon as I said ‘Annie Moore,’ he knew instantly — ‘That’s us.’” According to Megan, the family felt ‘they had been overlooked, but they had sort of resigned themselves.
Not too surprisingly, “Edward Wood, a New Jersey plumbing contractor … descended from the Texas Annie Moore and who has been feted on Ellis Island, stated that he was”… disappointed, but … not heartbroken.”
So, what really happened to Annie Moore who arrived aboard the S.S. Nevada?
According to Megan, “She had the typical hardscrabble immigrant life,” and “… sacrificed herself for future generations.” Annie died of heart failure in 1924, barely 47 years of age. Her body was worn out from years of drudgery and eleven pregnancies. Only five of her children survived childhood.
Though Annie never knew great wealth or a life of ease, she would probably be proud to know that her descendents have done quite well. Today, one is an investment adviser and another has a PhD.
It seems her family has finally found the American Dream.

By Marjorie McKInstry-Miller