Notable People Processed in Ellis Island Immigration Centre NOW Museum.

rom 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America's largest and most active immigration station, where over 12 million immigrants were processed. Among the notable immigrants who passed or were held here in Ellis Island, was the future and First president of Nigeria, Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe . Although never an Ellis Island Immigrant, Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, a Nigerian politician and the first president of Nigeria, was detained on the Ellis Island for short period of time in September nineteen twenty five. He was detained when he arrived in New York from Liverpool, England, sailing on the S.S. Scythia, because his student visa had expired. Another notable person to be held here in Ellis Island was the renown writer, Isaac Asimov. He came to America through Ellis Island in 1923 and grew up in Brooklyn where his parents owned a series of candy stores. Asimov wrote and edited more than 500 books and many short stories.

Prior to 1890, individual states, rather than the Federal Government, regulated immigration into the United States. Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton), located in the Battery of Manhattan, served as the New York State immigration station from 1855 to 1890.Approximately eight million immigrants passed through its doors, mostly from Northern European countries; this constituted the first large wave of immigrants to settle and populate the U.S.

In the 1800s, rising political instability, economic distress, and religious persecution plagued Europe, fueling the largest mass human migration in the history of the world. Around 1890, it became apparent that Castle Garden was ill-equipped and unprepared to handle the mass influx, leading the Federal government to construct a new immigration station on Ellis Island.Around 1890, it became apparent that Castle Garden was ill-equipped and unprepared to handle the mass influx, leading the Federal government to construct a new immigration station on Ellis Island. During construction, the Barge Office was used for immigrant processing.

The new structure on Ellis Island began receiving arriving immigrants on January 1, 1892. Annie Moore, a teenage girl from Ireland, accompanied by her two younger brothers, made history as the very first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island. Over the next 62 years, more than 12 million immigrants would arrive in the United States via Ellis Island. Most immigrants entered the United States through New York Harbor, although there were other ports of entry in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New Orleans. First and second class passengers arriving in New York Harbor were not required to undergo the inspection process at Ellis Island. Instead, these passengers received a cursory inspection aboard the ship; theory being that if a person could afford to purchase a first or second class ticket they were affluent and less likely to become a public charge in America due to medical or legal reasons. However, regardless of class, sick passengers or those with legal problems were sent to Ellis Island for further inspection.

This scenario was far different for third class passengers, commonly referred to as “steerage.” These immigrants traveled in crowded and often unsanitary conditions near the bottom of steamships, often spending up to two weeks seasick in their bunks during rough Atlantic Ocean crossings. After 1924, the only passengers brought to Ellis Island were those who had problems with their paperwork, as well as war refugees and displaced persons needing assistance. Ellis Island remained for three more decades serving a multitude of purposes, including a World War II detention center.

In November of 1954, the last remaining detainee on Ellis Island, a Norwegian merchant seaman named Arne Peterssen, was released and Ellis Island officially closed by the U.S. government.