Ellis Island, an island of hope for some and tears for others, still holds many secrets for those of us tracing our ancestors through its gates. In Immigration Records, from the Ancestors series, Cathy Horn finds more than she expected what she begins to research her family's journey through Ellis Island:
In the entry next to [Apollonia's] name, it looked as if someone had written the words "died December 3, 1910." Finally, after what seemed like years, [Cathy's] cousin Maria returned her call, and Cathy told her about Apollonia. After a long silence Maria began to speak, saying that she had vague recollections of her mother and grandmother discussing Ellis Island, a baby who died there, and their longing to know where the baby was buried. Maria said that her own mother and two aunts had remained on Ellis Island for several days, alone and frightened children in a foreign country without their mother. Maria also recalled that her grandmother and baby were taken to a hospital, where they were separated. After a few days, her grandmother was told that the baby had died. So Catharina Spiegel, upon her release from the hospital, continued on to Ellis Island to pick up her three other daughters. Together they traveled to Pennsylvania, where she and her husband lived until their deaths, never knowing what happened to their baby, Apollonia.
Did Cathy ever find little Apollonia? Tune in to find out.
Og from Roots Television