The first immigrant to set foot on Ellis Island when it opened on Jan. 1, 1892, an Irish girl named Annie Moore, did not go west and die in Texas, as had long been believed, but spent her days as a poor immigrant on the Lower East Side, dying in 1924. Now, relatives have found two photographs of the woman they believe is the real Annie Moore.
Annie Moore was "rediscovered" by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, a genealogist, who teamed up with Brian G. Andersson, the New York City commissioner of records, to figure out that Annie never left New York, as had long been believed. They found that Annie had remained in New York City, married a Mr. Schayer, and the couple had at least 11 children.
Now family members have found two pictures in family scrapbooks with the name “Ma Schayer” or "Mama Schayer" written on the backs of the photos.
You can read more and see one of the pictures in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/nyregion/29annie.html.
NOTE: The New York Times often publishes articles in the free section of the company's web site, then removes them within a few days. The article and the photo are visible to everyone at no charge as I write these words but may be removed later.
