Ellis Island has become synonymous with immigration into the United States but there were several other locations around the country that served as earlier points of entry. One of these, commonly known as Castle Garden is important for anyone researching an ancestor that arrived in New York Harbor from Craco before 1890.
Based on Note Storiche sul Comune di Craco, the history of the town of Craco, the first immigrant to come to America from arrived in 1880. (1) The Castle Garden Immigration Station operated from 1855 to April 19, 1890 so the earliest immigrants entered through this location.
After that, immigrants entered New York through an immigration site known as The Barge Office located at the foot of Whitehall Street near the Battery at the southeast end of Manhattan until January 1, 1892 when the Ellis Island immigration station opened. The Barge Office operated again from June 13, 1897 through December 16, 1900 after the original wooden structure of the Ellis Island immigration station burned to the ground and until the new Ellis Island facility reopened. (2)
Although researchers can use the well known Ellis Island website to find information about ancestors entering the US, the content there only covers the period from 1892-1924. The Castle Garden website allows individuals to researching ancestors that came to the US before 1892. For example, the list of 50 names that follows represents individuals who can be identified as coming from Craco through the Castle Garden Immigration Station before 1892, based on their reporting the town on the ship’s manifest when they boarded.
This list is by no means exhaustive, since the “Place of Last Residence” wasn’t always required or a misspelling of the town name did not produce a match. Individual searches on the Castle Garden website should be conducted to locate records before 1892.
(1) D’Angella, Dino, Note Storiche sul Comune di Craco, An English Translation of the History of The Town of Craco by The Craco Society, 2009, pg. 94
(2) The Immigration Experience. http://members.tripod.com/~L_Alfano/immig.htm
Last Name
First Name
Age
Sex
Arrival Date
Place of Last Residence
ARANZO
MARIA
29
F
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
PIETRO
24
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ANTONIO
3
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
FILOMENA
42
F
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ANGELO
37
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
VINCENZO
28
M
23 Sep 1887
CRACO
DOMENICO
21
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
F.
28
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
SALVATORE
28
M
23 Sep 1887
CRACO
ROSA
38
F
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
FRANCESCO
27
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
24
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
MARIA
4
F
23 Dec 1889
CRACO
GIOVANNA
7 m
F
23 Dec 1889
CRACO
ANGELA
34
F
23 Dec 1889
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
14
M
18 Apr 1890
CRACO
VINCENZO
23
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
VINCENZO
49
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ANGELO
21
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
ANDREA
11
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
A.M.
11
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
25
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ELEONORA
40
F
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
ROCCO
36
M
23 Dec 1889
CRACO
DONATO
22
M
23 Sep 1887
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
34
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
BENEDETTO
33
M
23 Dec 1889
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
12
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
MICHELE
41
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
12
M
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
PASQUALE
43
M
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
NICOLA
20
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
LEONARDO
6
M
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
ELEONORA
30
F
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
ANGELA
9
F
9 Jun 1890
CRACO
GAETANO
36
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
NICOLA
40
M
18 Apr 1890
CRACO
PASQUALE
34
M
18 Apr 1890
CRACO
GIOVANNI
27
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
ANTONIO
39
M
3 Jun 1891
CRACO
ANGELO
12
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
VINCENZO
7
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ANTONIO
21
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
ANDREA
35
M
28 Mar 1885
CRACO
GIUSEPPE
34
M
13 Dec 1887
CRACO
FEDELE
24
M
22 Mar 1892
CRACO
VINCENZO
25
M
23 Sep 1887
CRACO
FILOMENA
34
F
22 Mar 1892
CRACO
NICOLA
27
M
23 Sep 1887
CRACO
AMBROGIO
21
M
22 Mar 1892
CRACO