4 ways to NOT find your ancestor on Ellis Island

I currently live in a very cool place. From my living room window I can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I actually have very few ancestors who came through there, so I was excited at the prospect of my great-great-grandma. These days it almost seems to be a feather in the cap of genealogist to find an Ellis Island immigrant ancestor. 

Family member name: Ellen Fripp Bromley Wahlgren

Lifetime: 1851-1941
Tree branch: Bromley
Relation: My 2x great-grandmother (my dad's mom's mom's mom)

But I was running into brick walls. It was a learning experience. Of what not to do.

1. Search on only one name 

This is especially true of females. She was born Ellen Fripp, married young to a Bromley and married a second time to a Wahlgren. What name did she have when she immigrated?  Match the year of immigration with the year of marriage, right? For some reason I was certain she came here when she was single. Couldn't find her. 

2. Search on only one database

I was certain she had to come through Ellis Island, so I searched the Ellis Island website. I entered her name, her other name, various spellings, various years of crossing. Nada. 

3. Assume you have your historical facts straight

I knew from later documents that her year of immigration was 1881. So, "of course she came through Ellis Island, since the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France for the US's centennial in 1876", said Miss Smartypants Me to myself.  Why couldn't I find her? 

4. Stick to your guns

I went across the river to the National Archives in NYC where I performed these same searches again, hoping that a passenger list had recently been found in the bottom of a box (eureka!) and scanned by an intern.  Nope. 

My advice is to not take any of the above advice.

Finally, I asked the nice lady volunteer with glasses and a lanyard what she recommended. She informed me that Ellis Island was not built until 1892, and before that, immigrants sailed by the Statue of Liberty and landed at Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan in Battery Park. (Duh! The Statue of Liberty is not the same as Ellis Island!)  "Why not try the Castle Clinton website?"  Boom. One search and done. I could even print it out. 

Passenger list of the Celtic

October 30, 1881.

3. Ellen Bromley, 29, F, Spinster, From England

A five minute walk from the National Archives to Castle Clinton and I was feeling successful. It's not Ellis Island, but I got to visit the spot where my great great grandma started her new life. And I didn't have to stand in line for a boat. Here I am.

And then my husband took me out for a glass of wine. :)