About 40 percent of the people living in the U.S. today came through Ellis Island, according to the National Park Service.
Today, anyone can go to the island where 12 million people first set foot in America. And now, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is being renovated.
The $100 million project will expand the immigrant wall of honor and include interactive experiences with touchscreens, films, soundscapes and photos. The museum will also expand its database of arrival records, adding 90 million records from other ports of entry nationwide to create 154 million searchable documents.
Ellis Isand was the nation's primary port of entry when it opened in January 1892. It officially closed in 1954, but became a national park in 1965.
While more immigration records will soon be added, you can look up your ancestors online today at statueofliberty.org. You might think your ancestors came through a different port, but it is still worth it to search for names at the Ellis Island site. Family stories about entry aren't always entirely correct. If you do search, remember that names of family members in the American census records, especially first names, could be different from Ellis Island records. For example a family member named Barbara in the U.S. census could be Borbala in Ellis Island's records. It is helpful to have a range of dates when you think your ancestor arrived.
