Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Federal Documents To Dispel A Myth About Ellis Island, Rosemary L. Meszaros, Katherine Pennavaria

DLPS Faculty Publications

Government workers at New York’s Ellis Island have been accused of murdering ancestral names to serve their own purposes and prejudices. Despite zero evidence to support this accusation, the myth stubbornly persists. They did not change names. They worked from manifests, which were governed by law.