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Birth Date
My name is Ivan Aislin. I was born on December 15, 1842 into a family in deep poverty and famine, we lived in Ireland. I had a mother and father, Jane and Eli. I also had two brothers, Isac and Jeramiah. My father was carpenter and mason, my mother stayed home and took care of us. Sometimes my 2 aunts came over to take care of us when mother was helping father. Where I live it is very cold and rainy, with little to none other children to play with. -
Birth Date Continued...
In 1847 my father diead while helping build a house, a large piece of lumber fell on and crushed him. This is when we decided to got to America. My mother paid 30 dollars for each ticket, a huge fourtane. We are leaving Ireland because poverty and famine are high. We hope to gain money, a new life, and opportunities. My purpose for this autobiography is to depict what it is like to be an immigrant. -
Immigrating to America
Today is the day we can finally go to America. When we arrived at the boats there was a lot more people like us, hoping for oppourtunities. When on the boat, we were all crowded in. Meals were no problem, you could get 3 meals for 60 cents! Later on the boat started to smell of human feces. People were getting sick and some even died. But, one day we saw it, a beacon of hope, the Staue of Liberty. -
Ellis Island Immigration Station Continued...
When we asked where Jeramiah had been taken they said that they had to keep him until he got better, mother began to cry again. After mother was done mourning we gathered our luggage and walked out of the station. When we walked out of the station I could smell, see, hear, and almost taste the oppourtunities awaiting us. -
Ellis Island Immigration Station
When the boat docked every one rushed off in a hurry, wanting to get a clear image of this "land of oppourtunity". When we got into the actual station we were put in lines to be checked for some kind of eyeball disease. When it was my turn a man grabbed my eyelids and flipped them, it hurt bad, but they said I was healthy. When my brother Jeramiah stepped up, the man said that he had the eyeball disease and they took him into a different room, mother began to cry. -
Publishment of The New York Times
I'm now 8 years old. My experience already in New York is already a different one. Mother works at a sewing factory and our aunts take care of us while she is working. My aunt sent me to go get bread at the market. When I got there something unusual was going on, a man with stacks of papers was saying, "Get it now, New York Times, your daily source for world information." Curious, I walked over to the man and asked him how much they were, since it was the release he gave me one for free. -
Publishment of New York Times Continued...
Forgetting to buy bread, I quickly ran home to show my aunts. When I got home I went over to my one aunt and showed her the stack of paper. She started reading intentively. 5 minutes later she called in my other aunt and they bothe began to read. One of the headlines was, "Mass Immigration, Cheap Labor." Another was, "Tammany Hall Strikes Again." I wondered what all this meant, but yet I felt like I knew what it meant. I now realized that there is more to America than I thought. -
Skyscraper Worker Continued
Sometimes its a pain to rivet them together because the hole is to small. Life is dangerous up here, you could slip at any moment. Its a huge risk for just being paid under minimum wage. But, I guess thats what it takes to have a living in this country -
Skyscraper Worker
Today I began to work on a building they are calling a "skyscraper." Im not sure why they say that, but they say its gonna be taller than any other building around. I don't think it will be possible, but with the latest invention of steel it may be possible. They already have the lower 3 stories done, which makes it more dangerous for me. To get up to the top, I have to climb the steel frame. I've already seen a man fall and break his leg and hip bones. At the top, I have to rivet steel beams. -
Tornado Alley
City life was too much for me, after mother died, I lost it. I decided to move out west, one heck of a journey it was. Tornados, heat waves, dustbowls, you name it, thats what you run into out here. I "set up shop" in Kansas where I was able to get about 50 acres of land for such a small price. I farm potatoes, carrots, and other crops. I think I like it out here, quiet, and no one to worry about. I think I've got it made out here.
