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Immigration Timeline
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Lost Home
As winter was approaching, I was simply not making nearly enough money. Nobody bought my crops, and my wheat would not grow properly. My good friend Bill told me about his sister going to America. His sister has gotten a great job in Boston, and is making plenty of money. This is when I officially decided that I was going to America. -
To the Atlantic
I had no choice but to leave my farm from the low pay. I was heading to America. I got a ride from Bill as we were both hoping to make it there. It only took us about a month to get to the west coast as we were traveling by train. Also, Bill had somehow earlier already set us up with a ship in first class. We made it to the ship, and bought our tickets. We were setting foot in a road to the promise lands. -
Arrival at Ellis Island
I had finally arrived in America with Bill. We immediatly went past steerage because we were first class, but one of the doctors saw me and immediatly called me over for inspection. After about 20 quick tests, he drew something on me and sent me down to another inspection. The doctor looked at me and right away told me I had pnuemonia. After that, I was assigned a room, and was told to stay for a month. That was the last time I saw Bill. The month went by very fast, and I was better. -
Factory Job
Finally after I was released from Ellis Island, I went straight to Boston in hopes for a new job. I found an apartment for a rent of just 3 dollars a week. At that point, I just needed some sort of job to pay for my rent, and still make a profit. There was a factory close by, ad I decided I would find a job there. They let me in and I made 50 cents a day, enough to pay for my rent, and still have 50 cents of week left over. It was a terrible job plucking chickens, but I needed the money. -
Preparing for Westward Travel
My job was simply getting just too bad. I thought that if I went west, I could find land, start a farm, and sell my crops for good money. Once I saved enough for a horse, I finally quit the awful factory job. I was left with nearly $40 after two years. I had enough for a horse, and probably a carriage too. My search for a trusty steed began there. I found some stables on the outskirts of town, and bought a $10 golden brown steed. Now, all I needed was a small carriage wIth $30 left. -
Carriage Search
I just needed to find a carriage to start heading west. This task was much harder than it seems. I literally searched every block on Boston for somebody who could sell me a carriage for $30 or less. Finally, near the west end of the town, there was a kind woman named Sally who I told my story to. She said that she wanted to come with me, and she could bring a carriage too. Of course I let her join me in my travels to the west. She was also an immigrant, and she was from China. -
Western Lands
It turned out that Sally lied about the carriage, but just was also searching for land in the west. She had a horse herself, and she said she was meeting her family in Idaho. We set off on December 20, 1872 on our journey to Idaho. We had to go completely horseback, stopping in many, many towns on the way there. We would stay in towns for months at a time, extending our trip to almost 20 years. Sally and I grew close and married. The Chinese Exlusion Act prevented her family from coming.
