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Birth Date
I'm writing this autobiography to inform everyone about my journey as immigrant from Switzerland to America. I was born on April 3rd, 1885 in Germany. My family then moved to Switzerland when I was 1. My parents were always traveling which is one of the reason that we moved. \We ran a small country farm and didn't make a ton of money. Around 1898 our neighbors went to America, they wrote us explaining that the land in western America was very plentiful, That's when we made our desicion. -
Arriving at Ellis Island
It wasn't until two years later that our family sold the whole farm and risked everything to travel to the land of oppurtunity; America. We bought tickets and boarded the train that would take us to our ship. Once boarded the ship it was hard to be paitient. I couldn't wait to see what America had in store for us. At last the slightest glimpse of the Statue of Liberty became visible on the New York skyline. Everyone on board the ship was in awe and suspended in silence. -
Immigrant station
We arrived at the immigrant station farely quickly. The whole family was praying that we would all pass the inspections. I was the first to go, they checked under my eyelids and preformed various tests to see if I was fit to enter the country. Finally, somebody explained that I had passed the inspection and was ready to officially enter America. We had a few scares with the rest of the family, but they were able to enter. -
The First Few Days
The first few days in America were filled with learning new things and trying to figure out where we were headed in this new country. My father had bought train tickets the day after inspections and we are just about to head off on the train. We packed our few belongings and boarded the train heading west. Our family was going to travel all the way out to Nebraska, our neighbors were there and we were going to accompany them. I was nervous to becasue I didn't know what to expect. -
Traveling West
I loved the trian ride, the land in America is almost like Switzerland in some places. My mother was a nervous wreck, she didn't feel very secure in America, but I hoped she would come around. I, on the other hand was really enjoying myself, the culture was great, the people seemed nice, and it looked like a land of oppurtunity. As we got off the train, the quest to start our new life just began -
Settling in America
We have made progress here in America. A few days after leaving the train station our family bought a very simple house, in Nebraska, and near our neighbors. We had very little money after that and had to start from scratch. The next summer my father bought some farm equipment and land, using loans. The farm was started, after the first harvest we did make some profit and the future looked hopeful. Despite some drawbacks, our journey to America was definetly the right move for our whole family.
