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Birth of Ruth Daly
Born in Italy, it was 1857 i was an 11 year old girl. I took care of my younger sister Nelly. My parents were always busy with work, so they could provide shelter and food for us. I had a lot of responisiblility for my age. Growing up here was hard, we didn't have much money. So we tried to survive on what we had. Mom was always saying we would move to America. They had more job opertunities. Everyone says they had more freedom as well. Mom was always wanting just that. So we moved down to NY. -
Entering the U.S
It's been 6 years now. I'm 17 years old, we are finally on the move. We got to Ellis island. As i walked through the door, they handed me a tag. I was labeled. My next step was to wait in line in the great hall. Standing in this heat was dreary. As we all standed in like inspectors checked to see if anyone was sneezing, coughing or ill. They asked the younger kids their names, to make sure they weren't deaf. It was my turn, i was next in line. Throwing questions at me, asking wat my age is etc. -
The Process Continues(Ellis Island)
I got it over with, waiting on the other side for my sister. My parents stayed behind, for the better. As she came out, a gentleman came up to us, asking if i needed a job? Well i did. He asked if i needed a place to stay. I felt lucky that's all i could of asked for. I felt welcomed. I'll start my first day of work next week. I have an apartment with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom for my sister and i. I felt like i got it easy. I work at a clothing factory, with other immergrants. -
The factory job beigins
My boss was nice, he helped me with all of my needs. The girls were from all over, i had to sew fabrics together to make apperal. I got trained, and i messed up for my first time. I felt embarrassed. I started to get the hang of it. Today was my 3rd day June 22nd. I was sewing a shirt and it happened all so sudden. My finger got caught under the needle. My boss was dissapointed i could tell in the tone of his voice. I was scared to loose my job. I lost my job. -
Civil war is happening during this time
Now that i had no job it was hard to support my sister. It was also hard to pay bills off. We almost lost the apartment we were living in. Everyday we wake up to newspapers talking about the Civil War. It was scary. Just think it was all happening in this country only miles away. I was always scared that it would move down towards NY. I was trying to do anything to get money to pay for food and shelter for the both of us. I couldn't loose anymore. I had to risk a lotto get what we needed. -
Selling to Provide
It was a struggle to live evryday with a less proportion of food.I had to sit on the streets selling some of our clothes and furniture to get money. It all went okay, then a man approached me with a job offer. I took anything i could get. He asked if i wanted to work with being a maid. I worked for these wealthy americans, i got my sister to work too. We made enough to support eachother. Even though it got hard, we did it for the need of it. Life had it's struggles for us. We pushed through.
