Almost 12 million immigrants to America were processed at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954 and although all my ancestors came before 1892, several did travel overseas through this port and many lived in the area.
See photos and video clips from my family's recent trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in this video, below. We departed from Liberty State Park in Jersey City and took the ferry to Ellis Island. After spending a couple hours there, we took another ferry to Liberty Island. We didn't go to Lady Liberty's crown, but we went up to the pedestal (near her feet). From there, the ferry took us back to Liberty State Park. The sky was heavily overcast and a light misty rain fell most of the day, but we still had a great time and got some good photos. Enjoy!
Later we toured lower Manhattan including Battery Park, Castle Clinton, and South Street Seaport, where my great-grandfather, Percy Daniels lived around 1900. He was a merchant mariner and the American Merchant Mariner's Memorial is located very close to where he roomed in between voyages. We also saw many immigrant monuments and memorials, like the Walloon Settler's Monument, the Netherland Monument, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the American Merchant Mariner's Memorial, "The Immigrants 1973" memorial, and the East Coast Memorial.
We also visited the One World Observatory, the tallest building in the western hemisphere, which was amazing experience giving us a peek at what New York City looked like before it was plastered with concrete and steel as if we were traveling through time. If you haven't been there, don't miss that video!