Laura I think I would try locating the ship manifest for his return trip. That would give you a better date to work with and if he was detained that info would also be on the manifest. then I would search for a death cert. filed in NY, not sure which county or if Ellis Island has totally separate death cert. A death cert was mandated by this time and his identity was known. ar On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 5:26 PM, Laura Aanenson < where2look4ancestors@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm posing this question on the Cook list in the hope that someone can > point me in the right direction. My grand-uncle was nine years old when > this situation in our tree occurred and his recollection of the events has > remained consistent over the years. I need to prove or disprove the story > soon because Uncle Fran is 83 years old. > > My 2nd great-grandfather Peter Thompson was born in Norway in January 1857 > and immigrated to Chicago before 1880. According to Uncle Fran, Peter > returned to Norway to help his father repair damage caused to his ship(s) > by pirates. Peter overstayed his Visa and was delayed at Ellis Island in > 1938. He contracted pneumonia and died in the infirmary there. > > Peter had some money with him which was sent to his adult children by the > Ellis Island officials. Uncle Fran remembers that it was a small amount > (less than $300) but was huge at the time as the Depression had just > loosened its hold on this family. None of the children could afford to make > the trip to New York and it is presumed Peter was buried in a pauper's > grave. > > I have written to Ellis Island twice and received no response. I realize I > have a common name and vague dates, but wouldn't there be a list of deaths > that occurred on the island or something I could use to work toward solving > this mystery? > > ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated. > > Speaking of relatives, > > Laura > > PS: Are we related? Find out at http://where2look4ancestors.com/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

I'd also suggest posting to a New York list, as someone there may have in-depth experience with Ellis Island. Diane -----Original Message----- From: IM Home <puddin444@gmail.com> To: Laura Aanenson <where2look4ancestors@gmail.com> Cc: COOK-CO-IL <COOK-CO-IL@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sat, May 5, 2012 6:27 pm Subject: Re: [COOK-CO-IL] Chicago immigrant dies at Ellis Island Laura I think I would try locating the ship manifest for his return trip. That would give you a better date to work with and if he was detained that info would also be on the manifest. then I would search for a death cert. filed in NY, not sure which county or if Ellis Island has totally separate death cert. A death cert was mandated by this time and his identity was known. ar On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 5:26 PM, Laura Aanenson < where2look4ancestors@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm posing this question on the Cook list in the hope that someone can > point me in the right direction. My grand-uncle was nine years old when > this situation in our tree occurred and his recollection of the events has > remained consistent over the years. I need to prove or disprove the story > soon because Uncle Fran is 83 years old. > > My 2nd great-grandfather Peter Thompson was born in Norway in January 1857 > and immigrated to Chicago before 1880. According to Uncle Fran, Peter > returned to Norway to help his father repair damage caused to his ship(s) > by pirates. Peter overstayed his Visa and was delayed at Ellis Island in > 1938. He contracted pneumonia and died in the infirmary there. > > Peter had some money with him which was sent to his adult children by the > Ellis Island officials. Uncle Fran remembers that it was a small amount > (less than $300) but was huge at the time as the Depression had just > loosened its hold on this family. None of the children could afford to make > the trip to New York and it is presumed Peter was buried in a pauper's > grave. > > I have written to Ellis Island twice and received no response. I realize I > have a common name and vague dates, but wouldn't there be a list of deaths > that occurred on the island or something I could use to work toward solving > this mystery? > > ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated. > > Speaking of relatives, > > Laura > > PS: Are we related? Find out at http://where2look4ancestors.com/ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message