List My thanks to all who responded to my question on which route would be taken by an immigrant to the United States i.e. New York and then overland to Illinois and Iowa or New Orleans and then up the Mississippi to Illinois and Iowa. My apologies for not including more information. My grandfather entered the United States in the 1880-1884 time period. As you know the railroad had progressed beyond Iowa at that time. Also the first bridge across the Mississippi River had been built by then (1856). With this said which route was the most likely for someone coming from Holland or Germany? Ellis Island was Castle Garden at the time. I had always assumed that it would be New York and then overland by rail but there are reasons for going the other way. Albert