A friend related a story passed on to her from her mother. When her mother came to the United States on the Canada in February 1921, she was supposed to land in New York on Ellis island. However, the passengers were discharged in Philadelphia because there was an eye disease epidemic on Ellis Island. According to Morton Allen, 45 passengers landed in New York, and 1,710 passengers landed in Philadelphia. I have never heard of a ship being diverted to another port because of a health condition on Ellis Island. I feel the Canada had always been scheduled to land in Philadelphia. Could this person's mother's story be true? Jim ____________________________________________________________ Health Plans From $50/mo. Compare Low-Cost Health Plans Online. Blue Cross, Aetna and more. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4c5b6dfd3f72524cf78st05vuc

Hi Jim, In 1921 there were many many ships diverted from New York to other east coast ports (Boston, Philadelphia) due to over-crowding at Ellis Island. These diverted ships had been originally scheduled to arrive at Ellis Island. Publications such as the Morton Allan Directory often seem to have reported that these _diverted_ ships arrived at their scheduled port, rather than the port they were diverted to, so that entry was an exception. In 1921 the Fabre Line CANADA was sailing from Mediterranian ports to New York. On Steve Morse's website http://www.stevemorse.org/index.html New York arrivals 1921 February 24 Canada 1921 April 19 Canada 1921 June 03 Canada (barge Canada) 1921 June 12 Canada 1921 July 18 Canada 1921 September 09 Canada 1921 October 09 Canada 1921 October 30 Canada 1921 November 30 Canada 1921 December 30 Canada Philadlpha arrival 1921 February Canada Sailed from Naples 8th February ... arrival Feb 23 1921 ... New York crossed through and Philadelphia stamped on the page. 45 third class passengers were landed at New York and 1,710 third class passengers landed at Philadelphia. So, yes, your friend's mother was almost true, however it was overcrowding rather than health issues. Who knows what rumours may have abounded on board at the time and also maybe added later, through embellishment or speculation as the oral story was handed down. Sue -- TheShipsList Website http://www.theshipslist.com/ At 02:05 AM 2010-08-06 +0000, JT wrote: >A friend related a story passed on to her from her mother. When her mother >came to the United States on the Canada in February 1921, she was supposed >to land in New York on Ellis island. However, the passengers were >discharged in Philadelphia because there was an eye disease epidemic on >Ellis Island. According to Morton Allen, 45 passengers landed in New York, >and 1,710 passengers landed in Philadelphia. >I have never heard of a ship being diverted to another port because of a >health condition on Ellis Island. I feel the Canada had always been >scheduled to land in Philadelphia. Could this person's mother's story be >true? Jim