Immigrant+Essay

Name: Thomas Blythe Lived: Omagh, Ireland Date of Arrival: June 18, 1922 Age: 22 Ship: Columbia Place of Departure: Londonderry Ethnicity: Irish, British

Hello, my name is Thomas Blythe. I am an immigrant that came from Omagh, Ireland to the United States. I was twenty-two years old at the time. I decided to leave Ireland when I lost my home due to a fire on my farm. In my home land I used to work on automobiles in =      Mountfield. I heard that the United States had many automobiles so I thought that I could get a good job there. I got my money to leave through my fathers butcher shop. I worked there for the past year. I saved up until the day I had to leave. = =      My anxioty swelled as the morning of my departure came. I left out of Londonderry on a ship called the Columbia. I boarded the ship with a few bags of clothing and €10,000 in my pocket. The ship was huge and there were a lot of people on it. Soon we were near America. I couldn't sleep the night before we got to America. That night a huge wave came over the deck of the ship. The ship learched and all of my belongings fell of the shelf near my bed. After that it was quiet but I still could not sleep. = =      We arrived in America on June 18, 1922. Once I got to America I had to go through an island called Ellis Island. There were so many people there so it was packed. I couldn't understand what most people were saying because there were so many different languages being spoken. I went through a physical inspection to make sure I didn't have any diseases. After my inspection my euros were converted into AMerican money. I started off with $15,456.35. Once the inspection was over I was officially an American. After I found a home I began working at an automobile company. I settled down and had a family and was happy that I was now an American citizen. =