Faces of America: Ancestry and Immigration Discussion

After watching the interesting "Faces of America" video of immigration and ancestry, I have learned that many people are unaware of just exactly who and where their ancestors are and where they come from. I learned that most of immigration between the time of about 1880 to around 1920 came from the East and into the city of New York, more specifically into Ellis Island which is right of the coast of New York, practically literally. It seems that if one really digs deep and really tries to figure out the ancestry, it is very possible, but many have never really tried. I learned that the earliest of many people's ancestors were practically 100% foreign which makes tons of sense in the fact that people merely wanted to start over and create new lives and opportunities for themselves and they would all migrate to "free land".

What I believe it means to be a "nation of immigrants" is that pretty much our nation accepts the fact that we are one huge "melting pot". Being a nation of immigrants is what makes this country considered the greatest nation in the world. The mixture of the different ethnicity of people is what the different styles or ways of doing things such as religion. I do not really feel aware of the connection I have with any of my ancestors because I have never out forth the effort to figure out where my roots come from. I have had maybe one conversation with my grandmother about the ancestry of my family, but she never really got into detail with the topic. I think I would be very interested to find out about my roots and hopefully one day will find the time to research it.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt, son of W.H. Vanderbilt, was one of the wealthiest men during his time, partially because of his him being brought up by his father who just so happened to be the 4th wealthiest man in the late 19th century. Vanderbilt's first little business was his passenger ferry business in New York where he was raised. He had gotten money from his parents to buy one boat so he could start his business. In his desire for more money, he then started his own steamship company and eventually got to where he was operating a fleet of more than 100 steamboats. He was also the overseer of a transatlantic steamship business.

Vanderbilt first purchased railroads in New York in the 1860's and then provided the first rail service between New York and Chicago. His father was also an expert in the railroading industry because he was the creator of the railroads which is why he was as wealthy as he was. Cornelius got some help because of his fathers wealth in continuing the "railroad dynasty" that his father had started. I don't really see him as much of an original industrialist because of his father practically started what he continued in a sense referring to the railroad industry. I would venture to say that he inherited a lot of his fathers money and didn't necessarily make as much money as is shown on the list of the top American Industrialists from the late 19 century. His father was obviously a much more successful guy than he was. So all in all I don't believe he worked near as hard to get where and what he got.

Corrnelius Vanderbilt looking mighty spiffy, ehh?

Vamderbilt's face on a train

Links of sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/cornelius-vanderbilt-9515195

http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/vanderbiltc.html