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How to get transcripts for Ellis Island detainees?

How to get transcripts for Ellis Island detainees?

Posted: 1 May 2012 3:43PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Bockisch
Hi,

I'm new to this forum and was drawn here trying to find an answer to my question about obtaining transcripts, if they still exist, from hearings for Ellis Island detainees. I can see on the passenger list that my great grandparents were detained and there are notations on the detainee list about the hearing dates, stenographer initials (almost illegible), and page numbers but I don't know where these would be located.

Re: How to get transcripts for Ellis Island detainees?

Posted: 1 May 2012 9:40PM GMT
Classification: Query
Detainees did not have hearings. You probably mean those held for Special Inquiry.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the SI transcripts have survived.

Re: How to get transcripts for Ellis Island detainees?

Posted: 24 Jan 2015 7:13PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hey c0llier..

Yours is an old post, but you had the same question I have. Did you have any luck finding anything related to the hearings?

Re: How to get transcripts for Ellis Island detainees?

Posted: 4 Mar 2015 2:42AM GMT
Classification: Query
The one port for which Board of Special Inquiry records survive is Philadelphia. There are 18 National Archives microfilm rolls covering the years 1893 - 1909.
The records are viewable on Ancestry.com
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2892

If you read a few of the records you can get an idea of how the hearings were conducted and the nature of the questioning. You will see why most detainees were ultimately admitted.
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