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Newly-found photos add facts to legend of 'first' Irish immigrant Annie Moore

By
ANTIONETTE KELLY,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 7:51 AM
Updated Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 8:15 AM

 

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Memorial statue of Annie Moore in Cork, Ireland
Memorial statue of Annie Moore in Cork, Ireland

Slowly but surely, the legend of Annie Moore — an Irish girl who was the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island in 1892 — is becoming less legend and more biography.

Statues in Ireland and New York harbors memorialize the starting ad end-points of her flight from poverty. For years, it was believed that Moore left New York for Texas and died there, but three years ago, experts determined that she stayed New York with other impoverished immigrants, and died in 1924 on the Lower East Side.

Now, The New York Times reports that relatives have found two photos of the woman they believe is the real Annie Moore.

Michael Shulman, Moore's great-nephew, told The Times: “It is of Annie, probably in a photography studio with a baby girl, maybe a year old, in her lap.”

According to the newspaper, Shulman joined four generations of descendants of Annie Moore Schayer (her married name) three years ago to celebrate her rediscovery by genealogist Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak.

“Megan called a few months ago, and we were just chatting,” Shulman told The Times. “Then I mentioned it to my sister, Pat Somerstein, and we said, ‘Let’s start a real hunt for a picture.’ “She found one in a collection given to her by a cousin. The back of the picture is inscribed ‘Ma Schayer.’ The clothing and the quality of the picture indicate that it’s of the right time period.”

The photograph is of a woman a baby. Another photo, thought to be of Annie Moore Schayer years later, was found by Maureen Peterson, one of Schayer’s great-granddaughters.

“Like the photo of Annie with a baby, this one also says ‘Mama Schayer’ on the back,” Smolenyak Smolenyak told The Times. “Maureen believes that the handwriting is that of her Aunt Geri, who passed away in 2001. Geri was the so-called ‘crazy aunt’ who constantly insisted that her grandmother was ‘the Annie.’ She’s the reason why some of the current generation knew this part of their family history.”

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4 Comments

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Posted by MAGHNUS on Jan 05, 2010, 03:31 PM EST
She was the very first Immigrant? That's amazing! and what about all of the Irish slaves that were brought before here, no monument for them.
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Posted by MAGHNUS on Jan 04, 2010, 12:51 PM EST
Do you know that when the Scotch and Irish first come to America they came as indentured servants, {a polite word for slaves} of the English. The men were forbidden to marry English woman so they married blacks and native Americans, which is why there are so many blacks and indians with Scotch and Irish surnames. One notable example is the, Real McCoy, and oiling device invented for locomotives by a black man named McCoy.
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Posted by Watereskhill on Dec 30, 2009, 10:30 PM EST
Fact or legend it nevertheless holds the romance of an impoverished Irish Immigrant seeking a better life beyond The Famine. Besides: Historians still argue that Columbus was not the first European to set foot in America. The Vikings in their longboats and erstwhile St.Brendan in a coracle (raft) being favoured possibilities. No matter. Statues to Annie Moore in Ireland and New York speak of our great migration at the time and contribute to a unique esthete. A forlorn people who made an immense impact. I'm proud of my Irish heritage.
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Posted by mollymcgee on Dec 30, 2009, 09:03 AM EST
Amazing story
 


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