Ellis Island
Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. as the United States' busiest immigrant inspection station for over 60 years from 1892 until 1954. Ellis Island was opened January 1, 1892. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990.
Earl Hancock Ellis
On February 9, 1914, Ellis and the Advance Base Force embarked to New Orleans for a possible deployment to Mexico because of tensions in the area. Barnett was slated to succeed Biddle as commandant, and selected Ellis for special assignment as a member of a Joint Army-Navy Board committee that studied the defenses of Guam and made recommendations for improvements at the outbreak of World War I. Upon arrival on Guam, Ellis was assigned as the committee's secretary and aide-de-camp, and assumed the duties of chief of police, registrar of the civil government, and Intelligence officer. While on Guam, Ellis conducted a simulated attack with a small group of men across the reef at Orote Point, which demonstrated the ability of men in boats to carry out an amphibious attack and capture artillery. Ellis's health began to deteriorate during this assignment, and his medical records attributed his illnesses to alcohol abuse.