Ellis Island
Between 1905 and 1914, an average of one million immigrants per year arrived in the United States. Immigration officials reviewed about 5,000 immigrants per day during peak times at Ellis Island. Two-thirds of those individuals emigrated from eastern, southern and central Europe. The peak year for immigration at Ellis Island was 1907, with 1,004,756 immigrants processed. The all-time daily high occurred on April 17, 1907, when 11,747 immigrants arrived. After the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed, which greatly restricted immigration and allowed processing at overseas embassies, the only immigrants to pass through the station were those who had problems with their immigration paperwork, displaced persons, and war refugees. Today, over 100 million Americans—about one-third to 40% of the population of the United States—can trace their ancestry to immigrants who arrived in America at Ellis Island before dispersing to points all over the country.
The Silver Belles
Elaine Ellis (born November 30, 1917 – December 21, 2013) was born in Panama and traveled to New York with her family at a young age. She started dancing in response to an advertisement searching for Spanish dancers. She learned how to dance from both chorus girls and men tap dancers. When the Cotton Club closed, she danced at Café Zanzibar, Club Mimo, the Lenox Lounge, and the Apollo Theater. She also danced at Paradise Club, Harlem Club in Atlantic City, and Rhum Boogie in Chicago. In an interview, Ellis cites Small's Paradise on 135th and 7th as The Silver Belles organization spot. After she gave up dancing, she raised two children, and worked as a bartender and bar manager.