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Before America
I lived in Germany from the day I was born in 1842, until 1854, when we moved to America. My family experienced poverty. We never had enough food and water. I lived there with my mother, younger brother, and younger sister. I had to help provide for the family, ever since my father left us. We were hoping to make enough money to provide for the whole family. My purpose for writing this autobiography is to inform people on how hard life was for immigrants. -
Death of Younger Brother
On our way to Ellis Island, my little brother got very sick. We think he had Cholera. He experienced heavy breathing, a fever, diarrhea, etc. We were trying so hard to take care of him, but there wasnt much we could do anymore. One night he went to sleep, and the next morning when he woke up, he was very cold. He looked worse than ever. It was just a few minutes later that he was gone. -
Storm at Sea
When we were on our way to America, there was a fierce storm at sea. The boat was shaking violently. No one could sleep, and many were very sea sick. We thought that everyone would die. Many couldnt hang on and they were tossed overboard. Luckily, I was not seriously injured or killed. I fell and bumped my head, but that's all. I'm so glad that my family, as well as everyone else, is okay. -
Robbery at Arrival
Soon after arriving at Ellis Island, we were robbed. The man knocked us over and emptied all of our pockets, The man took all that we had for food and water. We hadn't eaten for a while. A young women who saw the robbery came over and gave us just enough for a meal to hold us over. Thanks to that lady, we were able to eat before going to find work. It was going to be a long wait without food. -
Getting Fired
I used to work in a factory, but I was fired. There were too many people working. Since I didn't work as many hours, they fired me. I had to find a new job, so that I could keep providing for my family, but that was very hard. Eventually, I got another job in a factory. This was a more dangerous job. Even though I worked hard, long, dangerous hours, I got payed less. -
Sick
I became very sick. I couldn't work because I was that ill. Since I couldn't work, there was no money for my family. They had to go without a lot. They were so kind to take care of me. After a few days, I knew I needed to find work. Even though I was still sick, I needed to provide for my family. I felt very bad, because I couldn't get a job. Nobody was hiring. I had lost my factory job because of not working for so long. Soon, my younger sister found a job in a factory to help out the family.
