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Immigrated into America
My name is Mackenzie McCreery and this was the first day of my new life away from Scotland. Now in life there are some bumps in the road and unfortunately some came in the beginning of my journey. After getting off the boat from the treacherous ride, I had to go through medical examination and legal. I was made to wait and wait for about 2 weeks on Ellis Island with what little belongings I brought such as my clothes and my beloved sewing machine. -
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Immigration
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New American
Life was hard as a new American. Mostly because I had nowhere to go once I got through Ellis Island, no one to meet, no job to get to. I tried to find work but a lot of people just were not hiring or just didnt want to hire women workers. I was also in desperate need of a place and after a week went by, I was worried I wouldnt ever find somewhere. I also was hungry, really hungry, I had little money but it was enough to live off of. -
Getting a Job
Eventually, I got a job that I loved. I was working in a factory making clothes for people on a sewing machine. This was a great job for me since I love sewing, it is my favorite thing to do in the entire world. And from that job, I made enough money to keep my place and enough to live off of do that I can eat and survive. -
Factory Shuts Down
I had been working in the factory for quite some time until it shut down. I don't know the exact details but I do know it had to do with some legal reason. At least a made enough money to sustain on, except not keep my home. Unfortunately though I lost my home becaue one week I could not make it up to the rent that my landlord Charlie charged. -
Moving West
Soon after the factory shut down, I felt that I had no place in the city anymore. When it hit me, I should move west to get my own land with the homestead act. I had heard about the act a few months ago when two fellow factory workers had been talking about it while they worked. So I moved west, got on the next train and just took a chance and went for it. -
West
The train ride to the West took about 2 1/2 weeks but once I was there, I was glad I got on the train. There was so much going on out in the West, it just felt so alive. Immediately upon getting to the West, I decided that I needed a horse. So I used all of my remaining money to buy a horse to race with. The horse became my best friend and we even got a small plot of land in the race.
