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My birth and early childhood
I was born in june of 1895 in Munich, Germany. I had a loving mother and father and we were wealthy. We lived in a beautiful cream colored house and had many maids. in 1903, my parents both came down with pnemonia. There were no effective medications at the time, and my mother died a few weeks after getting the disease. My father died two months later. -
moving in with my grandmother
Shortly after my parents died, i moved in with my grandmother. She was a very stern woman, and she expected a lot from me. my grandfather had died a year earlier, so she had been very lonely. I had piano lessons every day and played for her every night. She taught me manners and how to behave like a proper lady. I loved these years of my life. My grandmother was strict, but she was kind and i loved her. -
My grandmother dies
In june of 1910, when i was fifteen years old, my grandmotherstarted to act abnormaly. she became very upset, and seemed like she was hiding something from me. She did not look like she was feeling well. She would stay in bed for hours on end during the day time. I asked her if she was okay but she said yes. On the seventeenth of august i came into our home and called her name. She never awnsered. I found her dead in the kitchen. -
move to america
Once my grandmother died, i decided to make a life for myself. I heard a ship was leaving the next week for america, the land of oppurtunity. I packed a few outfits, the five hundred dollars my grandmother left for me, and left my home country. We arrived in America two weeks later. -
Ellis Island
On september seventh, we arrived at ellis island. It was absolutley amazing coming into the harbor and seeing the statue of liberty, a symbol of the freedom and oppurtunity coming my way. When we were on land, we had to wait in huge lines to be medically examined to make sure we were not bringing any diseases into the country. After a few more examinations, i got my money converted, and went and stayed in the dorms for a night. They were very crowded -
Got a job
On the twenty first of September, I went looking for jobs. While I was walking the streets, I came across a flyer on the ground that said "looking for females for work at the triangle shirt waist factory. Ages 14-23" I took note of the location of the factory, and arrived there a short while later. I asked them for work, and they gave me a job. The factory work was harder than i thought it would be. It was always hot and cramped,but some of the girls were nice. I worked on the 8th floor. I earne -
fire cont.
I saw a few girls crowded on a rickety fire escape outside of an open window. all of a sudden, the fire escape gave out and the girls fell to thier deaths, one hitting the sidewalk a few yards away from me. I looked up in horror and saw lines of girls all jumping from the windows high above. "i guess that is there only way out" i thought as i heard that the elavator had been shut dow. 146 people died in the fire that day. I was lucky. -
Triangle shirtwaist factory fire
On a normal day of work, we suddenly heard the scream "fire!". I looked up and saw a basket on fire, the flames already licking at the ceiling. I grabbed two of my friends arms and ran to the elevator. There was already a crowd there and we were lucky to get in. As we stepped outside i took a glance up and saw that flames were already flying out of the windows. "wow." i thought. "It has only been five minutes." I heard the siren wailing a couple blocks away. they were coming closer. -
rest of my life.
After the fire, I was inspired to improve working conditions for women I became a suffragette, working for womens rights and the ability to vote. I got a good job at a bakery, married a man that immigrated from italy, and had a peaceful life witth our four children.
