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My Journey
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I come to America!
My name is George and I came here from Lesbos Island, Greece. My two brothers came here with me. I am 19 years old and my older brother is 20 and my younger brother is 17. We had to leave Greece because of poverty and no jobs. We came to America to find jobs and live a better life. -
Ellis Island
The inspection at Ellis Island took a long time. Lots of standing and waiting. When it ws my turn, I did my best to follow their directions, with the little English I knew. I passed and went to legal inspection. My younger brother passed too. But then, the unthinkable happens. My older brother has been quarentined with a terrible cough and eventually gets sent back to Greece. Although we were sad, we knew that we needed to continue on our journey. So we started out on our big adventure. -
Finding Work
My younger brother has left to go west already. I have decided to stay in the east to get my feet on the ground. I find that New York will be a good place to begin.. Upon arriving, I land my first job working at Hotel Cadillac. While I am thankful for this job, it isn't getting me anywhere so I split my time between the hotel and a local restraunt. For now, this would work. I don't love the tenement I am living in, but it will have to do for now. -
Moving to Boston
After saving up enough money, I figure it is time for the next step of my journey. My dream is to go to school and get a good job. I have decided to move to Boston to follow my dreams. For now, I will settle for another poor job. I work in a factory. After weeks of working, a sad reality came. There is no way that I can afford to go to school. Making enough money to barely feed myself, I know that my dream of school is far away. But someday, my dream will come true. -
Drawn to the West
I have just gotten word that my brother's laundromat business is failing miserably. He hasn't been responcible with his business and he needs help. Remembering all of the times he had helped me, I knew what I had to do. My dreams would be put on hold and I will go to the west to help my brother. -
Outlawing Peonage
Peonage, or making people work to pay of debts has just been outlawed. This is going to be very helpful as I go west because many jobs will be freed because debtors will not be working them anymore. I hope this will help me get a job soon. -
Arriving in the West
I have just arrived in Price, Utah! I am sad to leave my job and my dream behind in the east, but this is just another step in my journey. After doing all I can, my brother's laundromat went our of business. We are trying to hold on for as long as we can, but we need to find jobs. -
Working in the Mines
The miners working here in Utah have recently gone on strike. While some see this as a way to get involved with the government here, we saw it as our chance. We didn't waste any time and got jobs as miners. Again, this wasn't the best job but at this point, we will take anything we can get. -
Marriage
Now being 25, and having a job and a place to live, I think it is time to be married. Like many Greek families, my marriage is with an arranged wife. I sent back to Greece for her. My bride, Irini, was resistence at first. Who wouldn't be though? A strange country, with a stranger who would become her husband, I understood her resistence. But soon, she agreed to come and live in the U.S. to be married. -
Raising my family
After being married for 2 months, my wife and I prepared for our first son. He was born on July 16, 1912. Becasue of medical issues, our son passed away shortly after birth. We couldn't bare the loss and thought we would never move on. A few months later, our daughter, Athena was born. Athena was born healthy and we were all happy. Witha family now, we had a stable life here in America. I am excited to continue my journey- maybe even pursuing my dream I had left behind so many years ago.
