Journey to America
The Story of Patrick O'Mally and his Family's Immigration
Ireland, 1900
The Voyage
The O’Malley’s traveled to Queenstown to board the SS Teutonic, which was headed for New York. As the ship took off, the family watched until Ireland was out of sight. Patrick felt saddened by the fact that he would most likely never return to his country. Being only able to afford third class tickets, they stayed in steerage. This was the lower deck of the ship that typically held cargo. Hundreds of lower class passengers were crowded into this space. Steerage received little venhilation, and with such a large number of people, it was foul-smelling. Due to harsh living conditions with no bathroom facilities, disease spread easily. Caitlyn, Pat's youngest sister, came down with a severe cough. She began to have chest pains, and refused to eat. Sadly Caitlyn, along with several other third class passengers, died along the voyage.
Land
Finally, after 10 long days, the voyage was over. As the Statue of Liberty came into view, the passengers began to cheer. Patrick felt overjoyed to have finally reached land, however he was also very nervous. Pat was unsure of what to expect from New York. He had never lived in the city before, and was used to the wide open fields back on his family's farm. The one thing he was sure was that they still had a long way to go.