Tina: Perhaps. Of course, being from the south, I doubt that mine did. I had a great-aunt who said that all of our relatives were here in this country prior to the American Revolution. Ellis Island was not created until sometime after the Civil War. And it was mostly European immigrants in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. And it was shut down just before World War I. But thousands came through that place. And many ended up as residents of New York City.

Mary: And that is why there is a neighborhood known as Little Italy?

Tina:  Possibly.

Bette: We will all have to do our research on that when we get an opportunity.

The family made their way back to the boat which carried the crowd toward Ellis Island and then back to Battery Park. The view of the New York skyline was gorgeous. Bette smiled when she looked back only to see Lady Liberties backside. She was still a very stately lady even from this view. The green tarnish of the copper gave her that very distinctive patina. Bette thought it was a color that sealed the memory for her. So very beautiful.

They began their walk from the park down Wall Street toward Trinity Church. The church was established in 1697 at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway. In 1776, in the Great Fire of New York City, it burned to the ground. It was reconstructed in 1788. And due to structural damage due to heavy snows, it was torn down and rebuilt in 1848. That is the church which stands today. During the 911 attack, it was refuge for people escaping the falling debris from the collapsing towers. A large tree was lost on its grounds as a result of the debris from that day. The church itself had to refurbish its pews which were damaged from the ash.

They saw the beautiful stained-glass windows, the statues of some of the saints and some of the interior burial places. There were materials which directed them to exterior burial grounds which contained the bodies of Alexander Hamilton and several members of his family. Daniel was quick to note that the clergy who operated Trinity Church were predominately Loyalist during the American Revolution as this was originally of the Church of England in denomination. It is now an Episcopalian Church.