Event Registration
Preserving Your New York Story: Immigration and Quarantine at Hoffman & Swinburne Islands
04/11/2026 12:00 PM - 01:15 PM ET
Admission
- Free
Summary
Join the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B) and community partner The Alice Austen House for this free in-person event to learn about immigration history and preserve your own family story. The program will feature two parts:
* A presentation by Grace Felder of the American Family Immigration History Center. Alice Austen’s relationship with the art of photography was groundbreaking for its methodology and content. We are fortunate that she turned her lens toward an underexplored aspect of the Ellis Island experience: the quarantine station at Hoffman and Swinburne islands. Knowing that her photographs show an often-overlooked part of the immigrants’ journey, what else can we learn about what happened on Hoffman and Swinburne islands? This program will explore the history of these two slivers of land that played a pivotal role in thousands of lives during the Ellis Island era of immigration.
*A 30-minute session for participants to digitally preserve their own family history documents. Participants will receive a confirmation email when they register for this program that includes a sign-up link to choose a time slot (after the presentation by Grace Felder). Bring a folder of portable family history documents (e.g., birth certificates, family religious records, or photographs), and NYG&B staff will digitally scan these documents on site. Participants will then receive Dropbox access to their stored digitized records. Please email digitizeny@nygbs.org if you have questions about this aspect of the program.
The Alice Austen House
2 Hylan Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10305
* A presentation by Grace Felder of the American Family Immigration History Center. Alice Austen’s relationship with the art of photography was groundbreaking for its methodology and content. We are fortunate that she turned her lens toward an underexplored aspect of the Ellis Island experience: the quarantine station at Hoffman and Swinburne islands. Knowing that her photographs show an often-overlooked part of the immigrants’ journey, what else can we learn about what happened on Hoffman and Swinburne islands? This program will explore the history of these two slivers of land that played a pivotal role in thousands of lives during the Ellis Island era of immigration.
*A 30-minute session for participants to digitally preserve their own family history documents. Participants will receive a confirmation email when they register for this program that includes a sign-up link to choose a time slot (after the presentation by Grace Felder). Bring a folder of portable family history documents (e.g., birth certificates, family religious records, or photographs), and NYG&B staff will digitally scan these documents on site. Participants will then receive Dropbox access to their stored digitized records. Please email digitizeny@nygbs.org if you have questions about this aspect of the program.
The Alice Austen House
2 Hylan Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10305
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