HotmailJulia’s journey: A true tale of Ellis Island
One immigrant’s odyssey to America parallels millions of dramatic stories
 Courtesy Amanda Marshall The Facsali family circa 1903. Julia Marshall, born Juliska Facsali, is the small child in front. She arrived at Ellis Island with her mother and sister a decade later. |
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Yes, you can crack an egg with your forehead. I’ve seen it done a dozen times. It’s an Old World party trick that my great-grandmother Julia used to amuse children as they waited in breathless anticipation. The eggs were hard-boiled, and the only requirement for enjoying the trick was that we eat them — always with a dash of Hungarian paprika.
Julia was actually my step-great-grandmother. However, since my own paternal grandmother and great-grandmother passed away before I was born, she served the role of doting grandma for most of my childhood. I hadn’t thought of Julia’s egg trick for many years, but when TODAY asked me to help produce a special show from Ellis Island, my thoughts immediately turned to this unique woman.
Hungarian roots
Julia Marshall was born Juliska Facsali on May 16, 1900, in the village of Szekely Derzs in northeastern Hungary. Her father was a shoemaker; her mother, a seamstress. It was a point of great family pride that her mother owned the town’s first sewing machine.
Julia loved to share tales from her childhood, including stories about the town crier who each day would announce the news at noon from the highest hill. Cable news was still a long way off in those days!
By the turn of the century, the peasant population had grown dramatically. Unfortunately, jobs were scarce. Political and economic pressures forced many to look for opportunities beyond their thatch-roofed towns in Eastern Europe. By 1913, Julia and her family decided America was their best hope for a stable future.
Julia’s father and three older siblings traveled ahead to Cincinnati, where friends had settled. Then they sent for the rest of the family. Julia, her mother, and her sister Helen had to make the 23-day journey alone. They purchased three third-class tickets and left on a ship destined for New York City.
Rough crossing
Julia’s mother was terrified of the voyage and quickly became bedridden once the ship was at sea. Her older sister would flirt with the stewards in order to get baked potatoes; they were the only thing their sick mother could eat.
She had good reason to be scared. Halfway through the trip, the ship began to take on water in two different compartments. The passengers panicked until, after several hours, the crewmen were able to fix the leaks. Years later, Julia could still recall kneeling on the wet floor, praying the ship wouldn’t sink.
After nearly a month, the ship reached the Port of New York. But the drama didn’t end there.
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Julia’s mother burst into tears and explained that she could not survive another day on the water. The authorities relented, bandaged Julia’s chin, and allowed the family to enter New York City.
Despite the challenges in her life, Julia had a great sense of humor, as evidenced by her head-on egg cracking. But she taught me more than just how to laugh. She also taught me an important lesson about history.
Four million emigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to America between 1880 and 1930, each with their own story. Standing in the Great Hall at Ellis Island nearly 100 years later, I realize that Julia’s optimism and clear sense of cultural identity are characteristics shared by millions coming to New York … even today.
Though she passed away in 2000, Julia was always quick to point out that she sailed to America wearing the shoes her father made in Hungary. It was important to her that her first steps in the New World were firmly grounded in the past.
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