47. Ellis Island

New York wouldn’t be New York without Ellis Island.  Even though you may have to fight through the droves of tourists, it can be a great experience to learn exactly when your ancestors came to America and where they came from.

If you don’t want to take the time to visit the island, but are still interested in your heritage, you can learn about your ancestors through their website.  You do need to sign up to view details about your  great great grandparents, but it’s free.  All you have to do is fill in some simple information and guesstimate when they were born and blammo, you get info about people who share your name.  Check it out.

Photo provided by: kcdsTM