Annie Moore, 15, of County Cork, 1st Irish Immigrant Through Ellis Island

The first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island, the famous immigration processing center in the United States, was Annie Moore, a 15-year-old girl from County Cork, Ireland. She arrived at Ellis Island on January 01, 1892, along with her two younger brothers, Philip and Anthony, on board the ship “Nevada.” Annie Moore and her siblings were among the first immigrants to be processed at Ellis Island, which had just opened as an immigrant processing center on that day.

Annie Moore’s arrival marked the beginning of a new era in American immigration history, as Ellis Island would go on to process millions of immigrants from all over the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Annie Moore’s story holds historical significance, and a statue of her was erected on Ellis Island in her honor in 1993.