Ellis Island

Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River, was at one time the main immigration port for immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Inspection Symbols

These inspection symbols were chalked on the clothing of sick or otherwise "defective" hopeful immigrants, and some only entered the country by surreptitiously wiping them off.

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• C - Conjunctivitis
• CT - Trachoma
• E - Eyes
• F - Face
• FT - Feet
• G - Goiter
• H - Heat
• K - Hernia
• L - Lameness
• N - Neck
• P - Physical and Lungs
• PG - Pregnancy
• SC - Scalp (fungus)
• SI - Special Inquiry
• X - Suspected Mental Defect
• X (circled) - Definite Mental Defect

There are one or two signs not available here.

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