June 1, 1895
My name is Mary Agues Shea and I was born in County Kerry, Ireland in 1868. My parents are Eoghan (Owen) Shea and Mary O’Connor. Owen is the American name for Eoghan which is Gaelic. I am 17 years old. I live in a small cottage with my mother and father and 8 siblings . My father, Eugene Shea is a farmer however, we are very poor. In a few days I will be leaving to go to America to live with my family. She is a maid and works for a doctor. I hope to be a maid too when I get there. Before I am allowed on board the ship which I must go to a hotel were I can be checked for germs and lice.

June 3, 1895
When I was leaving my brother was late seeing me off and I almost missed the train. He ran long side the train as it pulled away and held up his shillelagh and shouted “Mary, kiss my stick.” When
I arrived at the hotel which is located near the ship. I was first given a tag to put on my clothes and then we were sprayed with an awful smelling spray. I think they call this delicing. It makes sure that we are free of any bugs. Then we are told to go into a cold and dark hotel room for 36 hours. I was lucky, there is a nice lady in my room and she gave me something to drink and a little piece of bread. We went to sleep and when we woke up I was checked again for bugs and then I was allowed to leave for America.

June 5, 1895
Today is the day that I finally leave for America. There are a lot to people pushing and shoving and trying to get onboard, the name of our ship is the Majestic. That nice woman that gave me bread and water is holding my hand as I board the ship. Since we are poor we will be traveling in the steerage part of the ship. We enter this area and already it smells, however I just keep thinking about how wonderful it will be when we reach America. People just keep coming. After several hours of boarding this part of the ship is crammed with people. Finally we shove off headed for America.

June 7, 1895
Today is my third day aboard this ship. The smell is horrible. Some people got sick last evening because our ship ran into a storm. Our clothes are damp and smelly because we have to sleep in our clothes. There is also very little food on board and I am so hungry.

June 10, 1895
I have been on the ship for 10 days and some people are really sick, however I have not been sick. Most of the people around me are from Ireland. To pass the time we sing Irish songs and dance. At night a nice man tells us stories from long ago. It’s hard to talk to the other people because they do not speak English. Some of these people are from Italy, Poland and Germany.

June 12, 1895
I woke up this morning and the sun was shining so bright. I heard everybody talking about landing in America today. I guess it’s true because I can see land for the first time in 14 days. I see an enormous woman standing with a torch in her hand. The ship is headed in that direction and I can hear the captain of the ship blowing his fog horn.
The captain also calls over the loudspeaker that we are ready to dock in a few hours.
Once the ship stops, it takes us three hours to get off the ship. Once I am off the ship
we are told we need to pass a few tests. I can’t believe that I have to take another test to get into America. We all line up and a doctor comes by and checks our eyes and hair and listens to our lungs. A woman in front of me is limping so, the nurse puts a big L on her clothing with a piece of chalk. Click here to see chart. She can not move on to the next step. They take her away to another room. Next, I need to take the mental test. I am asked to put a puzzle together. I love puzzles, so I do a good job. Next is the legal test. They ask me my name, do I have any relative, or have I ever done any wrong. I answer all the question correctly. Although, I was free to leave I had to wait for my Aunt to pick me up. Any woman or child has to have a telegraph letter or someone already in the United States pick them up. I finally made it and now I am in America!!!!