Ellis Island Tartan

Well well well - I never knew or had an inkling of this in all my research over many years

Ellis Island Tartan

Were your ancestors one of the half a million Scots who passed through Ellis Island? If so, you can now wear this new tartan, along with 12 million others! The new Ellis Island tartan has been designed to reflect the journey that millions made and the colours which have been chosen to reflect their experience.

As part of the celebrations for Tartan Day 2011 on 6 April, the Clan Currie Society has commissioned a specially designed Ellis Island Tartan© commissioned to mark the 10th Anniversary of Tartan Day on Ellis Island, New York.

All those people whose ancestors passed through this golden gateway as they arrived on American shores – an estimated 12 million immigrants between 1892 and 1954, of which half a million were Scots – and their relatives now have the right to wear the new tartan. An estimated 40% of Americans today can trace at least one ancestor's entry into the United States through Ellis Island.

Each color in this new tartan reflects upon the American experience. The blue represents the ocean that had to be crossed to reach the American shores. The copper-green is the color of the Statue of Liberty. The red depicts the bricks of the Ellis Island buildings where 12 million Americans took their first steps towards freedom. The gold is the golden door that is the United States of America and the dawn of a new life in America.

Robert Currie, President of the Clan Currie Society in New York and originator of the tartan initiative commented: “The Ellis Island tartan was not only designed for those whose ancestors arrived into the USA through Ellis Island, which in itself totals in the millions, but frankly all Americans who came to our country to start a new life regardless of ethnic origin. In this respect, it may just as well be considered the Immigrant’s Tartan or the American Tartan.
source: Ellis Island Tartan and Clan Currie

Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan