S8 Ep791: 6. Castle Garden Records and the Nativist Backlash In 1855, New York State opened Castle Garden to centralize immigration and protect new arrivals from urban swindlers. Hubert Glynn, a bilingual clerk, managed the station's meticulous records for nearly f

6. Castle Garden Records and the Nativist Backlash In 1855, New York State opened Castle Garden to centralize immigration and protect new arrivals from urban swindlers. Hubert Glynn, a bilingual clerk, managed the station's meticulous records for nearly four decades. These records were far more detailed than federal manifests, documenting occupations and personal wealth, but they were tragically lost in an 1896 fire at Ellis Island. During this era, the Know-Nothing Party rose to power, fueled by anti-Catholic sentiment. They sought to disenfranchise the Irish by extending the wait for citizenship to 21 years, though the movement eventually collapsed as national focus shifted toward the slavery crisis. 6
1854 BELFAST