Prior to 1855, there were no special immigration procession centers. When a ship landed from abroad, it presented its passenger list to the Collector of Customs. He collected whatever Customs declarations were required and the immigrants simply went their way. This would have been the case when the first of the Getty family arrived in 1852

Starting on August 1, 1855, a facility called Castle Garden Emigrant Depot (also known as Castle Clinton) started examining and processing immigrants on behalf of the State of New York. In 1882, Congress passed the Immigration Act which brought all immigration matters under the jurisdiction of the Federal government.

During its time as the major entry port to the U.S. for immigrants from Europe from 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden processed over 8 million people. According to one source, this represented 20% of the ancestry of the current day population of the U.S. Of these millions, the largest group consisted of Germans.

Castle Garden continued to function until 1890 so August Heiden, his wife, Rika, and their children, the Rambows and Roggermans came through this processing center. The more famous Ellis Island facility did not open until 1892.

Click Here for an account of Castle Garden Emigrant Depot in 1866 from the New York Times Marine Intelligence Column of December 23, 1866.