Ships of Our Ancestors. During the active years of Ellis Island, 83,000 ship arrivals were recorded. Between 1880 and 1914 about two million Jewish immigrants arrived from Europe, with most passing through Ellis Island. Until the age of flight, immigrants arrived by sea, first on sailing ships and after the middle of the 19th Century, on steamships. This presentation focuses on the ships on which our ancestors traveled, discussing the shift from sail to steam and the governmental regulations which made ship travel safer and more humane. It will address the experience of our ancestors in getting to the port of embarkation, being processed for passage, and their shipboard experience, as well as the cost and duration of the voyage. Finally, it will address several stubborn myths related to our ancestors' immigration.