Exclusive | Descendants of first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island celebrate American Dream

As the country celebrates its 250th birthday, relatives of the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island reflected on the American Dream.Annie Moore, a teenager from County Cork, Ireland, made the harrowing 12-day journey, arriving in the new world on Jan.1, 1892.

A bronze statue of the plucky teen and lifelong New Yorker who came to symbolize the promise of the country still stands at the downtown museum today.As the first of 12 million immigrants who would pour through Ellis Island until its closure in 1954, Moore lived a “desperately poor” life moving from one tenement to another.Life with German-American baker husband Augustus “Gus” Schayer was bittersweet, with half of her 10 children dying before their third birthday.But Moore’s story of grit and fortitude has made descendents, including great-nephew, Michael Shulman, “extremely proud” to be part of this historic family tree.“I have lived the American Dream,” said Shulman, 69, whose grandfather, Philip, was the youngest brother of Annie who accompanied her on the US-bound voyage.“And not just economically — I have had the freedom to pursue any career I wanted,” said the Long Island native who now lives in Madison, Wisc. “This family history is really important – I don’t think people understand how important it is,” said the retired financial advisor, who’s “a great believer in American exceptionalism.”“We’re a country of immigrants,” Shulman said.The American dream is alive and well in Moore’s family tree.While she lived a hardscrabble life, and died in 1924 of heart failure at 50, she generated a mosaic of descendents as American as apple pie.“Each generation has gotten better educated,” said the late great-granddaughter, Maureen Peterson, back in 2013, noting family members who were part Chinese, Dominican, German, Jewish, French.

“We’ve become a real American family.”Moore’s life had a great impact on other descendants. Her great-great grandda...