Perhaps it is too convenient, the shorthand that melds into one shapeless mass the individuals who came from throughout the world to the United States near the turn of the 20th century, seeking a better life. In his first book, "Alba Nuova," (A New Dawn) one local author separates from the huddled masses one of the flesh-and-blood people who passed through Ellis Island and became a proud American citizen.

The book tells the story of Pasquale DaCorsi of Naples, italy, who, one morning in 1898, at 47 years of age, kissed his wife, Rafelia, and their young sons, Eduardo, Arthur and Francesco, goodbye – they would join him later – boarded the SS Aller and left his native land forever. Who, packed in steerage with 1,100 mostly unwashed bodies in conditions dank and dim, rank and ripe, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 12 days.

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Source: http://www.auburn-reporter.com/