Places in My Novel Grace's Pictures

One of the places in my novel (Grace's Pictures) where a lot of the action takes place is Battery Park.

Not only is Battery Park a beautiful place to visit where you can watch boats and observe the Statue of Liberty, it is full of history--the very spot many of our ancestors first embarked after leaving Ellis Island.

Immigrants arriving in Battery Park.

When I was there I admired this statue and the old trees surrounding it, imagining that many early immigrants must have sat near it and rested from their journeys. If you read Grace's Pictures, you'll remember this statue.

At the edge of Battery Park is Castle Clinton, which at the time of my Ellis Island series was an aquarium.

Today

In 1917

So much history exists on that small stretch of a park. Certainly much has changed. There are many statues now, not just the Ericsson one. The trees have grown large. On the weekends the park is filled with tourists, many who are preparing to take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Street hawkers rest here, but there were certainly those in the era of my novels. And I noted something else. A rat scurried past me when I was there, and so Grace experiences the same thing in my novel. But don't let that deter you if you have the chance to visit. Go sit on a bench and watch the sunset and think about our immigrant ancestors arriving in that spot over a hundred years ago. That's what I was doing when I took this photograph.

©2012 Cindy Thomson

Peeking Into the Time Period of the Ellis Island Series

Sometimes, while working on my books, I crave some visual inspiration. I can't go back in time, but things like this help put me into the world my characters live in.

By the way, I do not agree with the romantic notion that this time period was when America was truly great. There were many injustices and crippling poverty. No time period can claim greatness more than another. (And I was also amused by the credits at the end: "curiosity of..." Spell checkers can't be completely relied upon. It occurs more than once!)

Do Native New Yorkers Exist?

Photos from the New York Times

From left, DeRuiter Family; Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Christian DeRuiter strolls along the Hudson, which runs through his family’s long history in the city, dating back to Dutch colonial days. Left, Johannah de Bloch and Frederick DeRuiter, Mr. DeRuiter’s paternal grandparents.

I ran across this interesting article in the New York Times by Constance Rosenblum. It reminded me that we're all immigrants here in America, with only rare exceptions. Rosenblum notes that the majority of New Yorkers today came from somewhere else.

The article also drove home for me the reason I wrote Grace's Pictures. I thought I'd share it here with you. Can you relate to any of the people in this article?

Family Tree New York

A Peek into New York Life in 1901

I love these old Thomas Edison reels. I wonder if Marilyn Monroe watched this one. Keep an eye on the sidewalk grate.

What Police Corruption?

History of Police Corruption

In Grace's Pictures I write about police corruption in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. If you know history, you probably know Teddy Roosevelt headed the police commission from 1895-1897 and brought wide sweeping changes. Together with a photographer named Jacob Riis (who makes an appearance in my novel) they traipse through Lower Manhattan neighborhoods in the middle of night, waking up sleeping patrolmen and taking flash photographs of the horrid living conditions.

Roosevelt was familiar with Riis previous to taking the position on the commission, having read his book, How the Other Half Lives. Roosevelt was a reformer, but his primary interest was wider in politics, so he only served in this role for two years. Perhaps if he'd been there longer, more changes might have been made sooner. He did bring attention to the corruption and insisted the police department act more professionally. He required firearm training for the force, for one thing, authorizing the purchase of Colt revolvers for his men. Yes, believe it or not, before that not every policeman was armed, and those that were did not necessarily know how to shoot a gun.

Roosevelt Did Not Clean up the Police

Tammany Hall, the political force that influenced elections in the city, was strong, and with Roosevelt and Mayor Strong (who supposedly supported a bipartisan agenda) gone, the police department continued to be an "every man for himself" kind of operation. Not to say there weren't good men, and their work wasn't effective. Some steps were made in the right direction, but at the time of my story gangs still ruled the streets, and shopkeepers not only had to make them happy, but also the local patrolman who collected "protection" money.

One thing they seemed to excel at: parading. Here is a Thomas Edison film from 1899.



It's a myth that Teddy Roosevelt cleaned up the New York Police Department, but with Jacob Riis's help he certain cast light on the problems.

Below is a good summary from The History Channel. The part about Roosevelt's role in the New York City Police lasts until about the 3:00 mark.

Our Ancestors Endured

This part of history is another facet in the story of our immigrant ancestors. How they managed to not only get through it, but to thrive enough to raise their families is nothing short of courageous.

Unfortunately police corruption still exists in places, but nothing in this country compares to that time in history. If you couldn't trust the police, who could you trust? This is the question foremost in Grace McCaffery's mind in Grace's Pictures.

What part of this history, if anything, surprises you? Our history classes did not teach it all, I don't think.

To You, From Me

I wanted to share a bit about why I wrote Grace's Pictures, and do it personally, so here's my message. Please share it with your friends!

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