By Bridget English

As she set foot on the gangplank at Ellis Island on January 1, 1892, fifteen-year-old Annie Moore was unaware that her step onto American soil would secure her a place in history.

In fact, the young girl from Cork was baffled when an official gave her a $10 gold coin for being the first immigrant off the ship. Annie became an instant celebrity, with her photo plastered across newspapers. Though she disappeared soon after her day of fame, Annie Moore became an icon of the immigrant experience.

Memorialized in statues and monuments, with pubs named after her and books written about her, the story of Annie Moore became the stuff of legend. There were tales of how young Annie moved to Indiana then Texas and Mexico and eventually married a descendant of an Irish patriot and died tragically in a streetcar accident. As a Western trailblazer, Annie Moore came to embody the pioneer spirit.

But legendary figures are just normal people after all and sometimes the legend is far removed from reality. While working on a documentary for Roots Television, genealogist Megan Smolenyak made some surprising discoveries. The Annie Moore whose journeys led her West was not the same Annie who stepped off the boat from Cork.

The Annie Moore of pioneer lore was not born in Ireland but in Illinois. Smolenyak, determined to find out what happened to the Annie Moore of Ellis Island fame, launched an on-line contest offering a $1,000 prize to anyone who could solve the mystery. In six weeks the truth was uncovered.

The Ellis Island Annie Moore never left New York City. She lived a tough life on the Lower East Side, marrying a German immigrant and Fulton Fishmarket worker named Joseph Schayer. The couple had eleven children. Anne died of heart failure at the age of 47.

At a press conference held in New York on September 15, 2006, four generations of the descendants of Annie Moore gathered to celebrate her rediscovery. The story made the front page of the New York Times, arousing the interest of historians, genealogists and Irish-Americans alike. The search for even more information and details continues.

Thanks to Megan Smolenyak and Roots Television, an independent media company headquartered in Utah, In Search of Annie Moore, is now available for viewing.

For more information on Roots Television: www.rootstelevision.com.