Did you know that Galveston, Texas, has been called "The Ellis Island of the West?" That's because Galveston was a major player in immigration history in the 19th and 20th centuries, allowing entrance to the United States to more than 133,000 immigrants.

Those names have been recorded in a computer database at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston. Whether you are searching for your genealogical roots or merely wish to acquire some knowledge of the era, you can search the database for names of passengers and members of their traveling party, age, gender, occupation, country of origin, ship name and dates of departure and arrival. A separate ship database includes additional information on some, but not all, of the ship arrivals during that time.

But the immigration database is not the only reason a trip to the Texas Seaport Museum is warranted. It is also home to the 1877 tall ship Elissa. The three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship, which was built in Scotland, carries 19 sails and measure 205 feet in length. The Elissa carried commercial cargo for 90 years. Today, it is fully restored and sails annually during sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. As a visitor to the museum, you can walk the decks.

In the adjacent museum and theater you can sea photographs and watch two video presentations about Elissa's discovery in Greece and its subsequent restoration. You can also watch the panoramic documentary of "The Great Storm," the hurricane of 1900 that laid waste to the city of Galveston, at that time a prosperous commercial hub with a population of 40,000. Then, of course, there are the maritime exhibits to enjoy.

– Linda Hoff