"The Immigrant Trunk-Hopes and Dreams Headed for America

Heavy trunks were a necessity for an immigrant family making the long journey across the ocean to the new world because they served as a secure vessel for transporting valued family possessions. If an immigrant traveled alone, the trunk was smaller and often made simply of pine boards. Some times the shipping line glued a large label onto the trunk as a record of the travel across the Atlantic. Hand luggage was also brought along. Bentwood boxes called "tine" are one example. Some were unadorned and others had the owner 's name or initials on them, They held clothing and such things as a small bible or catechism which was read daily on the voyage. The story of each trunk is told in this exhibit.