Read the excerpt from "ellis island." for 62 years, some 12 million people passed through ellis island for the promise of a better life in america. they came on huge steamships, the majority from eastern europe and italy, the rest from other corners of the world: lebanon, cyprus, china, jamaica, and numerous other places. many had left their homelands to escape poverty, while others had fled religious persecution or war. which words signal the passage of time? some 12 million people fled religious persecution through ellis island for 62 years