My grandfather and his parents came over from Belgium in the early 1900s. Most immigrants came over in steerage as that was the cheapest ticket and all most could afford. Steerage is at the bottom of the boat with no individual rooms. It's an open space used for storage. So people would pick out a spot and try to put up rope or clothesline to mark out a space and get some privacy. Food was horrible, the smell was horrible because there were no provisions usually for people to bath. As the trip went on the air became thick with smoke from people smoking and small lanterns and stoves running on kerosene. Also, being packed in so close together, with people from all ages from babies to the elderly, the atmosphere in steerage was ripe for spreading diseases. In som cased, steerage people could only come on deck at night, as the other passengers did not want to mingle with them. A lot of people died on the the crossing, and those who caught certain diseases were not allowed into the country. they had to stay behind to get better at the hospital and their families had to go on without them. The hope was when they got better they would catch up with the family, if the could. Some ended up being shippped back where the came from. It was not an easy passage.