Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's what all the fireworks and parades celebrate on this Fourth of July holiday, but this celebration wouldn't be a reality for many of us without the sacrifices of our immigrant ancestors who left their countries in pursuit of American happiness.

In my grandfather's case, on June 29, 1909, he arrived in America a few days early for his first Fourth of July celebration. He had traveled on the Verona from Sicily with his wife and two small children. I always knew he had come here from Italy, but until I visited the Ellis Island website a few years ago the impact of his decision to come to America didn't really register with me.

On the Ellis Island website, you can search for a particular passenger, and once you find him or her, you can then view the ship's manifest, which lists such information as state of health, height, complexion, eye and hair color. You can even see the amount of money the traveler had in his or her pocket. In my grandfather's case forty dollars was all he brought to begin his new life. Now for me that amount represents a small withdrawal at the ATM.

Today when I again visited the Ellis Island website I was reminded that my grandfather name, Sam Amento, was really an Americanized version of the name listed on the ship's manifest: Salvatore Amenta, age 30. So knowing the ancestor's exact name and approximate date of arrival will help search the database. Once you locate the immigrant, you can purchase a picture of the ship they traveled on or an Ellis Island certificate listing the immigrant's arrival facts. Historical facts are available for free: I learned that from 1892 to 1924, my grandfather was one of the 20 million immigrants who landed at Ellis Island within Lady Liberty's shadow.

I don't know what my grandfather was thinking about on his first Fourth of July in America, but I can imagine he felt a mixture of relief that his long journey on the Verona had ended as a new exciting one was just beginning in the land of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

But I know tonight, Nanu, as the fireworks boom and twinkle in the sky, I'm thinking of you and the millions of others like you who traveled to this sweet land of liberty to begin a new life.