In response to the question about immigrants arriving in Philadelphia:
Ellis Island/New York was by far the most common port of entry for immigrants to the United States (about 70%), but it wasn't the only one, even in years that the facility was functioning. There were six secondary ports: Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Galveston, and San Francisco, and lots of tertiary ones. In principle, any place a ship could dock was a potential port of entry, so I would expect some immigrants arrived through ports from Portland, ME, to San Diego, CA.
