At least three female U.S. lighthouse keepers started their
careers before they reached maturity. Although their fathers were the official
lighthouse keepers, they soon became the primary workers.
Mind the Light, Katie,
by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candice Clifford, includes the stories of
Catherine Moore, Abbie Burgess Grant, and Ida Lewis. Each is a fascinating
female who deserves her own post.
Catherine (Kate) Moore was twelve in 1817 when her father
became lighthouse keeper at Black Rock Light Station off the north shore of
Long Island Sound (in Connecticut). She started assisting him immediately. When
he was injured two years later, Kate took over his duties and remained
unofficial lighthouse keeper until her father’s death in 1871. It was a long
time to serve without official recognition, but perhaps she was happy to give that
honor to her father.
Years later, Kate described her evening routine:
During windy nights it was impossible
to keep [the lights] burning at all, and I had to stay there all night, but on
other nights I slept at home, dressed in a suit of boys’ clothes, my lighted
lantern hanging at my headboard and my face turned so that I could see shining
on the wall the light from the tower and know if anything happened to it. Our
house was [about 700 feet] from the lighthouse, and to reach it I
had to walk across two planks under which on stormy nights were four feet of
water, and it was not too easy to stay on those slippery, wet boards with the
wind whirling and the spray blinding me.
Kate’s light was located on Fayerweather Island. She planted
a garden and kept a number of animals, which were her main playmates. As she
grew older, she carved and sold duck decoys and had a thriving oyster business.
She is credited with saving 21 lives during her years at the lighthouse.
After her father’s death, Kate received the official
appointment and continued on until she retired in 1878. She lived another
twenty-plus years in a house with a view of Fayerweather Island and Long Island
Sound.
Although Kate never married and knew no other life, she appears
to have been happy enough. Still, when asked during her retirement years if she
missed her island home, she said, “Never. The sea is a treacherous friend.”
* * * * *
For more information on Catherine Moore and Black Rock Light
Station, see pages 7-10 of Mind the
Light, Katie and/or check out the following websites:
* * * * *
The picture from the Coast Guard shows Black Rock Light
Station as it probably looked when Catherine Moore served there.
1 comment:
What a feeling to know you saved all those lives.
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