As I mentioned in last week’s post, libraries have played a
big role in my life. Because I lived in a small town and the closest city
wasn’t very large, the limited selections at my libraries didn’t begin to fill me
up. But without those libraries, I would have starved for reading material.
I can’t imagine living on an isolated island without even a
library to feed my reading obsession. Yet that is just how lighthouse keepers
and their families used to live.
The first lighthouses were built on private land and
subsidized by the individual colonies. The U.S. Lighthouse Establishment was
created in 1789, and it took over the responsibility for maintaining the
lighthouses. (This responsibility was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939.)
For almost ninety years, those who served were responsible
for providing their own books. Then they finally got some relief. The picture
shows a replica of a travelling library on display at the White River Light
Station Museum on Lake Michigan. According to the sign with the display, “In
1876, the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment created portable libraries to aid in
the educational needs of remote lightkeepers, lightship and life saving
personnel and their families. These libraries traditionally carried a Bible,
European history and travel books, encyclopedias, children’s books, technical
information for keepers and contemporary novels of the time period.” The
placard also says that there were over 700 libraries in circulation by the early
1900s, so I’m assuming that each location got a full library until it was time
to replace it with another one.
What made me think about this now? I’ve been re-reading Mind the Light, Katie: The History of
Thirty-Three Female Lighthouse Keepers by Mary Louise Clifford and J.
Candace Clifford. Some of these women led interesting lives, and I’m going to
share them with you this month. While many of them wrote letters and most were
required to keep a journal as part of the job, I’m only aware of one who spent
her solitary hours writing a book. So I’ll start with Elizabeth Williams.
In 1869, Elizabeth’s then husband, Clement Van Riper,
accepted an appointment as keeper at Harbor Point Light Station on Beaver
Island in Lake Michigan. (It appears to have also been called Whiskey Point
Light and St. James Light.) Clement drowned three years later as he attempted
to row out to help a floundering ship. In her book A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the Mormons, Elizabeth described
her reaction.
I was weak from sorrow, but
realized that though the life that was dearest to me had gone, yet there were
others out in the dark and treacherous waters who needed the rays from the
shining light of my tower. Nothing could rouse me but that thought, then all my
life and energy was given to the work which now seemed was given me to do.
After Clement’s death, Elizabeth was appointed to keep the
Harbor Point Light Station. In this, Elizabeth was similar to the majority of
female lighthouse keepers, who took over after their husbands died. Unlike
most, however, she didn’t stay single. Elizabeth continued to service the
Harbor Point Light Station after she married Daniel Williams, who apparently
didn’t object to her job.
In 1884, Elizabeth was reassigned to Little Traverse Light
Station, where her husband photographed the surrounding area and sold his
pictures to tourists. This is also where Elizabeth wrote A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the Mormons, dealing mostly with
her childhood but ending with a few pages about her lighthouse experiences. It
was published in 1905 and is still in print.
Elizabeth remained at Little Traverse Light Station until
she retired in 1913.
Next week’s post will talk about the hard life endured by
two other Lake Michigan lighthouse keepers.
* * * * *
For more information on Elizabeth Williams at Harbor Point and
Little Traverse Light Stations, see pages 71-74 of Mind the Light, Katie and/or check out the following websites:
Check these websites for more information on the history of lighthouses in the U.S.
http://www.nps.gov/maritime/handbook/part2.pdf
http://www.lhdigest.com/history.cfm
* * * * *
One word of caution. While Mind the Light, Katie appears to be well researched, it contains a number of internal inconsistancies that probably resulted from poor proofreading. For that reason, the material in each of my posts is supported by at least one additional source.
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