Reprinted from the
7-29-13 post.
Abbie Burgess Grant was a
well-known, romantic figure in her day, but Ida Lewis may have been the most
famous of the lighthouse daughters.
Idawalley (Ida) Zorada
Lewis’s father was appointed keeper of the beacon on Lime Rock in 1853, but he
did not move his family there until 1857, after the government constructed a
dwelling on the tiny island. The oldest of four children, Ida was 15 when they
moved to the lighthouse.
Four months later, Ida’s
father had a paralyzing stroke. Between them, Ida and her mother managed both
the lighthouse and a household that included Ida’s paralyzed father and an invalid
sister. Because of these responsibilities, Ida did not have time to attend
school. She did play an important role in her siblings’ education, however.
The lighthouse was
surrounded by water. The only way to make the one-third mile trip to shore was
by boat. Ida was already an excellent swimmer, and she now became an excellent
rower as she ferried her siblings to and from school. She also picked up
supplies when needed.
A newspaper article
credited Ida’s father with this quote:
Again and
again I have seen the children from this window as they were returning from
school in some heavy blow, when Ida alone was with them, and old sailor that I
am, I felt that I would not give a penny for their lives, so furious was the
storm.
But Ida always got them
home safely.
Ida’s rowing and swimming
skills were to make her famous. She is officially credited with saving 18
lives, but she kept no records and the actual count is probably much higher.
The first recorded rescue
occurred in 1858, when Ida was sixteen. Four boys went out for a sail, and one
of them decided to show off by climbing to the top of the mast and rocking the
boat back and forth. The boat capsized, and the four youths struggled to hold
on to the overturned boat. Ida rowed over and pulled each of the four into her
own boat.
Several of Ida’s rescues
occurred when soldiers were returning to Fort Adams after a night of too much
drinking. It strained the wiry Ida to pull these uncooperative men into her
boat, but she never thought twice before helping them.
At one of those times,
Ida was sick with a cold and was warming her feet at the fire when her
mother cried out that a boat had overturned. Ida ran to the soldiers’ aid
without taking time to put on a coat or shoes. With the help of a younger
brother, she pulled two men into her boat in the middle of a
snowstorm. She later received a Congressional medal for this rescue.
Because the lighthouse
was so close to shore, and with Ida’s growing fame as a rescuer, tourists
swarmed over the tiny island, interrupting the family's solitude and leaving
litter and destruction everywhere. Ida also had some famous visitors, including
President Ulysses S. Grant.
After a four-year
engagement to William Wilson, Ida married him in 1870 and quickly
regretted it. Although she never got a divorce, she soon
returned—alone—to Lime Rock.
Ida and her mother
continued to keep the Lime Rock Light for Ida’s father until his death in 1872,
when Ida’s mother became the official keeper. Ida received the appointment in
1879 and continued it until her death in 1911.
* * * * *
For more information on Ida
Lewis and Lime Rock Light Station, see pages 42-48 of Mind the Light, Katie and/or check out the following websites:
http://www.us-lighthouses.com/displaypage.php?LightID=412
* * * * *
The illustration shows
Ida Lewis on the cover of the July 31, 1869 issue of Harper’s Weekly.
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