Breaking the Barrier: Women Lighthouse Keepers & Other Female Employees of the U.S. Lighthouse Board/Service
One of the first non-clerical U.S. government jobs that were open to women were positions as lighthouse keepers, although others did serve in staff positions at the various district and headquarter offices. Typically those appointed as keepers were actually the spouse of the assistant or head keeper; they assumed these professional duties to assist their spouse or took over when their husbands became ill and/or died. Nevertheless, many of these intrepid widows, and women appointed in their own right, served their country for many years with distinction in a time when employment for women was extremely limited. They were true trailblazers.
For detailed information please consult Mary Louise & J. Candace Cliffords' Women Who Kept the Lights: An Illustrated History of Female Lighthouse Keepers (Alexandria, VA: Cypress Communications, 2000); second edition.
Name | Light Station / Office | Dates of service & other notes: |
---|---|---|
Mrs. Lillie Ahern | Redfish Bar, TX | 1889-1892 |
Mrs. Margaret Anderson | Round Island, MS | 1872-1881 |
Mrs. Sarah Atwood | Mayo's Beach, MA | 1876-1891 |
Thelma Austin | Point Fermin, CA | 1925-1941 |
Margaret E. Bates | Cape Henlopen, DE | May 1838 she sent a letter requesting appointment to replace her deceased husband. |
Mrs. Lucy J. Baxter | Sandy Neck, MA | 1862-1867 |
Elizabeth S. Beattie | New Canal, LA | December 1846 letter from New Orleans Collector recommends appointment of Mrs. Thos. Beattie to replace her deceased husband. |
Mary Eliza Bethel | Key West, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in September 1891; Wife of principal keeper; |
Miriam Brandt | District Office | Letters September 1882 and January 1883 for job exchange with Mrs. Ellen Ingle as writers. |
Julia Toby Brawn | Bay City, MI | 1873-1890; |
Mrs. Hannah Brayley | Ned' Point, MA | 1846-1849 |
Mrs. Georgiana C. Brumfield | Turkey Point, MD | 1895-1919 |
Amy Buddington | Stratford Point, CT | 1848-1859 (1860?) |
Abbie Burgess (Grant) | Matinicus Rock, ME & Whitehead, ME | Matinicus: Assistant, 1867-1875; Whitehead: Assistant, 1875-1890 |
Mrs. Dora Burgess | South Pass East Jetty, LA | Appointed acting assistant keeper in May 1891; promoted to assistant in December 1882; Resigned in October 1895 because "The Lighthouse foundation is in dangerous condition." |
Alice Butterworth | Pass Christian, MS | 1877-1882 |
Mrs. Mary F. Campbell | New Canal, LA | Appointed keeper in July 1869. |
Annie M. Carlson | Granite Island, MI | 1903-1905 |
Mary A. Carroll | Key West, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in October 1873; acting keeper May 1889. |
Mrs. Christiansen | Mukilteo, WA | 1925-1927 |
Mrs. Minnie Cochems | Sherwood Point, WI | 1912-1928 |
Harriet E. Colfax | Michigan City, IN | 1861-1904 |
Minnie E. Coteron | Bayou St. John, LA | 1906-after 1912 |
Mrs. Sally Ann Crandall | Watch Hill, RI | 1879-1888 |
Mrs. Rebecca L. Crouch | Turkey Point, MD | 1873-1895 |
Miss Kate A. Crowley | Saugerties, NY | 1873-1885 |
Mrs. Eliza A. Daboll | Morgan's Point, CT | 1838 - ?; |
Mrs. Ann Davis | Point Lookout, MD | 1830-1847 |
Mrs. Sallie Dear | Pass Christian, MS | 1874-1877; resigned |
Amelia Deweese | Old Point Comfort, VA | 1857-1861 |
Mrs. J. M. Donnelly | Amelia Island, FL | Assistant keeper; Removed in May, 1871. |
Mrs. Ann Dudley | Sand Key, FL | 1850-1854 |
Mrs. Mary Easton | Nantucket Cliff Beacons, MA | 1852-1856 |
Mrs. Ann Edson | Turtle Island, OH | 1869-1870 |
Mrs. Ella Edwards | Nansemond River, VA | 1903-1906 |
Mrs. Martha A. Edwards | Point Lookout, MD | 1853-1855; resigned in 1855 |
Pamela (Permelia?) Edwards | Point Lookout, MD | 1855-1869 |
Flora Engle | Admiralty Head, Whitby Island, WA | (?); Resigned in September, 1868. |
Jane Enos | St. Joseph's, MI | 1876-1881 |
Mrs. Sarah J. Fine | Sand Key, FL | 1904-1910 |
Mrs. Emily A. Fish | Point Pinos, CA | 1893-1914 |
Rebecca Flaherty | Sand Key, FL | 1830-1837 |
Mrs. Jessie Fisher | Head of Passes, LA | 1864-1866 |
Mary A. Foster | Old Field Point, NY | 1869 |
Josephine Freeman | Blackistone, MD | 1876-1912 |
Mrs. Annie Gage | Bayou St. John, LA | 1895-1906 |
Mrs. Anna Garraty | Presque Isle, MI | 1903-1926 |
Mrs. Hannah Ham (Harn?) | Point Isabel, TX | 1860-1861 |
Mrs. Harriet Gill | Pond Island, ME | 1864-1867 |
Mrs. Sarah E. Lane Grand | Mission Point, MI | 1906-1908 |
Mrs. Julia Ann Griswold | Eagle River, MI | 1861-1865 |
Mrs. Donald E. Harrison | St. Mary's River, MI | 1902-1904 |
Susan Harvey | Mahon, DE | Following the death of her husband Thos. E. Harvey, also a keeper; Letters praising her work and protesting her possible removal cover period from 1849-1859. She was dismissed after a lengthy political struggle. She had several small children to raise; |
Mrs. Mary R. Havens | Ship Island, MS | 1855-1858 |
Mrs. Mary Ann Heath | Newport Harbor, RI | 1868-1873 |
Miss Laura J. Hecox | Santa Cruz, CA | 1883-1917 |
Mary Henningson | Southwest Pass, LA | Appointed assistant keeper May 1864 (dated from 1 October 1863); Resigned in November 1869. |
Mary J. Herwerth | Bluff Point, NY | 1881-1903 |
Miss C. A. Hiern | Pass Christian, MS | 1844-1861 |
Annie Bell Hobbs | Boon Island, ME | 1876 |
Melissa Holden | Deer Island, ME | Temporary appointment during illness and death of her husband, Samuel F. Holden, months of February and March, 1874. Permanent appointment April 1874; removed as incompetent in May 1876. |
Mrs. Sarah Ann Hooper | Elm Tree, NY | 1859-1867 |
Mrs. Eunice Howes | Sandy Neck, MA | 1880-1886 |
Mrs. Thomas Hudson | Cow Island, NY | 1853-1873 |
Betsy Morrow Humphrey | Monhegan Island, ME | 1862-1880 |
Mrs. Merrill Hussey | Cape San Blas, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in April, 1869. |
Mrs. Ellen Ingle | District Office, Baltimore, MD | Letters September 1882 and January 1883 for job exchange with Miriam Brandt as writers. |
Mrs. Michaela Ingraham | Pensacola, FL | 1840-1855 |
Helen Jackson | District
Office, Baltimore, MD | Clerk, appointed February 1891; promoted in January 1898; resigned in January 1902; (born in Baltimore, MD, 1849). |
Miss S. D. Jackson | Lighthouse
Board Washington, DC | Clerk, dates?; services declared surplus in May 1885. |
Mrs. Josephine Worth James | Third District
Office Staten Island, NY | Writer, date?; Dismissed due to absenteeism and neglect in July 1882. |
Frances Johnson | White River, MI | 1948-1954 |
Miss Louise M. Johnson | Charleston, SC | Appointed? (possibly 24 September 1888); released and replaced by Mills, L.S. (1890?). |
Mrs. Sarah E. Johnson | Humboldt Bay, CA | 1859-1863 |
Mrs. Ellen Lyons (Kilmartin) | Throggs Neck, NY | 1876-1881 |
Martha C. Lawrence | Pensacola, FL | Assistant keeper September 1880; resigned November 1885 (Wife of Samuel C. Lawrence, Born 1851). |
Mrs. Joanna Lawton | Schodack Channel, NY | 1860-1873 |
Mrs. Charlotte A. Layton | Point Pinos, CA | 1856-1860 |
Ida Lewis | Lime Rock, RI | 1857-1911; (See Cliffords' Women Who Kept the Lights or click here for further information) |
Mrs. Zoraida Lewis | Lime Rock, RI | 1872-1879; (according to Cliffords Zoraida Lewis, Ida's mother, was appointed as the head keeper although Ida actually performed the duties during the 1872-79 period). |
Sarah Levy | Fishing Battery Island, MD | 1853-1855 |
Caroline Litigot (Autaya) | Mamajuda, MI | 1874-1885 |
Miss Abby H. Long | Whitehead, ME | Daughter of Keeper Hezikiah Long; Whitehead: assistant, 1867-1875; Cape Elizabeth: Appointed but declined. |
Mrs. Elizabeth Lusby | Turkey Point, MD | 1844-1862 |
Barbara Mabrity | Key West, FL | 1832-1862 |
Eliza MacCashian [McCashin] | Passiac, NJ | Appointed
acting assistant keeper in May 1881; Wife of former keeper. Cliffords note 1903-1914; served as assistant keeper 1890-1894. |
Mary J. Madden | Pensacola, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in June of 1869; resigned in July 1870. |
Mrs. Mary Maher | Oyster Beds Beacon & Cockspur Island, GA | 1853-1856 |
Martha Mariner | Cape Elizabeth, ME | Appointed assistant keeper in August 1867; resigned in July 1868. |
Susan Mariner | Cape Elizabeth, ME | Appointed second assistant keeper in July 1868; resigned in 1869. |
Jane E. Martin | Marblehead, MA | 1860-1863 |
Kate Marvin | Squaw Point, MI | 1897-1904 |
Charlotte Ann Mason | Cape Lookout, NC | Daughter of Head Keeper Manaen W. Mason. She was appointed assistant keeper on 2 August 1873 and served until 27 May 1875. |
Ellen McCormick | Pensacola, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in October 1864; wife of Robert McCormick (she was born in Ireland in 1828) |
Mrs. Francis McDonald | Morgan's Point, CT | 1869-1871 |
Mrs. Hannah McDonald | Bergen Point, NJ | 1873-1879 |
Elizabeth M. McDougal | Fifth
Lighthouse District Office; Baltimore, MD | Appointed as a writer in February 1893; resigned in June 1898. (She was born in Washington, DC, in 1870, daughter of Charles J. and Kate Caffrey McDougal). |
Kate C. McDougal | Mare Island, CA | Appointed keeper in December 1881; 1881-1916; |
Mrs. Joanna McGee | Marblehead, OH | 1896-1903 |
Mrs. Annie McGuire | Pentwater, MI | Removed as keeper "for drunkenness and irregular habits" in February 1885; as quoted in Cliffords' Women Who Kept the Lights, p. 186. |
Mrs. Catherine McGuire | Thunder Bay, MI | Appointed assistant keeper transferred to Marquette, MI in March 1882; Removed in July 1891 at request of husband, Patrick H. McGuire |
Maggie McLeod | Lighthouse
Board Washington, DC | Clerk; died in April 1886. |
Mrs. Flora McNeil | Bridgeport Breakwater, CT | 1904-1920 |
Mrs. Margaret Mitchell | South Pass, LA | Appointed assistant keeper in February 1871; transferred to Southwest Pass as first assistant in June 1873; resigned in October 1875. |
Mrs. William M. Monroe | Muskegon, MI | 1862-1871 |
Catherine A. Moore | Black Rock Harbor, CT | 1817-1878 |
Leslie Moore | Fort Columbus Fog Bell, NY | 1873-1882 |
Mrs. Caroline Morse | Santa Barbara, CA | 1905-1911 |
Clarinda Mott | Windmill Point, VT | 1859-1862 |
Catherine A. Murdock | Rondout Creek, NY | 1857-1907 |
Angeline M. Nickerson | Chatham, MA | 1848-1862 |
Juliet Nichols | Angel Island, CA | 1902-1914 |
Maggie [Margaret] R. Norvell | Head of Passes; Port Pontchartrain, & New Canal Light Stations, (all in LA) | Appointed acting keeper in April 1891; husband, Louis V. Norvell, deceased; served at Head of Passes until 1896; Port Pontchartrain: 1896-1924; New Canal: 1924-1932; |
Ann Nuthall | Piney Point, MD | 1850-1861 |
Mrs. Jane O'Driscoll | New Canal, LA | Temporary appointment as keeper in June 1850; (vice H.H. O'Driscoll, husband, died in 1850); Resigned in March 1853. |
Mrs. Esther O'Neill | Havre de Grace (Concord Point), MD | 1863-1881 |
Mrs. Eva Pape | Sheboygan, WI | 1869-1885 |
Mrs. Carmalite Philibert | Choctaw Point, AL | 1842-1852 |
Mrs. Patty Potter | Stonington, CT | 1842-1854 |
Mrs. Anna M. Read | West Rigolets, LA | 1898-1912 |
Mary (or Maria) J. Reynolds | Biloxi, MS | 1854-1866 |
Mrs. Caroline Riddle | New Canal, LA | 1893-1924 |
Elizabeth Riley | North Point, MD | 1834-1857 |
Lydia Rogers | Aransas Pass, TX | 1908-1921 |
Melinda Rose | Stony Point, NY | 1904-1905 |
Nancy Rose | Stony Point, NY | 1857-1904 |
Mrs. Mary H. Ryan | Calumet Harbor Entrance, IN | 1873-1880 |
Mrs. Ella G. Quick | Sand Island, WI | 1903-1906 |
Fannie May Salter | Turkey Point, MD | 1925-1947 |
Mrs. H. Schmuck | North Point, MD | 1864-1865 |
Mrs. Schooner | Port Washington, WI | 1860-1861 |
Jeanette S. Sharrer | Third Lighthouse District, NY | Appointed writer in July 1892; resigned in September 1892. |
Mrs. Edward Shoemaker | Old Field Point, NY | 1826-1827 |
Catharine Shook | Pointe aux Barques, MI | 1849-1851 |
Mrs. Leila P. Simmon | Brant Island, NC | Appointed acting assistant keeper in April 1895; resigned in June 1895. Husband in LH Service at Currituck Beach, NC. She was born in North Carolina, 1858. |
Mrs. Eulalia Simpson | Hatteras Inlet, NC | Appointed acting assistant keeper in May 1894; full appointment in April 1896, resigned in December 1896 (wife of A. J. Simpson). |
Mrs. Eliza Smith | New Baltimore Stake Light, NY | 1864-1870 |
Mrs. Elizabeth Smith | Old Field Point, NY | 1830-1856 |
Lydia Smith | Manitou Island, MI | 1855-1856 |
Mary L. Smith | Ediz Hook, WA & Point Fermin, CA | Appointed keeper (1870?); Edix Hook: 1870-1874; Point Fermin: 1874-1882; removed in May 1882; |
Georgia A. Stebbins | North Point, WI | 1881-1899 |
Mrs. Laura Blach Stratton | Ediz Hook, WA | 1874-1885 |
Margaret Stuart | Bombay Hook, DE | 1850-1862 |
Mrs. Caroline Stubbs | Palmer's Island, MA | 1862-1873 (1874?) |
Mrs. Mary J. Succow | Pass Manchac, LA | 1873-1909 |
Charlotte Suter | Piney Point, MD | 1840 (?); |
Mrs. Emma D. Tabberrah | Cumberland Head, NY | 1904-1919 |
Mrs. Rosannah Tatham | Bodkin Island, MD | 1845-1847 |
Mary L. Terry | Sand Point, MI | 1868-1886 |
Hannah Thomas | Gurnet Point, MA | 1776-1786 |
Mrs. Sarah Thomas | Cove Point, MD | 1857-1859 |
Harriet Towner | Michigan City, IN | 1844-1853 |
Mrs. Eliza Truckey | Marquette, MI | 1862-1865 |
Helen C. Tune | Piney Point, MD | 1877-1883 |
Mrs. Harriet Valliant | Sharp's Island, MD | 1851-1856 |
Mary H. Vreeland | Gibraltar Lighthouse, MI | Station closed and she was released as keeper in April 1879; named property custodian. |
Mrs. Abbey Waite | Warwick Neck, RI | 1832-1838 |
Kate Walker | Robbins Reef, NY | 1894-1919 |
Miss B. M. Watson | Mare Island, CA | Appointed first assistant keeper in December 1876. |
Mrs. Theresa C. Watson | Mare Island, CA | 1873-1881 |
Miss Martha V. Watts | Pensacola, FL | Appointed assistant keeper in August 1867; resigned in May 1869. |
Mrs. Demairs Weeden | Beavertail, RI | 1848-1857 |
Mary A. Wheatley | Eagle Harbor Range, MI | 1898-1905 |
Ann Witbeck | Stuyvesant, NY | 1853-1866 |
Mrs. Christian Witbeck | Stuyvesant, NY | 1841-1853 |
Catharine Whittlesey | Lynde Point, CT | 1840-1852 |
Elizabeth (Van Riper) Williams | Beaver Island
Harbor Point, MI & Little Traverse, MI | Beaver Island Harbor Point: 1872-1884; Little Traverse: 1884-1913; |
Mrs. Julia F. Williams | Santa Barbara, CA | 1865-1905 |
Eliza A. Wilson | Piney Point, MD | 1873-1877 |
Ellen Wilson | Port Pontchartrain, LA | 1882-1896 |
Mrs. Rachel Wolcott | Marblehead, OH | 1832-1834 |
Mrs. Mary E. Yewell | Sandy Point, MD | 1860-1861 |
Maria Younghans | Biloxi, MS | 1867-1918; resigned |
Miranda Younghans | Biloxi, MS | 1918-1929 |