![]() ![]() The article also noted how “her unfailing light had carried courage and brought safety to many a ship and small boat tossed on the rough waters of Lake Michigan.” Colfax died the following year at the age of 80.įor more information on Harriet Colfax, please check out. (DOYLE) SHOOK applied for the job as head lighthouse keeper of the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse in. “The oldest, staunchest, and most reliable lighthouse keeper in the United States is a woman,” reported the article. Dianna Stampfler female, great lakes, keeper, lighthouse, maritime history, michigan. Hartwell, who helped make sure that the lanterns were lit for vessels sailing in the vicinity.Ĭolfax finally retired in 1904, and an article appearing in the Chicago Tribune the same year called attention to her long and distinguished service at the Michigan City Lighthouse. Keeper Van Allen had secreted eighteen nets belonging to a Mormon at the lighthouse, and when twenty-four of Van Allen’s nets and attached buoys were pulled underwater by a strong current and thought lost, Van Allen offered to return the eighteen nets in exchange for his twenty-four. Colfax remained the keeper of the Michigan City Lighthouse for 43 years and lived there with her friend Ann C. Colfax’s status was all the more unique in that era, however, because many of the other women were appointed to replace male relatives (e.g., husbands, fathers) who could no longer carry out the duties of keeper due to illness or death. 1914.Ĭolfax joined the professional ranks of those women during the 19 th century who were likewise hired to serve as U.S. Aaron Sheridan was injured during his service in the Civil Warthe bones in his lower left arm shattered during the Battle of Ringgold, and he was later appointed as the lighthouse keeper at South Manitou Island on July 21, 1866. congressman from Indiana who would go on to become speaker of the House of Representatives and Ulysses S. After he died in 1856, she found herself with limited means of financial support.Ĭolfax’s need for additional income led to her being named keeper of the local lighthouse. The appointment is widely believed to have been arranged by her cousin Schuyler Colfax, a U.S. (The lighthouse replaced one was built at that site in 1837.)Ĭolfax was born in 1824 in Ogdensburg, New York, where she worked as a voice-and-piano teacher. She moved to Michigan City in the early 1850s with her brother Richard, who became a newspaper editor. At the time, that structure - located on the shore of Lake Michigan - had been serving as a guide for vessels in the region for about three years. Congress to serve as keeper of the Michigan City Lighthouse in Indiana. The average salary for Lighthouse Group employees in India is 297,840 in 2023. In 1861, Harriet Colfax was appointed by the U.S. Information in the registers documenting lighthouse keepers and their assistants includes the employee’s name, rate of pay, annual salary, date of appointment, date of vacation, birth place, and whether army or navy records exist for the employee. ![]()
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