Another interesting (? you can tell me to shut up nicely) lighthouse keeper wa Ida Lewis (offical keeper 1879-1911). Her father was a costal ppilot, with his health declining, he became the 1st keeper in 1853 & moved his family onto Lime Rock in 1857 when Ida was15. After 4 months her father suffered a stroke, with a sick sister, Ida being the oldest eventually took over the duties of keeper. Her first rescue was, of 4 soldiers at the age of 16, her last was at 63, saving her friend who'd rowed out to visit, inbetween she offically rescued another 13, she's claimed to have saved 25 in total. Ida was the best know keeper of her day because of her rescues. Pres. Grant & Vice Pres. Colfax went to visit her in 1869,the Life Saving Benevolent Assoc. of NY gave her $100 (she earned $600 per yr) and a silver medal, a parade was held in her honor in Newport on Independence Day & gave her a mahogany lifeboat with red velvet cushions, gold braid around the gunwales& gold plated oarlocks (she hardly used it), she was given a lifetime pension from the Carnegie Hero Fund of $30 monthly. On the eve of her death every bell on every boat in the harbor of Newport (Rhode Island) tolled in her honor. In 1924 RI legislature changed the name of Lime Rock to the Ida Lewis Rock & when the light was deactivated in1963 the Newport Yacht Club (later changed to the Ida Lewis YC) bought the Ida Lewis Rock Lighthouse from the Coast Guard & got permission to put a light back in the old lantern & they still maintain it as a private aid to navigation. From 'Women Who Kept The Lights' by M & J Clifford, 1993 Barry