Did anyone mention Ida Lewis of
Newport, RI?
Ida Lewis was born in
Newport,
Rhode Island, the oldest of four
children of
Captain Hosea Lewis of the Revenue
Cutter Service. Her father was transferred to the Lighthouse
Service and appointed keeper of Lime Rock Light on Lime Rock in Newport in 1854, taking his
family to live on the rock in 1857.[1] When he had been at Lime Rock for less than four months, he had a stroke and became disabled. Ida expanded her domestic duties to include caring for him and a seriously ill sister and also, with her mother's assistance, tending the light: filling the lamp with
oil at sundown and again at midnight, trimming the wick, polishing carbon off the reflectors, and extinguishing the light at dawn.
Since Lime Rock was completely surrounded by
water, the only way to reach the mainland was by
boat. By the age of 15 Ida had become known as the best swimmer in Newport. She rowed her younger siblings to
school every weekday and fetched supplies from town as they were needed. She became very skilful at handling the heavy rowboat. An article in Harper's Weekly after Ida had rescued several people debated whether it was "feminine" for
women to row
boats, but concluded that none but a "donkey" would consider it "unfeminine" to save lives.
Ida and her mother tended the Lime Rock Light for her father from 1857 until 1873, when he died. Her mother was then appointed keeper, although Ida continued to do the keeper's
work. By 1877, her mother's
health was failing, leaving Ida with increased housekeeping and care-giving responsibilities. Her mother eventually died of cancer in 1887. Ida finally received the official appointment as keeper in 1879, largely through the efforts of an admirer, General Ambrose Everett Burnside, a Civil War hero who became a
Rhode Island governor and United States senator. With a salary of $750 per year, Ida was for a time the highest-paid lighthouse keeper in the nation. The extra pay was given "in consideration of the remarkable services of Mrs. Wilson in the saving of lives".
Lewis made her first
rescue in 1854, coming to the assistance of four
men whose
boat had capsized. She was 12 years old.[2]
Illustration of Ida Lewis rowing
Her most famous
rescue occurred on March 29, 1869. Two soldiers, Sgt. James
Adams and Pvt. John McLaughlin, were passing through Newport Harbor toward Fort
Adams in a
small boat, guided by a 14-year-old boy who claimed to know his way through the harbor. A snowstorm was churning the harbor's waters, and the boat overturned. The two soldiers clung to it, while the boy was
lost in the icy
water. Ida's mother saw the two in the water and called to Ida, who was suffering from a cold. Ida ran to her boat without taking the time to put on a coat or shoes. With the help of her younger brother, she was able to haul the two
men into her boat and bring them to the lighthouse. One of them later gave a gold watch to Ida, and for her heroism she became the first woman to receive a gold Congressional medal for lifesaving. The soldiers at Fort Adams showed their appreciation by collecting $218 for Ida.
Because of her many rescues, Ida Lewis became the best-known lighthouse keeper of her day. During her 54 years on Lime Rock, she is credited with saving 18 lives,[3] although unofficial reports suggest the number may have been as high as 36. She kept no records of her lifesaving exploits. Ida's fame spread quickly after the 1869 rescue, for a reporter was sent from the
New York Tribune to
record her deeds. Articles also appeared in Harper's Weekly and Leslie's magazine among others. The Life Saving Benevolent Association of
New York sent her a silver medal.[2] A parade was held in her honor in Newport on Independence Day, followed by the presentation of a sleek mahogany rowboat with red velvet
cushions, gold braid around the gunwales, and gold-plated oarlocks. When she was 64, Ida became a life beneficiary of the Carnegie Hero Fund, receiving a monthly pension of $30.
On July 16, 1881, she was awarded the rare and prestigious Gold Lifesaving Medal from the United States
government for her daring rescue on February 4, 1881, of two soldiers from Fort Adams who had fallen through the ice while attempting to return to the fort on foot.[4]
During her lifetime Ida Lewis was called "the Bravest Woman in America", and her exploits were detailed in the national press. She met President Ulysses S. Grant, Vice-President Schuyler Colfax, General William Tecumseh Sherman, and Admiral George Dewey, in addition to many of the wealthy and prominent people who summered in Newport.[5] Members of the Women's suffrage movement including Elizabeth Cady Stanton came to visit her and used her as an example of the inherent strength of
women.[6] At least two pieces of
music were named for her: the Ida Lewis Waltz and the Rescue Polka Mazurka. Ida Lewis hats and scarves were
sold.
Ida Lewis' grave at Common Burying Ground
Her father amused himself by counting the people who came to the island to see Ida: there were often a hundred a day, and in one summer there were 9,000. She also received numerous gifts, letters, and even marriage proposals. In 1870 she married
Captain William Wilson of Black Rock, Connecticut, but they separated after two years. She spent most of her career alone at Lime Rock.
Ida made her last recorded rescue when she was 63. A friend was rowing out to the lighthouse, stood up in her boat,
lost her balance, and fell into the water. Ida rowed out to her and hauled her aboard.
Lewis died of a stroke on October 24, 1911, at the age of 69.[3] The bells of all the vessels in Newport Harbor tolled for her that night, and
flags were at half staff throughout Newport. More than 1,400 people viewed her body at the Thames Street Methodist Church. Among the crowd that gathered to pay its respects were keepers Charles Schoeneman of Newport Harbor Light, Charles Curtis of Rose Island Light, O. F. Kirby of Gull Rocks Light, and Edward Fogerty of the Brenton Reef lightship. The captain and crew of a local lifesaving station in Newport were also present. Ida Lewis was buried in the Common Burying Ground in a prominent location so her grave can be seen by passers by.
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