The Rescue That Made Ida Lewis Famous
The story of her daring rescues were published in several magazines, including Harper’s Weekly, and Life. Celebrities began to visit the island, asking to meet her, since she was now a famous. Even President Ulysses S. Grant stopped by to say hello and shake her hand, thanking her for her bravery. Nearly one hundred people would show up to the island every single day to meet her, because she was like a real-life superhero.
Not only was she brave and strong, but Ida Lewis was genuinely beautiful. Photographs and illustrations of her circulated in the newspapers. She was 21 years old, famous, single, and living on a tiny island without very many options for dating. So it’s really not so surprising that dozens of men showed up with flowers, asking to court her as a potential marriage prospect. Many of them were probably soldiers from the nearby Fort Adams, while others traveled far just to meet her.
Of course, Ida Lewis turned down all of these strange suitors. Someone once commented to her that if she got married, she should keep her maiden name. They knew that if if she changed her name, she would no longer recognized as the famous Ida Lewis. She responded that she has always, and will always do her duty, and that the fame truly doesn’t matter. If she were ever to get married, she would take on his last name.
A yacht captain named William Heard Wilson had been docking his boat near the island for three years. When he heard about Ida Lewis, he wanted to meet her, too. But unlike the rest, he was equally as capable out at sea as she was. They fell in love, but their marriage only lasted for two years, before they separated. She kept his name, and she was “Ida Wilson”. But everyone knew of her story, and the island she lived on became known as the “Ida Lewis Lighthouse”.
When her father died, her mother became the official lighthouse keeper. This became a new custom for widows and wives to take over their husband’s job if they passed away, or if they were called off to war. When her parents died, Ida Lewis became the new keeper of the light. She had more than proven herself worthy of the position, and she lead the way for other women to become new keepers of the light around the United States.
She made $750 per year, which was actually the highest salary for any lighthouse keeper in the country- even men. While it may not seem like a lot today, it was a tremendous amount of money for a woman to make in the 1800’s.
She continued to keep herself physically fit, and saved drowning people well into her 60’s. Historians estimate that she has saved 23 people that we know of, but there may be even more. She had a stroke, just like her father, and died at 69 years old. During her funeral, all of the boats in the harbor lined up around the island and rang their bells in her honor.
A man named Edward Jansen moved his family from New Jersey to become the new keeper of the light on Lime Rock Island. He had named his own daughter Ida, after Ida Lewis. She also grew up to be a lifeguard, and continued the legacy of saving lives.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter: The Remarkable True Story Of American Heroine Ida Lewis. Lenore Skolman. Rowman & Littlefield. 2010.