Abbie Burgess and Some of the Women of Mount Desert Island
Historical Society Recounts Lighthouse Keeper's Adventures and Impact.
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—All of March, the Mount Desert Historical Society has been presenting Women’s History Month tributes about the women of Mount Desert Island.
The final tribute was about Abbie Burgess. It is quoted below. You can check out the society’s Facebook page here.
“In 1853, Abbie and her family moved out to Matinicus Rock, where her father had been appointed as keeper to the newly built Matinicus Rock Lighthouse. While the duties of the assistant keeper should have fallen to her brother Benjy, his frequent fishing trips kept him away for long periods. Abbie fell into the role of assistant keeper, making sure all fourteen lamps, across two light towers, remained lit from dusk to dawn. She kept the wicks trimmed, lamps filled with oil, and cleaned and polished all fourteen reflectors. Abbie became so good at being the assistant keeper that her father felt comfortable leaving her in charge during his monthly trips to town to pick up supplies.
“On a January day in 1856, when she was 16 years old, Abbie’s father set off on a supply run. A storm like no one had ever seen before struck Matinicus Rock, blowing for 21 days. For nearly a month, Abbie was caretaker for her three younger sisters and her ailing mother, in addition to maintaining the lamps and keeping watch from dusk to dawn. Her quick thinking saved the family when she moved them into one of the light towers, and with food running low, she saved the family chickens minutes before the house and chicken coop were washed away by a massive wave that swept over the island.
“Years later, when her father lost his position as keeper (then a political appointment) Abbie petitioned to stay on and train the new assistant keeper, Isaac H. Grant, whom she would later marry. Out of her fifty-two years of life, she spent 37 of those engaged in lighthouse-keeping duties.
“Abbie, one could say, still helps protect sailors today. In 1998 the United States Coast Guard christened the newly built 175-foot keeper-class buoy tender in honor of Abbie Burgess.”
To learn more, read “The Original Biography of Abbie Burgess, Lighthouse Heroine,” by Ruth Sexton Sargent & Dorothy Holder Jones
Photos: Abbie Burgess, 1839, US Coast Guard: Abbie Burgess illustration, US Coast Guard Archive; Engraving of Abbie Burgess saving the family and chickens, 1883 Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly