Elizabeth Whitney Williams | |
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| Born | Elizabeth Whitney June 24, 1844 |
| Died | January 23, 1938 (aged 93) Charlevoix, Michigan |
| Other names | Elizabeth Whitney Van Riper |
| Occupation | Lighthouse keeper |
| Years active | 1872–1913 |
| Notable work | A Child of the Sea and My Life Among Mormons |
Elizabeth Whitney Williams was an American lighthouse keeper and writer. She served as a lighthouse keeper for 41 years, including a 29-year stint at the Little Traverse Light. [1] [2]
Williams (née Whitney) was born on Mackinac Island, Michigan, on June 24, 1844. By the time she was four years old, her family had moved to Beaver Island where her father, a carpenter, worked for the Mormon leader "King" James Strang. [2] In 1852, after being pressured to convert, the Whitney family fled to Charlevoix and then to Traverse City. [2] After Strang was assassinated and the Mormons were forced out, the Whitney family returned to Beaver Island in 1857 where Williams met and married Clement Van Riper, a cooper from Detroit, in 1860. [2] Van Riper began teaching in the nearby Anishinaabe community on Garden Island, where Williams assisted her husband and taught gardening techniques. [3]
In 1869, Van Riper was appointed keeper of the Beaver Island Harbor Light after the prior keeper, Peter McKinley, resigned due to poor health. [3] However, Van Riper was also often in poor health and Williams assisted her husband by cleaning and polishing the Fresnel lens. [2]
During a stormy night in 1872, Van Riper rowed out to help rescue a sinking ship but never returned. The duty fell on Williams to keep the light burning in the lighthouse during the three-day storm and she was left "weak from sorrow." [2] A few weeks after her husband's death she was officially appointed keeper of the Beaver Island Harbor Light during a time when few women were ever appointed and lighthouse keeping was thought of as a man's job due to the physical labor and investment of time. [2] She found the responsibility daunting but "longed to do something for humanity's sake" and seemed to view tending the light as both a calling and comfort. [3]
In 1875, Williams remarried—to photographer Daniel Williams—and eventually requested a transfer to a lighthouse on the mainland. [3] In September 1884, she was transferred to the newly constructed Little Traverse Light at Harbor Springs. [3] Williams excelled at her work and later won an award for best-kept light on the Great Lakes. [4] By 1897, she was one of only four female lighthouse keepers on the Great Lakes, down from about 30 in 1851, due to the position becoming a political appointment and thus a way to repay campaign favors. [4] In 1905, Williams published an autobiography entitled A Child of the Sea and My Life Among Mormons. [4]
Williams retired in 1913 and moved to Charlevoix with her husband where they spent 25 years in quiet retirement. [2] Williams died, 12 hours after her husband, on January 23, 1938. [3]
Williams is one of America's longest-serving lighthouse keepers with 41 years of service. [1] Her autobiography continues to provide insight into women's experiences in the Great Lakes region and remains in print. [3] [4] A children's book, Elizabeth Whitney Williams and The Little Traverse Light, is based upon Williams' life. [1]
Emmet County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the northernmost county in the Lower Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,112, making it the second-most populous county in Northern Michigan. The county seat is Petoskey, which is also the county's largest city.
Charlevoix County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The county seat is Charlevoix, and the largest city is Boyne City. Located in the Northern Lower Peninsula, Charlevoix County is bisected by Lake Charlevoix, Michigan's third largest inland lake. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 26,054.
Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County. Part of Northern Michigan, Charlevoix is located on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, bisected by the short Pine River. Charlevoix serves as the main access point for Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, which can be accessed by Island Airways or carferry. The population of Charlevoix was 2,348 at the 2020 census. Charlevoix is mostly surrounded by Charlevoix Township, but the two are administered autonomously.
St. James Township is a civil township of Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 365 at the 2010 census.
Beaver Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. At 55.8 sq mi (145 km2), it is the largest island in Lake Michigan and the third largest island in Michigan after Isle Royale and Drummond Island. The island is located approximately 32 miles (51 km) from the city of Charlevoix. Beaver Island had a total population of 657 at the 2010 census. Beaver Island is part of Charlevoix County.
James Jesse Strang was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1853 until his assassination.
Squaw Island Light is a privately owned lighthouse located on Ojibwa Island in Lake Michigan, about six miles (10 km) north of Beaver Island. The island is part of St. James Township in Charlevoix County of the U.S. state of Michigan. There are 0.30406 square kilometres of land on the island. Squaw Island and the lighthouse are privately owned and views of the lighthouse from the water are limited due to vegetation.
The Little Traverse Light is located in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan on the north side of the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan on Harbor Point in West Traverse Township near Harbor Springs, Michigan. It marks the entrance to the harbor at Harbor Springs.
The Charlevoix South Pier Light Station is located on Lake Michigan at the entrance to Lake Charlevoix in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of the south pier/breakwater of the channel leading to Round Lake in the city of Charlevoix.
The Sand Island Light is a lighthouse located on the northern tip of Sand Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.
Ile Aux Galets Light, also known as Skillagalee Island Light, is located on Ile Aux Galets, a gravelly, low-lying island in northeast Lake Michigan, between Beaver Island and the mainland, approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Cross Village in Emmet County, Michigan. Along with nearby Grays Reef, Waugoshance, and White Shoal Lights, it warns shipping away from the reefs and shoals of Waugoshance Point, which pose an imminent hazard to navigation.
The Fox Islands consist of the North Fox and South Fox islands, in Lake Michigan. The uninhabited islands are approximately 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Cathead Point near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan and about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Beaver Island. The two islands form part of an archipelago. South Fox Island Light was built in 1867 and operated until 1959. Both islands are part of Leelanau County, Michigan, and are administered by Leelanau Township. Several shipwrecks have occurred on the Fox Islands, or the reefs adjoining them; in 1851, the Illinois was reported as a "total wreck" on the Fox Island reef, In 1860, the bark Fontanelle ran aground at the Fox Islands, and in 1861, the schooner Nightingale. In 1873, the ships Frank Perew and Magnet encountered trouble at the Fox Islands.
Katherine Walker was a German-American lighthouse keeper.
Idawalley Zoradia Lewis was an American lighthouse keeper noted for her heroism in rescuing people from the seas.
Manitou County was an insular county in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of Beaver Island and its surrounding islands, together with the North and South Manitou Islands and Fox Islands in Lake Michigan. The county existed from 1855 to 1895. The county seat was at St. James on Beaver Island.
The Beaver Head Light is located high on a bluff on the southern tip of Beaver Island. Boats trying to navigate North on Lake Michigan need to carefully work their way between Beaver Island and Gray's Reef.
St. James is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 145 at the 2020 census. The community is located within St. James Township.
Beaver Island Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in St. James, Michigan, on the northern end of Beaver Island on Lake Michigan. It has also been called "St. James Harbor Light" and "Whiskey Point Light". It is associated with a U.S. Coast Guard station, which was formerly a lifesaving station. The tower is constructed of Cream City Brick.
Power Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of Grand Traverse County, Power Island is located in the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay, between the Leelanau Peninsula (west) and Old Mission Peninsula (east). The island was once owned and operated by Henry Ford.
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