List of Falkner Island Light keepers

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There have been many Falkner Island Light keepers throughout the history of the lighthouse. The Falkner Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, off Guilford Harbor on Long Island Sound. The lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, warning of dangerous shoals and shallows in the area. Falkner Island Light is the second oldest extant lighthouse in Connecticut and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

List of keepers

NameYearReferenceService Notes
Joseph Griffing1802–1812 [1]
Solomon Stone, Jr.1812–1818 [1]
Eli Kimberly1818–1851 [1] Appointed by President James Monroe; an incident on July 4, 1829 where drunken guests damaged the lighthouse equipment resulted in the passage of a law barring liquor sales at light stations. [2] Raised twelve children with his wife Marion, on the island. [3]
Oliver N. Brooks
Mary Brooks (assistant)
1851–1882
1879–1882
[1] In 1858, Oliver Brooks received a medal for heroism for rescuing five people from a ship grounded on the rocks near the lighthouse. [2]
William Jones
Frank Parmelee (assistant)
1882 – c. 1890
1884–1890
[1]
Ernest Hermann1890–1901 [1]
Howard Poe
James Boyce (assistant)
William J. Hannighan (assistant)
Conrad Hawk (assistant)
1901–1909
c. 1905
1906
c. 1909
[1]
Elmer Rathbun1909–1911 [1]
Arthur Jensen
(Unknown) Gregory (assistant)
Frederick R. Campbell (assistant)
Edward M. Grant (assistant)
Herbert L. Greenwood (assistant)
April 1911 – July 1916 [4]
Unknown
1912–1913
1914
1915–1916
[1] [4]



Became keeper from 1916–1919. [1]
Herbert L. Greenwood
Leonard Fuller (assistant)
1916–1919
April–November, 1919 [4]
[1] [4] Originally an assistant from 1915–1916. [1]
Became headkeeper in November 1919. [4]
Leonard Fuller
William Hardwick (assistant)
Adelard Bussiere (assistant)
November 1919 – October 1924 [4]
c.1920
October 1922 – May 1926 [4]
[1] [4]
Samuel Fuller
Fred Braffire (assistant)
October 1924 – March 1926 [4]
c.1924
[1] Brother of Leonard Fuller. [4]
Robert L. Howard
Arthur J. Munzner (a.k.a. Minzner) (assistant)
c. 1927–1928
May 1928 – June 1929 [4]
[1]
Arthur J. Munzner (a.k.a. Minzner)
George W. Pendrell (assistant)
June 1929 – 1935 [4]
February–October 1930 [4]
[4]
George Zuius1935 or 1936–1941 [1] [4] Last civilian Head Keeper of the lighthouse. [4]
Harold Burbine (Coast Guard)c. 1940s [1]
Stephen Talgo (Coast Guard)
William Parker (Coast Guard assistant)
c. 1940s
1945–1946
[1] [5]
Returned for 200th birthday celebration. [5]
Gene Carney (Coast Guard)1956 – November 1957 [6]
Robert Baranksi (Coast Guard)1957–1958 [1] [5]
Jim Marshall (Coast Guard)
Marvin White (Coast Guard)
Charles Green (Coast Guard)
1958–1962
1961
1961–1962
[1] [4]
Robert Ewing (Coast Guard)c. 1965 [1]
James Overton (Coast Guard Officer in Charge)c. late 1960s [1]
Steve Martin (Coast Guard)1966–1970 [1] [5] Gave a tour with future Falkner Island historian and Faulkner's Light Brigade founder, Joel Helander. [5]
Vernon Durfee (Coast Guard) c.1973 Tony Fox (Coast Guard)c.1973 [1]
Mark Robinson (Coast Guard Officer in Charge)
John Von Ogden (Coast Guard)
1975–1976
1975–1976
[1] [5] Officer of the last crew [5]
Engineering officer [5]

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Falkner Island Island in the United States of America

Falkner Island is a 2.87-acre (1.16 ha) crescent-shaped island located in Long Island Sound 3 miles (5 km) off Guilford, Connecticut, United States. The island has been visited by the Native Americans for thousands of years. Its Quinnipiac name is "Massancummock", meaning "the place of the great fish hawks". In 1641, Henry Whitfield and the founders of Guilford purchased the island from the Mohegan tribe's sachem, Uncas, as part of a transaction for the land east of East River. Purchased by the Stone family in 1715, it remained in the family until it was sold to the government in 1801.

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Goose Island is a small, uninhabited rocky island off of the coast of Connecticut, in Long Island Sound. It belongs to the town of Guilford. It is near Falkner Island, North Rocks, Falkner Island Reef, Stony Island, and Three Quarters Rock. Goose Island has eroded to the point that it is 0.5 acre and virtually underwater at high tide, although it was once about 4 acres in size. The strait between the two islands is between 16 and 8 feet deep. The coastline is defined prominently by two small bays that connect during high tide.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 D'Entremont, Jeremy. "History of Faulkner's Island Light, Guilford, Connecticut". New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Faulkner's (Falkner's) Island, CT". Lighthouse Friends. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  3. "Coast Guardsman Returns" (PDF). The Octagon. Spring. 2002.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Hurricane Hannah Foils Open House '08" (PDF). The Octagon. Spring. 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Bicentennial Beacon Beams Brightly on Birthday" (PDF). The Octagon. Spring. 2003.
  6. Helander, Joel (2010). "Reminiscences of a Coast Guard Lightkeeper Gene Carney's Stint on Faulkner's, 1956-1957" (PDF). The Octagon. Spring.