George Worthylake (1673 – November 3, 1718) was the first lighthouse keeper in what was to become the

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. He was also the first to die in the line of duty. Worthylake was hired as keeper of the

Boston Light Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. The c ...

Little Brewster Island Little Brewster Island is a rocky outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is best known as the location of Boston Light, one of only five remaining Coast Guard-staffed lighthouses in the United States, and an impor ...

by the

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, at a salary of £50 a year (equivalent to $16,000 today); he was admonished that any dereliction of duty would cost him £100. Besides keeping the light burning from sundown to sunup, he was also expected to serve as a

harbor pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...

. Worthylake would live on the island with his wife, Ann, and daughter Ruth. He is also known to have kept a flock of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

on Great Brewster Island; these drowned in a storm in 1717. On November 3, 1718, Worthylake, his wife Ann, daughter Ruth, servant George Cutler, slave Shadwell, and friend John Edge were returning to the lighthouse after going into

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to attend a sermon. Upon arrival near the island in a sloop, they alighted in a canoe to transport them to the station. The canoe capsized, and they all drowned. George Cutler's body was never recovered.

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

memorialized the event in his ballad "The Lighthouse Tragedy"; he hawked copies of the poem, printed by his brother, in the streets of Boston. No authenticated copy survives, although a manuscript supposed to be related surfaced in 1940. In that, the poem begins: "Oh! George, This wild November/ We must not pass with you/ For Ruth, our fragile daughter/ It's chilly gales will rue." The manuscript handwriting was evaluated as being in a 19th century style. On November 14, 1718, less than two weeks after the Worthylakes had drowned, Robert Saunders, John Chamberlin, and a man named Bradduck were hired to maintain Boston Light until a replacement light-keeper could be appointed. They were summoned by a ship entering the harbor, in choppy seas, and Chamberlin and Bradduck both drowned on their return trip to the island. This event also inspired Franklin in his lighthouse ballad, as Chamberlin was called upon for a trivial reason and not for navigational support.The Lighthouse Tragedy
at CelebrateBoston.com Worthylake, his wife, and his daughter are buried under an unusual triple headstone in

Copp's Hill Burying Ground Copp's Hill Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1659, it was originally named "North Burying Ground", and was the city's second cemetery. History The cemetery was founded on Februa ...

References

1718 deaths American lighthouse keepers People from colonial Boston Deaths by drowning Accidental deaths in Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts Year of birth unknown 1673 births {{pharology-stub

See also

References