

The family spent most of their time on the ground floor of the lighthouse, which consisted of a large room, heated by a wooden stove. Longstone Lighthouse had better accommodation, but the island itself was slightly less hospitable, so William would row back to Brownsman to gather vegetables from their former garden and to feed the animals. The accommodation was basic, and the lighthouse was not located in a good place to guide shipping to safety, so in 1826, the family moved to the newly constructed lighthouse on Longstone Island. Her father ran the lighthouse (built in 1795) for Trinity House, and earned a salary of £70 per year (equivalent to £5,500 in 2021 ) with a bonus of £10 for satisfactory service.

She was the seventh of nine children (four brothers and four sisters) born to William and Thomasin Darling, and when only a few weeks old, she was taken to live on Brownsman Island, one of the Farne Islands, in a small cottage attached to the lighthouse. Grace Darling was born on 24 November 1815 at her grandfather's house in Northumberland. Augustine to live her remaining years with her daughter in Georgia.Lighthouse at Longstone: The upper window in the white ring was Grace Darling's bedroom, from which she saw the wreckage of the Forfarshire. It is believed that she slipped out of St. Maria received no pay or protection until 1862. Her tenure was cut short by the Civil War, when the lighthouse was darkened to protect St. Coast Guard recognizes Maria Andreu as the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard (its predecessor, the United States Revenue Cutter Service) and the first to command a federal shore installation. She was given the position of the Lighthouse Keeper with pay equal to the men in that position. Augustine community, Maria became the first female Lighthouse Keeper in Florida of Hispanic-American descent in the United States Lighthouse Service. She set a precedent for women serving in the military. With the overwhelming support from the St. Tradition has it that Maria went to the top of the lighthouse to call out, “What shall I do?” Reportedly, she heard her husband’s voice on the wind tell her to “tend to the light.” A newspaper story graphically describes his fall while painting the exterior of the lighthouse. Tragically, Maria lost her husband, Joseph Andreu, in an accident just before Christmas in 1859. Juan Andreu was the first of several Menorcan Keepers at the St. The Menorcans became a visible minority in the city, contributing to its maritime culture as fishermen, pilots, and lighthouse keepers. Augustine when Turnbull abandoned his settlement in 1777. Like the other Menorcans, the Andreu family fled New Smyrna and traveled to St. Andrew Turnbull’s New Smyrna Plantation in 1768. Their ancestors arrived in Florida as indentured servants at Dr. Joseph and Maria Andreu were of Menorcan descent. Government made it Florida’s first lighthouse in 1824. It replaced a wooden watchtower that the Spanish built. This first lighthouse was originally called the Old Spanish Watchtower, completed in 1737 and made of coquina. Joseph’s father, Tomas, was brother to Juan’s father, Antonio. Augustine Lighthouse Keeper, Juan Andreu, who served from 1824-1845. Joseph Andreu was the Lighthouse Keeper from 1854-1859. One woman that best exemplifies these traits is Maria de los Delores Menstre Andreu, wife of Joseph Andreu, who became the first female lighthouse keeper in Florida of Hispanic-American descent. The women ensured everyone was clothed and fed they educated the children as a schoolhouse was usually far away and they even assisted the men in their duties as needed. They ran the household so that the keepers could focus on maintaining the aids to navigation and rescue those stranded at sea. Augustine Lighthouse, we must understand that women have always supported the lighthouse keepers. To best understand the importance of women at the St. Maria Andreu, wife of Head Keeper Joseph Andreu, became the first female lighthouse keeper of Hispanic-American descent in Florida when her husband died in 1859.

Augustine Lighthouse, called the Old Spanish Watchtower, which became Florida’s first lighthouse in 1824.
