{"id":1808,"date":"2020-11-01T12:46:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T17:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2025-03-06T12:08:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T17:08:36","slug":"famous-rescues-of-keeper-oliver-brooks-of-faulkners-island-light-ct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/famous-rescues-of-keeper-oliver-brooks-of-faulkners-island-light-ct\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous Rescues of Keeper Oliver Brooks of Faulkner’s Island Light, CT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeper Oliver Brooks and Two of His Famous Rescues By Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse in <\/span>Connecticut<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"Faulkners<\/a>

Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse<\/p><\/div>\n

Keeper Oliver N. Brooks served as keeper at Faulkner\u2019s Island lighthouse<\/a><\/strong> from 1851 to 1882 and was known to be one of New England’s most experienced, colorful, and talented keepers. He was an expert at handling small boats in all kinds of weather and frequently used a small 18-foot boat with a sail and long oars. He is credited with assisting in 71 rescues during his tenure. Two of his most famous different rescues involve the wreck of the Moses F Webb<\/em> and, years later, the E. A. Woodward<\/em><\/p>\n

The Rescue of the Moses F Webb<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the most famous rescues in the Connecticut region occurred during his tenure at the lighthouse and challenged his skills as an expert boatman. On November 27, 1858, the Moses F. Webb<\/em> was anchored at about 5 p.m. between Bruce Island and Faulkner\u2019s Island for shelter for the night. She was coming from Brunswick, New Jersey, with a load of coal heading for Hartford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

By morning, the gale-force winds continued to worsen, and the Moses F.\u00a0Webb<\/em> started to drag her anchor along the bottom. The raging waves pounded and thrashed the vessel, forcing the anchor chains to break apart. The vessel was floundering in the heavy seas, heading towards Bruce Island, about a mile from Faulkner\u2019s Island.<\/p>\n

\"Faulkners<\/a>

Faulkner’s Island light. Image courtesy of US Coast Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

Keeper Brooks was on the lookout all night and saw the perilous incident that morning while looking through his spyglass. He could see the panic on board the Moses F Webb<\/em> and everyone trying to climb and attach themselves to the rigging through the mountainous waves and piercing winds.<\/p>\n

One of the survivors he saw was a woman (the captain\u2019s wife). He watched as a toddler was given to a sailor, who tried to hold on to the little girl as best he could, but as the ship pitched and rolled from the raging seas, he watched in horror as the agonized sailor lost his grip of her when a huge wave washed over the deck of the ship. The little girl was washed into the freezing waters and did not survive.<\/p>\n

Brooks knew he had to do something and probably wouldn\u2019t survive the attempted rescue with his tiny boat in such turbulent seas. He told his young assistant keeper, Al Schofield, that he might not make it back and that if he should perish, to keep the light burning until someone could make it to the island to relieve him. He also told him to watch the children closely as his wife had gone ashore the day before the storm to get supplies. He gathered woolen blankets and provisions and set out in his small 18-foot boat.<\/p>\n

As soon as he launched the boat and started battling the heaving waves, the winds shifted and grew stronger. The effort was daunting as he continued to row, and he often felt it would be impossible. It took quite some time, but he finally reached the stranded vessel, where he found five people clinging to the rigging for dear life. As the wreck was located closer to Bruce Island than Faulkner\u2019s Island, he decided to bring the survivors to Bruce Island first.<\/p>\n

\"Faulkner's<\/a>

Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse by Rocky Shore<\/p><\/div>\n

One by one, Brooks transported each survivor to Bruce Island, put warm blankets around them, and made them as comfortable as possible. A few hours later, when they had regained strength and the winds had started to subside, he brought each survivor through the still unsettling seas and wind gusts to Faulkner\u2019s Island, where his children waited for him and helped the survivors into their warm dwelling. He learned that the little girl he had watched drown was the captain\u2019s daughter and that his wife was unaware of the incident.<\/p>\n

Brooks and his family nursed the survivors back to health at the keeper’s house, and he became a local and national hero as all the newspapers carried his story. He received a Gold Lifesaving Medal from the New York Life Saving Society. The medal has an engraving on the back of the Moses F Webb<\/em> being rescued by Brooks in his tiny craft.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The Rescue of the Paddlewheel Steamer E. A. Woodward<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\"Faulkners<\/a>

Faulkners Island Lighthouse Tower<\/p><\/div>\n

Many years later, another famous rescue serving as a testament to his valor and uncompromising character involves an incident near Thanksgiving in 1875. He was much older and so sick he was bedridden, which many believe was the flu. The paddlewheel steamer E. A. Woodward<\/em> was making her way near the island in gale-force winds when the captain, thinking he was going around a buoy, hit an exposed rocky ledge and broke the propeller. The family saw and heard the vessel in distress and blew horns to indicate they were nearby. The ship was caught in the high winds and waves and tossed about, heading towards the rocky shoreline of Faulkner\u2019s island.<\/p>\n

Against all the family\u2019s wishes, the exhausted Brooks grabbed some clothes and went out into the gale to try to put together a line to help those stranded on the craft. The lifeline was too short, so with quick thinking, he decided to run back to the house and stripped the beds of the cords that created bed boards under the mattresses and was able to splice enough cordage to get the line to the stranded crew. One by one, he was able to bring them safely to shore. With his successful efforts, he helped his family create a Thanksgiving dinner for his grateful guests instead of returning to his warm bed.
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