Barbara Mabrity was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lighthouse keeper

Lighthouse keeper

A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...

.

Mabrity and her husband, Michael, were assigned to be the keepers of Key West Light

Key West Light

The Key West lighthouse is located in Key West, Florida. The first Key West lighthouse was a tower completed in 1825. It had 15 lamps in 15-inch reflectors. The first keeper, Michael Mabrity, died in 1832, and his widow, Barbara, became the lighthouse keeper, serving for 32 years...

 in 1826. Michael died of yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 in 1832, at which point Barbara was formally appointed to take his place. She maintained the light through hurricanes which blew through the key in 1835, 1841, and 1842. On October 10, 1846 another heavy storm

Great Havana Hurricane of 1846

The Great Havana Hurricane of 1846 was a powerful late season hurricane that caused extensive damage and up to 255 deaths as it moved across Cuba, Florida, and the eastern United States before dissipating over the Canadian Maritimes.-Meteorological history:...

 hit the island, causing several people, including Mabrity's six children, to take refuge in the lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

. However, the tower began to crumble, and the keeper only had time to grab one of her children and escape before it fell, killing those who remained inside. Mabrity continued to serve as keeper before being fired in 1864 for making statements against the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

; she died three years later.

The United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 christened a USCG Coastal Buoy Tender

USCG Coastal Buoy Tender

The United States Coast Guard commissioned a new Keeper-class of coastal buoy tenders in the 1990s that are 175 feet in length and named after Lighthouse keepers.Keeper Class cutters serve the Coast Guard in a variety of missions...

 (WLM 559) based in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

in her honor.

External links

• Coast Guard bio
• http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/175wlm.htm
• Cutter Coat of Arms