Maria Bray
Encyclopedia
Maria Bray was a 19th-century American
maritime heroine of an incident during the first days of winter in late 1864.
Bray was married to Alexander Bray, the lighthouse keeper
at Thacher Island Light, off Rockport
on Massachusetts
' Cape Ann
. From December 21 to December 24, 1864, she and her twelve-year-old nephew tended the lights of the station, while her husband was stranded on the mainland, where he had taken an ill co-worker. The Bray family was reunited on Christmas Day.
The United States Coast Guard
named a coastal buoy tender in her honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
maritime heroine of an incident during the first days of winter in late 1864.
Bray was married to Alexander Bray, the 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...
at Thacher Island Light, off Rockport
Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula...
on Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
' Cape Ann
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
. From December 21 to December 24, 1864, she and her twelve-year-old nephew tended the lights of the station, while her husband was stranded on the mainland, where he had taken an ill co-worker. The Bray family was reunited on Christmas Day.
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...
named a coastal buoy tender in her honor.