There were at least 21 official resident keepers at New Point Comfort Light Station. The first keeper appointed by President Thomas Jefferson was the lighthouse's builder, Elzy Burroughs. Retaining ownership of the land bordering the station, Burroughs had built a home for himself and his family on the Point during the stations construction so it was convenient for him to keep the light until the keeper's dwelling was completed. In fact, he continued as keeper for the following decade.
New Point Comfort is remarkable in that two keepers there were black. One was an unofficial assistant to Isaac Foster, described in 1852 as a negro woman, probably a slave; the other, a preacher, J. McHenry Farley, who served from 1871 to 1873. Citing the isolation of his post and the difficulty in obtaining supplies, Farley pleaded with the U. S. Light-House Board for an assistant, but no assistant was ever assigned to this station. {Clifford report}
NEW POINT COMFORT LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS
1805-1814
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Elzy Burroughs
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1814-1815
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Robert Lithburn
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1815-1819
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James B. H. Johnson
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1819-1830
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William Johnson
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1830-1846
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William R. Brownley
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1846-1854
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Isaac Foster
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1854 (Revoked)
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James B. White
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1854-1861
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Edward S. White
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1861-1865
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No Keeper
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1865-1869
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Joseph S. Allen
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1869-1871
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Sylvester H. Wolhiser
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1871-1873
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J. McHenry Farley
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1873-1876
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John D. Hudgins
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1876-1879
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Leonard Smithers
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1879-1881
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A. F. Hudgins
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1881-1883
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William F. Ripley
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1883-1888
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C. W. Forrest
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1888-1899
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Oliver R. Hudgins
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1899-1901
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James B. Hurst
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1901-1906
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Richard W. Marchant
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1906-1915 or 1916
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Wesley F. Ripley
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1916 or 1917-1919
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Edward A. Sibley
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1919-1954
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Henry L. Dow
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