Date of Service: 1919 – 1958
1892: Born on November 18 to parents Tobey & Matilda, Somerset County, MD.
1919: Served as First Assistant at Cove Point Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,115/year.
1919-1920: Served as First Assistant at Point No Point Lighthouse in MD. His salary was $1,182/year.
1923: Served as First Assistant at Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse in MD. His salary was $1,115/year.
1924: Served as First Assistant at Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse in MD. His salary was $1,260/year.
1930: In the United States Census, his occupation is listed as a Foreman at a Packing Company in MD.
1930: Appointed additional keeper at any station, Fifth Lighthouse District on August 3rd. His salary was $1,320/year.
1931: Served as First Assistant at Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,380/year.
1931-1938: Served as First Assistant at Point No Point Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,440/year.
1938-1939: Served as Keeper at Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,560/year.
1939-1940: Served as Keeper at Point No Point Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,620/year.
1940-1943: Served as Keeper at Choptank River Lighthouse in MD. His annual salary was $1,620/year.
1943-1958: Served as Keeper at Cove Point Lighthouse in MD until he retired. His ending salary was $3,750/year.
1958: Received the Albert Gallatin Award from the United States Coast Guard.
1963: James T. Somers passed away at the age of 81 on February 18. He is buried at Crisfield Cemetery in Crisfield, MD.
Keeper James T. Somers Anecdotes:
Keeper James T. Somers served at five different lighthouses in his 29-year career with the U.S. Lighthouse Service. He was born in Somerset county but was mainly raised at Smith’s Island on a boat. His grandfather and uncle were lighthouse tenders. Prior to joining the U.S. Lighthouse Service, he worked as a managing mechanic for a packing company in Maryland.
In an article from the Baltimore Sun, Keeper Somers tells how he prefers working at isolated water-bound lighthouses, as the duties are more limited. In regard to land-based lighthouses, he comments “But here you got 11 acres of ground to tend. In addition to the light, you have to maintain houses, ground, paint, be a carpenter, as well as having a continuous watch of the light, radio beacon and a continuous stand-by on the radio telephone.”
Keeper James T. Somers was the last civilian keeper of Cove Point Lighthouse.
Sources: Chesapeake Chapter Keeper database, Robert J. Hurry, Registrar of Calvert Marine Museum, “United States Census, 1920, 1930 and 1940,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Baltimore Sun, January 8, 1953, The J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog, www.uslhs.org
