Despite the cold of December, we were able to honor Lightship and Lighthouse Tender Capt John H. Tawes with a U. S. Lighthouse Service Grave Marker. Lightship Crew Capt John H. Tawes served as the Mate, then Master of Lightship #71 on the Diamond Shoals and Tail of the Horseshoe light stations from 1900 to 1904. Then he was re-assigned to be the Master of the LH Tender Dahlia on the Great Lakes for three years.
Although he and his family were from Crisfield, MD, after his marriage he relocated to the Baltimore area. In 1907 he resigned from the U. S. Lighthouse Service and served as a Mate on an Army Engineers Dredge in New York city, much closer to Baltimore.
The family that requested the Grave Marker is not local to the Baltimore area where Capt Tawes is buried, so a ceremony is pending for some time later in 2023. His Biography can be found here: https://cheslights.org/keeper-bio-captain-john-hyslop-tawes/
To learn more about this program, how to apply to have a Lighthouse Keeper or Lightship Sailor descendant honored, volunteer to work on the Maryland or Virginia Grave Marker Team, or just read about the 35 other Lighthouse Keepers the chapter has honored to date, go to the Chapters web page: www.cheslights.org/programs /program-lighthouse-keeper-grave-marker.
Any questions, email our Lighthouse Keeper Grave Marker manager at: programs@cheslights.org
