Date of Service: 1881-1883
1846+/-: In September, Dennis Hackett Bourbon is born a free man in Alexandria, VA., to parents Dennis & Rachel Lyles Bourbon.
1870: Dennis Bourbon, age 24, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in July at Boston, MA. He is described as 5’-8” tall and works as a ship carpenter.
1880: In the US Census, Dennis Bourbon (age 33) lives with his mother & stepfather in Williamsburg, VA.
1881-1883: Served as First Assistant at York Spit Shoal Lighthouse, VA. His salary is $440/year.
1883: Served as Assistant Keeper at Tue Marshes Lighthouse, VA., His annual salary is $440/year.
1883: Dennis Bourbon marries Violet Smith on October 15 in Hampton, VA.
1900: In the US Census, Dennis Bourbon (age 51) lives with his wife Violet in Williamsburg, VA., where he works as a teacher at a public school.
1910: In the US Census, Dennis Bourbon (age 61) lives with his wife Violet in Williamsburg, VA., where he works as a teacher at a public school.
1929: Violet Bourbon dies on July 20 in Williamsburg, VA., at the age of 78.
1930: Dennis Hackett Bourbon dies on July 26 at the age of 84 in Alexandria, VA. He is buried at Washington Street United Methodist Cemetery in Alexandria, VA..
Keeper Dennis Hackett Bourbon Obituary:
Dennis Bourbon obituary in the Daily Press:
Dennis H. Bourbon, one of Williamsburg’s oldest negro inhabitants, died yesterday morning at Waterfall, Va. He was 85 years old.
The old negro, who lived for many years in a little frame house on Francis Street, was well known by white and colored alike. He was left with no relatives at his wife’s death last year.
Bourbon was granted the privilege of being a life tenant in the house when he sold it to the Williamsburg Holding Corporation. Advancing age soon afterwards rendered the negro mentally incapable of managing his financial affairs, and Channing M. Hall, a local attorney, was appointed committee for the negro.
Sources: Chesapeake Chapter Keeper’s Database; familysearch.org; uslhs.org, Daily Press, July 27, 1930
