115:. Norvell became a lighthouse keeper in 1891, and remained in that service for 41 years. Widows whose husbands were lighthouse keepers, who died in office, were allowed to hold positions as lighthouse keepers themselves. Norvell's husband drowned in the course of his duties. Norvell was credited with saving many lives, including by venturing out into storms in a rowboat to rescue stranded mariners.
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As a member of the U.S. Lighthouse
Service, she first served at the Head of Passes Light as an assistant keeper from 1891 to 1896. Her leadership did not go unnoticed and after Head of Passes she was appointed keeper of both the Port Pontchartrain Light from 1896 to 1924 and the West End Light where
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Margaret
Norvell was the keeper at Port Pontchartrain Light Station in Louisiana, when a 1903 hurricane left her lighthouse as the only building standing along the lower coast of Lake Pontchartrain. She housed over 200 people following the storm and even helped supply and acquire relief funds for
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Well before its time, New
Orleans had a female lighthouse keeper, Margaret Norvell. Norvell ran three lighthouses in the New Orleans area during her long career spanning from 1891 to 1932. During the Hurricane of 1893, Norvell rescued 200 survivors, sheltering them within the Point Pontchartrain
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Thus
Margaret Norvell became a lighthouse keeper in 1891. In 1896, she was reassigned to be the keeper of the Port Pontchartrain Light Station on Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana at the treacherous mouth of the Mississippi River. And for the next 36 years, she handled the job of keeper and was
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Born
Margaret Celeste Dimitry Ruth on February 11 1860 in Washington D.C. and married Louis Gray Norvell in 1883. Louis Gray Norvell was from St. Louis and became a lighthouse keeper on Deer Island at the
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All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
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those who had lost their homes. This type of work makes these women and men appear to almost be an early form of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Red Cross.
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would be named after Coast Guard personnel who had been recognized for their heroism
Norvell was one of those to be honored. The fifth cutter in the class will be named the
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About 55 of
Margaret Norvell's descendants converged on New Orleans for the commissioning, on the Mississippi River in the shadow of the Crescent City Connection bridge.
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As a keeper here from 1924-32, Margaret
Norvell was one of 141 women who have worked for the Lighthouse Service She took on the job when her husband drowned.
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The first six FRCs for
District 7 will be homeported in Miami; the next six in Key West; and the remaining six in Puerto Rico.
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275:"'Heroine' lighthouse keeper links descendants to Coast Guard, which names cutter for her"
462:"Mothers of the Sea: Female Lighthouse Keepers and Their Image and Role Within Society"
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Women who kept the lights: an illustrated history of female lighthouse keepers
372:""The Lady of the Lake"--Famous Woman Light Keeper at Port Pontchartraine"
577:"Coast Guard Commissions Third Fast Response Cutter, William Flores"
343:"Own a part of our history: New London Harbor Light, Connecticut"
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lighthouse, an act for which she was publicly recognized.
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In 2010 when the Coast Guard decided that all the new
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305:Mary Louise Clifford, J. Candace Clifford (2001).
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258:credited with rescuing many shipwrecked sailors.
531:"Margaret Norvell – 'True, Steady, Unfailing'"
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429:. 683 Things About New Orleans. p. 27.
533:, March 1, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
644:United States Lighthouse Service personnel
634:Female United States Coast Guard personnel
497:"American Lighthouses: A Definitive Guide"
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403:. 1912-01-21. p. d1. Archived from
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182:"Coast Guard Heroes: Margaret Norvell"
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495:Bruce Roberts, Ray Jones (2002).
397:"Sailors guarded by heroic women"
370:Florence L. Tucker (1902-12-02).
544:"FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class"
109:United States Lighthouse Service
97:United States Lighthouse Service
575:Rhonda Carpenter (2012-11-05).
554:from the original on 2014-07-07
427:"683 Things About New Orleans"
217:Stephanie Young (2010-10-27).
1:
460:Bethany Ann Bromwell (2008).
202:she served from 1924 to 1932.
180:Connie Braesch (2010-11-01).
155:. She will be homeported in
29:Margaret Celeste Dimitry Ruth
111:, a precursor agency to the
273:Paul Purpura (2013-06-07).
247:Marilyn Turk (2011-09-30).
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283:New Orleans Times Picayune
425:Monica M. Dalide (2008).
223:United States Coast Guard
186:United States Coast Guard
113:United States Coast Guard
649:Women lighthouse keepers
349:. 2002-09-29. p. 74
639:People from New Orleans
548:Defense Industry Daily
313:Cypress Communications
145:Sentinel class cutters
581:Defense Media Network
464:. pp. 19, 107.
407:on February 16, 2013
401:Atlanta Constitution
376:Atlanta Constitution
219:"Coast Guard Heroes"
529:Norvell, John E.
130:Mississippi River
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76:Metairie Cemetery
52:February 11, 1860
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64:(1934-07-17)
629:1934 deaths
624:1860 births
279:New Orleans
161:New Orleans
149:USCGC
34:Nickname(s)
618:Categories
558:2014-04-03
516:2013-01-22
477:2013-01-22
442:2013-01-22
411:2013-01-22
382:2013-01-22
353:2013-01-22
328:2013-01-03
288:2013-06-18
233:2012-04-20
196:2013-01-03
167:References
119:Early life
83:Allegiance
48:1860-02-11
26:Birth name
552:Archived
91:Service/
128:on the
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136:USCGC
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71:Buried
37:Madge
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