Kathleen Moore

For the philosopher, writer, and environmental activist, see Kathleen Dean Moore. For the member of the Illinois House of Representatives, see Kathleen C. Moore.

Kathleen Moore (c. 1794 – c. 1812 – 1899), also known as Catherine Moore, Kathleen A. Moore, Kathleen Andre Moore, Kate Moore, and Catherine A. Moore, was a lighthouse keeper.^[1] She was employed by the United States Lighthouse Service, which was a precursor agency to the United States Coast Guard.^[2][3][4]

Kathleen Moore
Served as a lighthouse keeper for over half a century
Born	c. 1794 – c. 1812
Died	1899
Branch	United States Lighthouse Service

Moore served at the Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island in Long Island Sound for over half a century, beginning when she helped her father as a twelve-year-old. She is credited with saving 23 lives.^[1][2]

According to Moore: "Sometimes there were more than two hundred sailing vessels at night, and some nights there were as many as three or four wrecks."^[1] Moore's duties included keeping the light lit during stormy weather, and nursing shipwrecked sailors back to health.^[1] She retired in 1878.^[1] She died in 1899 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport.^[1]

Recognition

In 2010, the Coast Guard decided that all the new Sentinel-class cutters would be named after Coast Guard personnel who were recognized for heroism. Accordingly, Moore was one of those honored,^[3] and the ninth cutter in the class was named the USCGC Kathleen Moore.^[5] Built at Bollinger Shipyards, the cutter is homeported in Key West, Florida.^[6] Bollinger delivered the vessel to the Coast Guard for pre-commissioning testing on March 28, 2014.^[7]

A grave marker was dedicated to Moore at Mountain Grove Cemetery in 2014, shortly before the commissioning of the ship in her name. The gravestone, provided by Bollinger Shipyards, quotes John 8:12 and lists her name as "Kathleen A. Moore" and her birth year as "circa 1812".^[8]