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Thomas Seaver Fishburne (1849-1919) was recently honored on June 14, 2024, with the placement of a United States Lighthouse Service Memorial Marker at his gravesite in the Ancient Little Neck Cemetery in Riverside, Rhode Island. An enthusiastic group from Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, gathered at the site for the dedication, delivered by the one of its founding members, David Kelleher.
Initiated by the late Tim Harrison, editor of the Lighthouse Digest, the markers honor the sacrifices made by Lighthouse Keepers of the United States Lighthouse Service. The bronze markers which hold a U.S. flag, recognize the service and dedication of Lighthouse Keepers to the safety of those at sea.
During his nearly 25-years of service, Thomas S. Fishburne served as keeper at four Rhode Island lighthouses. His first assignment was as First Assistant Keeper at Sakonnet Point Lighthouse in Little Compton from 1890 to 1891. He was promoted to Head Keeper at Sakonnet and remained there from 1891 to 1894. Keeper Fishburne was transferred to Conimicut Shoal Light in Warwick, where he served from 1894 to 1895. In 1898, he was named Pomham Rocks Lighthouse’s fourth keeper. His salary was $480 a year. He remained at Pomham Rocks for ten years, his longest assignment.
Keeper Fishburne was recognized for saving the life of a sailor while stationed at Pomham Rocks. He discussed the incident in an interview with the Providence Journal newspaper upon his retirement in August 1914. “About 10 o’clock on a March morning, as I stood outside the lighthouse, I observed a tug boat coming down the river with two barges in tow. Something told me to stop and watch. As the tug was abreast the light, I saw that a deck hand, who had been sent forward, was in trouble. His foot had become caught and he was unable to help himself. I heard him call out, “I can’t hold on any longer.” Then he fell and both barges passed over him,” Fishburne recalled.
“With all possible haste, I launched my skiff and pulled out to where he was struggling,” he continued. “I saw him go down twice as I looked over my shoulder while rowing. He did not come up again, but by more good luck I slipped my arm and reached into the water where I thought he might be. I felt his head, and taking a firm hold on his hair, I pulled him to the surface, worked him into the stern of the skiff, and his shoulders on mine for a brace, and, raising him by his pants, easily got him aboard,” he noted. The man was not breathing, and Fishburne thought he might be dead, but he asked the captain of the next towboat that arrived to roll him over and give him “first aid for drowned people.” The tugboat captain assured him that he would do all he could to resuscitate the man and said that he would signal Fishburne by blowing three blasts when he came back down river if his efforts were successful.
“The other tug kept on its course as far as Sabin’s Point, when a small boat was put off and one of the crew rowed back to ask if I had seen a man fall overboard and if so, what had become of the fellow. I gave that man a tough bawling out for what I declared was a stout-hearted exhibition of abandonment of a drowning man, assuring him, first the incident would be brought to the attention of the Board of Navigation, and that the man, dead or alive, I did not know which, had been taken to Providence.”
Later, Fishburne heard three blasts of the whistle from the other tugboat, “which sounded mighty good to me,” he admitted.
Upon leaving Pomham Rocks in 1908, Fishburne was assigned to Hog Island Shoal Light, in Bristol, at the entrance to Mount Hope Bay. He was stationed at Hog Island until his retirement, due to failing health, in August 1914. When asked about his experience at his last station, he stated, “There was nothing of interest to me at that station.” He believed that if he had remained a month longer, he would have gone crazy. Thomas Fishburne died in Riverside, Rhode Island on July 17, 1919 at the age of 70.
After the dedication at his gravesite, Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse members were treated to a tour of the historical cemetery where other famous residents are buried, including the first mayor of New York, Thomas Willett (c1607-1674), one of the Mayflower passengers, Elizabeth Tilley Howland (c1607-1687), and a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, George E. Read (1838-1910). Following the tour, guests gathered for lunch at Davenport’s Restaurant in East Providence.
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. This important New England maritime light station and museum is an integral part of Rhode Island’s heritage and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This story appeared in the
Jul/Aug 2024 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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