THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502030242
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
In its second year of operation, 1875, the Cape Henry Life-Saving Station was manned by a crew that was all black, save one white man.
The Life-Saving Museum of Virginia has just come across this tantalizing piece of information that reveals for the first time the role that African-Americans played in the early days of the U.S. Life-Saving Service in Virginia Beach.
Until now, folks at the museum had thought the Pea Island Life-Saving Station on North Carolina's Outer Banks was the nearest station where blacks had served in the life-saving service's early days. The Pea Island station was manned by an heroic all-black crew in the late 1800s.
The museum also made another closely related discovery that had been hidden in its records. Two African-Americans served in positions of responsibility at the old Cape Henry Lighthouse which was in the same vicinity as the Cape Henry Life-Saving Station. Willis Hodges was keeper of the lighthouse in 1870 and another black man, Littleton Owens, was the No. 2 assistant keeper from November 1880 to November 1881.
``This is a real historic find,'' said museum director Fielding Tyler. ``It's like finding one more piece of the puzzle in the history of the life-saving stations here.''
The facts are all documented from Life-Saving Service records and copies are on display in the museum's current exhibit, African-Americans in the Coast Guard. The exhibit, celebrating Black History Month, will be on display through Feb. 26 and is free with admission to the museum.
The records show that Owens, who came from one of several Owens families here who had been free blacks before the Civil War, also served as one of the crew members of the Cape Henry Life-Saving Station in the early 1870s. George Owens, most probably a relative of Littleton, was also on the crew.
Thomas Cuffee, Peter Fuller and William Olds were the other three African Americans. Their salary was $40 a month and the ``season'' was December to April, which allowed the surfmen to also make an outside living as farmers or fishermen.
Museum director Fielding Tyler, who is compiling a list of people who served as ``surfmen'' at all the life-saving stations in Virginia Beach, made the discovery while going through some old hiring records. The records give the surfman's name and then in columns notes the hiring date, term of the job, job capacity and salary.
The last column is for remarks. And under remarks Tyler noticed the word ``colored'' for Thomas Cuffee. Then a ditto mark under ``colored'' for the other four African-Americans. Frank Creekmore was listed first and under remarks, he was described as ``white.''
From museum records, it also appears that the first crew of the station was fired for alleged insubordination by J.D. Edwards, keeper of the station. Edwards later went on to be keeper of the Cape Henry Lighthouse when Littleton Owens served as an assistant keeper.
Little is known about surfmen Fuller and Olds but the 1870 census lists George Owens and Cuffee as Kempsville residents who worked as farm laborers. The census also showed Littleton Owens as the owner of 75 acres of land in Kempsville. In 1879 Littleton Owens was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served for two terms while serving as assistant keeper of the light for some of that same time.
Hodges, who also came from a family of free blacks in old Princess Anne County, was appointed Cape Henry Lighthouse keeper in May 1870 and resigned soon thereafter. He may have resigned because he was elected supervisor of the Kempsville Township.
Unfortunately not much is known about the work and other activities of the surfmen and keepers. ``Shipwrecks on the Virginia Coast and The Men of the Life-Saving Service,'' a book by Richard and Julie Pouliot, show only one wreck of any significance occurring off Cape Henry at the time.
It was the steamship Aurora Mills of Philadelphia on her way to Norfolk. The ship wrecked 100 yards east of Cape Henry on Feb. 17, 1875.
We can only speculate upon the actions taken by those first African Americans in our local life-saving service, but it's nice to finally have something to speculate upon! ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
Willis Hodges served as keeper of the old Cape Henry Lighthouse in
1870.
by CNB