Idawalley (Ida) Zoradia Lewis was born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1856, at the age of 14, she moved with her mother and siblings to Lime Rock Lighthouse, where her father was appointed lighthouse keeper a few years earlier. Four months after their arrival, her father suffered a stroke that enabled him from operating the lighthouse. Lewis and her mother took on the lightkeeper daily chores, which included- filling the lamp with oil at sundown and midnight, extinguishing the light at dawn, polishing carbon off the reflectors, and trimming the wick. She did all these chores in addition to her regular domestic duties, taking care of her father and ill sister, rowing her siblings to school and bringing supplies from the mainland several times a week.
At 16, Lewis made her first documented rescue when she drew out of the water four men whose boat had capsized. In 1866, at the age of 24, she rescued three drunk men out of the water. One year later, she saved three men who jumped out of their boat following a valuable sheep they escorted (the sheep was brought safely to shore as well). Her most famous rescue occurred in 1869 when 27 years old Lewis rescued two soldiers caught in a snowstorm and thrown into the icy water. It was the first time she received recognition for her actions when the soldiers collected a sum of $218 (more than $4,000 today) for her, and a New York Tribune reporter covered her heroic operation. After the article was published, followed by more articles in various newspapers, she became famous in the area and got the nickname “the Bravest Woman in America.” A parade was held in her honor on Independence Day, people came to the island only to see her, and she received letters, gifts, and numerous marriage proposals, one of which she accepted. In the following year, she married Captain William Wilson, and she moved with him to Black Rock, Connecticut. The marriage lasted only two years, and she returned to Lime Rock Lighthouse.
In 1873, her father died, and her mother was appointed lighthouse keeper, while Lewis herself did most of the work. At 37, Lewis received the official appointment after her mother passed away in 1879. Three years later, she saved two soldiers who fall through the ice when walking from nearby Fort Adams. She received the Gold Lifesaving Medal from the US government for her heroism. She was the first woman to receive this honor.
During more than 50 years in Lime Rock, Lewis was credited for saving 18 people, though unofficial reports suggest that the number is higher than 30. Her last recorded rescue occurred at the age of 63 when she saved a friend who fell into the sea on her way to the lighthouse. Lewis died of a stroke in her lighthouse home at the age of 69. On the day she died, the bells of all the vessels in Newport Harbor tolled in her honor all night long, and flags were half-staff.
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