Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

---

Wilson, Ida Lewis 1841-

The American Grace Darling; born in Newport, R. I., in 1841; daughter of Capt. Hosea Lewis, of the Lime Rock Light-house, Newport Harbor. She took up her residence with her parents in the light-house in 1854. As the only means of communication with the city of Newport was by water she soon became an expert rower and swimmer. Since her fifteenth year she has rescued eighteen persons in the adjacent sea, several times at the peril of her own life. In 1879 she was appointed keeper of the lighthouse by Secretary Sherman, who wrote: “This appointment is conferred upon you as a mark of my appreciation for your noble and heroic efforts in saving human lives.” During the same year General Grant presented her with a subscription boat named the Rescue, and in July, 1881, the Secretary of the Treasury awarded her the gold life-saving medal. She has also received medals from several humane societies. the Rescue was on exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Wilson, James