Tilman F. Smith

Keeper Smith and family in the yard of the Primary Keeper's Quarters at Cape Hatteras Light Station

National Archives

Quick Facts

Significance:

Second-Longest Serving Keeper of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Place of Birth:

Portsmouth, North Carolina

Date of Birth:

1852

Place of Death:

Norfolk, Virginia

Date of Death:

March 28, 1921

Place of Burial:

Washington, Beaufort County, North Carolina

Cemetery Name:

Oakdale Cemetery

Tilman F. Smith served as assistant keeper from 1878-1887 and primary keeper from 1887-1897, the second-longest serving keeper in Cape Hatteras history.

In addition to his tenure at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Smith lit the Hatteras Beacon Light, a smaller light one and one-half miles from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse designed for guiding local vessels in and out of Pamlico Sound, for the last time on November 24, 1898, due to a losing battle with erosion.