Top Row l-r: Micajah Wynn Etheridge, Sr.;
Isaac Van "Jim"
Willis; Robert Lee Wescott
Bottom Row l-r: Banister H. Davis; Clemond
Z. Forbes; Otho Cartwright Ward; George Wright Wescott
Source: Top photo from Leaves from a Dare County Album -
The individual photos of Etheridge, Wescott, Davis, Forbes & Ward below were submitted by
Juanita Wescott.
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Micajah Wynn Etheridge, Sr.
Micajah Wynn "Cage" Etheridge, Sr., son of
Jeremiah & Elizabeth Etheridge, was born in Manteo, NC on Nov. 12,
1850 & died in Manteo on Oct. 24, 1923. He married Corasanna
Virginia Miller (1851-1905) on Roanoke Island on Jan. 7, 1872.
He was appointed Keeper of the Oregon Inlet Lighthouse on Jan. 8, 1892
and remained until c1915. They are buried in the
Homer Cemetery in
Manteo. |
Isaac Van Willis, Sr.
Isaac Van Willis, Sr., son of Oscar F.
Willis & Adaliza Davis, was born in Carteret Co., NC on May 19,
1853 & died at Skyco, NC on Feb. 17, 1913. He married Rebecca
Hayman (1854-1945) on Roanoke Island on June 27, 1875. He was
#1 Surfman at Oregon Inlet Station from 1892-1910.
Isaac & Rebecca are buried in the Willis/Hayman Cemetery in Skyco,
NC. |
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Robert Lee Wescott
Robert Lee Wescott, son of John Wescott &
Lovey Davis Tillett, was born in Manteo on Nov. 21, 1869 & died at
Kitty Hawk, NC on Aug. 15, 1925. He was 1st married
to Carrie Lee Ward (1874-1899) in Manteo on May 10, 1892;
married 2nd to Mary Louise "Lula" Basnight
(1881-1916) on Jan. 10, 1906; married 3rd Matilda Lee
"Mattie" Sanderlin (1894-1983) on Aug. 20, 1919. Robert &
Mattie are buried in
Austin Cemetery in Kitty Hawk. |
Banister Hardy Davis
Banister Hardy Davis, son of Isaac Newton Davis &
Mary Susan Baum, was born July 3,
1970 & died May 17, 1950. He married 1st Beatrice
Bunch Gallop (1870-1898) on June 8, 1888; 2nd
Evelyn Estelle Brown (1880-1985) on Jan. 24, 1900; buried in
Cudworth
Cemetery in Wanchese, NC.
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Clemond Zora Forbes
Clemond Zora Forbes, son of
Thomas Forbes & Julia Ann Harrison, was born Apr. 17, 1867
in Jarvisburg, NC & died Oct. 21, 1929. He married widow
Elvina Hughes (Etheridge) Wescott (1864-1940) on Jan. 22, 1894;
buried in
Cudworth Cemetery in Wanchese, NC
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Otho Cartwright
Ward
Otho Cartwright Ward, son of John William Ward, Sr. &
Bethany D.
Etheridge, was born May 24, 1878 in East Lake, NC and died Jan. 1,
1958. He married Lovie Lester (1881-1944) in Manteo, NC
on June 8, 1902. They had 6 children and are buried in
Mt. Olivet
Cemetery in Manteo.
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George Wright Wescott
George Wright Wescott, son of Thomas &
Matilda Wescott, was born Dec. 26, 1837 & died July 8, 1905 [see
his obituary]. He
married Bethany D. Etheridge (1841-1909) on Roanoke Island on Jan. 6,
1959. They had 10 known children. George and Bethany
are buried in the
Homer Cemetery in
Manteo. |
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Oregon Inlet was formed when a hurricane lashed the
Outer Banks in 1846, separating Bodie Island from Pea Island. One ship
that rode out that storm in Pamlico Sound was named the
Oregon. After the storm the
crew of this ship were the first to tell those on the mainland about the
inlet's formation. Hence, it has been known as Oregon Inlet ever
since.
Akin to many other inlets along the Outer Banks, Oregon Inlet moves
southward due to drifting sands during tides and storms. It has moved
south over two miles since 1846, averaging around 66 feet per year.
The Coast Guard station at Oregon Inlet is currently
located at its fourth site since it began as a lifesaving station in 1883.
It was one of 29 lifesaving stations Congress approved and appropriated
funds for a decade earlier. By 1888, the Oregon Inlet Station had to be
relocated to a new site. It is assumed that this relocation was necessary
because of the shifting of the channel to the south and the encroachment
of the ocean from the east. The station was decommissioned and moved to a
new safer location some 400 feet westward toward the sound. Less
than a decade later a storm totally destroyed the Oregon Inlet Station.
In 1897, Jessie B. Etheridge
deeded 10 acres of oceanfront property on a remote stretch of Hatteras
Island to federal officials so they could build a lifesaving station
there. The station was completed in 1898 for less than $7,000. As part of a modernization
program in 1933-34, the Oregon Inlet Station was extensively modified to
look very much like it does today. In 1979, a new extension was added. By
1988, the station was completely abandoned when the southward migration of
the Oregon Inlet threatened to swallow it. In July 1990, a ceremonial ground breaking was held for
a new $3.5 million building, located just behind the Oregon Inlet Fishing
Center, on the north side of the inlet. The new station was designed with
the traditional architectural design of older stations located on the
Outer Banks in mind. [See a photo of the new station
here.]
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