1915: The Passing of a Legendary Hudson River Captain and Lighthouse Keeper

March 17, 1915

Jacob Ackerman, who earned legendary status for his longtime roles as a captain of vessels and the keeper of a lighthouse on the Hudson River, died in the village of Tarrytown in New York’s Westchester County. He was 88 years old. The New York Times attributed his death to paralysis.

Ackerman was born on November 25, 1826, in Rockland County on the west bank of the Hudson River in southeastern New York. For 21 years, he served as the captain of several schooners sailing on the section of that river between New York City and the state capital of Albany. Long after his death, an article appearing in a 1961 edition of the Daily Argus (based in Westchester County) characterized Ackerman as “an interesting mariner – original and jolly a tar [a sailor] as ever sailed the seven seas.”

Ackerman’s other key roles included serving a provost marshal in Tarrytown during the American Civil War. (Provost marshals are responsible for overseeing the maintenance of law enforcement and other security matters with respect to both civilians and military personnel.) Ackerman was also superintendent of the original version of the Croton Aqueduct. This large and pioneering distribution system transported water a total of 41 miles (66 kilometers) from the Croton River in Westchester County to Manhattan.  

A new and equally significant chapter for Ackerman opened in 1883, when he became the first keeper of a recently completed lighthouse on the east side of the Hudson in the village of Sleepy Hollow (just north of Tarrytown). Sleepy Hollow Light — also known as Tarrytown Light – was built to help warn vessels from the potentially hazardous shoals in this area of the river.

Ackerman remained the lighthouse’s keeper until 1904. His wife Henrietta Ackerman (1829-1909) resided there with him the entire time, with Tarrytown Light being the only conical steel lighthouse on the Hudson to have living quarters within it rather than as an attachment. According to the New York Times, their fellow residents at this lighthouse over the years included a dog, three cats, and two dozen chickens.

Jacob Ackerman achieved fame throughout the region for bravely setting out in a lifeboat numerous times to save endangered people in those turbulent, often pounding waters. “He holds the record for length of service along the Hudson,” noted the New York Times when reporting on his plans to finally retire as keeper. “During his service he has rescued nineteen persons from drowning.”  Following his death in 1915, Ackerman was buried with his wife at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Photo: Public Domain

For more information on both Jacob Ackerman and Tarrytown Light, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrytown_Light