13th Willapa Bay Lighthouse Keeper / 1893 – 1895
Born in Tromsoya, Norway
Marinus A. Stream (Jacobsen*) was born in Tromsoya, Norway, November 23, 1849, to Jacob and Marthea (Bye) Strom (Jorgensen). When he was a lad of fourteen years he was apprenticed to a cooper for four years. He served the entire time and completed a master-piece for which he received a diploma. He followed this vocation for six years before following his brother Albert to America.
Arrives In America
Marinus arrived in New York, July 3, 1872. He came directly to the Pacific coast to be with his brother Albert and soon settled in Oysterville. First he was engaged in oystering in Shoalwater Bay and fishing along the Columbia river. As a fisherman he lived in Astoria for a time or stayed at the home of his brother and sister-in-law in North Cove, Albert & Viola Stream.
Marries the widow Olsen
Back in Tromso, Norway, a neighbor to the Streams (Jacobsens), Anna Dorthea Engen had married a Mr. Olsen. They had two children when Mr. Olsen unexpectedly died, Marinus wrote to the widow and convinced her to come to America. Marinus Stream and Anna Dorthea Olsen (Engen) were united in marriage November 23, 1880 by Rev. T. M. Rusi. The ceremony was held in the North Cove house of Marinus’s brother, Albert & Viola Stream.
Appointed 2nd Assistant Keeper
On November 8, 1882, Marinus was appointed to a position of 2st assistant in the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. Less than a year later on September 1, 1883, Marinus was transferred to Shoalwater Bay Lighthouse as assistant keeper under John Telbin.
Shoalwater Bay Lighthouse
The Shoalwater Bay Lighthouse was listed by the U.S. Lighthouse Board as Tokes Point Lighthouse. The name was changed to Willapa Bay Light Station in 1892. This was all due to the efforts of Marinus’ brother Capt. Albert T Stream, who in 1890 petitioned the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey to change the name of Shoalwater Bay to Willapa Bay.
11 Years in the Keepers Quarters
Marinus and his family lived in the Keepers quarters at North Cove for 11 years while Marinus held the position of 1st assistant to principal keeper John Telbin. The lighthouse with keepers quarters was situated on the barren sands at the end of a sand spit. Many days during the winter, neither friends nor strangers alike were to be seen. For ten years Mr. Stream and his wife faithfully performed their duty, a duty in which the smallest failure might bring death and desolation to many. Anna Dorthea Stream kept the interior of the home dazzlingly bright and clean, an attractive contrast to the storm-beaten coast. John Telbin was so fond of the Stream family he considered them his family.
In 1892 Marinus took over as acting principal keeper after the death of keeper John Telbin. John Telbin was an old bachelor who put the Steam family into his will, giving money to each of the Stream children, and property and personal goods to Marinus & Anna.
Short Lived Transfer To Umpqua Lighthouse
Marinus kept the principal keeper’s job at Willapa until 1894 when he was transferred to the new Umpqua Lighthouse near Coos Bay, Oregon. The Umpqua job was supposed to go to keeper Rasmus Petersen in 1893 but the new lighthouse construction had been built 15 inches short, so Petersen was temporarily assigned to Tillamook Rock. (He was eventually the 14th keeper at Willapa). The Umpqua light corrected the upgrade and on December 31, 1894, Marinus was first to light the new lamp. Unfortunately his time there was short. Marinus was lost at sea in 1896. A note in his log book was written in his wife’s hand;
“Mr. Stream drowned at 1 p.m. He had gone out on a rescue.”
Local news reports say the drowning was accidental while he was swimming in the surf on 14th of August, 1896 and was caught in an undertow. His body was not recovered until the 4th of September that year. He is buried in lot 51 of Gardiner Cemetery, Douglas County, OR.
Notes:
Anna Dorthea Stream died just over a year later on 31 Oct 1897, she is buried in Fern Hill Cemetery in Menlo, WA.
Marinus & Anna had five sons; Adolph Olsen (stepson), Peter Stream, Henry Stream, Edward Stream, and John Stream.
*Patronymic naming system used in Norway was not used by Albert & Marinus after they came to the United States.
STROM means Stream in Norwegian.