Located 28 miles off the coast of California, the Farallon Islands (or “Farallones”) are “211 acres of rocky islets that are home to 28% of California’s sea birds.” Their name — assigned by Spanish explorers during the early 1600s — comes from the Spanish word farallón, meaning “sea cliff” or “sea stack.”
They islands have always been sparsely populated, but a lighthouse was built on Southeast Farallon in 1855 and a series of lighthouse keepers (four at a time) lived on that particular island — often with their families — from the 1850s until the 1940s.
The first of several babies born on the island during that time period was the daughter of keeper Cyrus J. Cain and his wife Mary Ellen. The baby girl arrived in April 8, 1898, and was named Farallon Wilhelmina Cain, after her birthplace.
(She was the seventh of nine children. The sibling names I know of are Catherine, George, Cecil, Harold, Charley, and Loretta.)
Sources:
- Farallon Island Lighthouse, California – Lighthousefriends.com
- Farallon Islands – Wikipedia
- Islapedia: Farallon Islands Births & Cain, Cyrus J.
- Graff, Amy. “17 fascinating facts about the Farallon Islands, just off San Francisco’s shore but rarely visited.” San Francisco Chronicle 31 Mar. 2019.
- Morain, Dan. “Farallon Islands–Rich in Wildlife, Beset by Threats.” Los Angeles Times 9 Jul. 1991.
Image: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
