 Worthylake was hired as keeper of the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island by the General Court of Massachusetts, at a salary of £50 a year (equivalent to $16,000 today); he was admonished that any dereliction of duty would cost him £100.Besides keeping the light burning from sundown to sunup, he was also expected to serve as a harbor pilot.Worthylake would live on the island with his wife, Ann, and daughter Ruth.