What Are the Historic Family Names of the Abacos?
Reviewed by Captain Ronald RolleThe founding Loyalist families of the Abacos included Albury, Lowe, Sawyer, Malone, Bethel, Roberts, Pinder, Sands, Thompson, and Key. These surnames remain remarkably common in Abaco communities today, with many residents tracing their ancestry directly to the original 1783 settlers.
The eighty or so Loyalist families who settled Abaco after 1783 established surnames that still dominate island communities. Walking through Hope Town, Green Turtle Cay, or Man-O-War today, visitors encounter these names on businesses, boats, and mailboxes throughout the settlements.
The Albury family became synonymous with Man-O-War Cay boatbuilding, their name attached to the famous Albury Brothers Boats and Albury's Sail Shop. William Alburie arrived in Bermuda from England in 1635, with descendants later sailing to Harbour Island around 1650 before spreading throughout the Bahamas.
Wyannie Malone gave her surname to countless Hope Town descendants, with the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum honoring her role in founding the settlement. Her sons Ephraim and David continued the family line that persists on Elbow Cay today.
The Lowe family achieved cultural prominence through Albert Lowe, who opened the first historical museum in the Bahamas on Green Turtle Cay in 1976. His son Alton Lowe became a celebrated artist whose paintings document Bahamian life and landscapes.
Other founding surnames including Sawyer, Bethel, Roberts, Pinder, Key, Russell, and Curry appear throughout island records from the earliest settlements. Remarkably, many families can document their ancestry through church records, property deeds, and museum archives spanning over 240 years.
Abaco wreckers who relocated to Key West in the 1820s brought these same surnames to Florida, where they remain common today. This historical connection links Abaco's founding families to both their American Loyalist origins and their later migration to the United States.
Key points
- Eighty founding Loyalist families established surnames still common today
- Albury family famous for Man-O-War boatbuilding since 1800s
- Malone descendants remain in Hope Town since Wyannie's 1785 founding
- Same surnames brought to Key West by Abaco wreckers in 1820s
Related questions
- Can visitors research their Bahamian family history?
- Yes, the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum maintains genealogical records and the Dolly Mae Records contain over 150,000 surnames. The Albert Lowe Museum also has historical documents. Civil and church records from 1750-1910 have been transcribed and are accessible to researchers.
- Are there DNA projects for Bahamian genealogy?
- Yes, the Bahamas DNA Project uses genetic testing to trace family connections across the islands and to ancestral populations in Britain, Africa, and the Americas. Several genealogical societies maintain databases connecting living descendants to historical records.
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