From the Book – Rosemary C. Hanna

Blyden Family – Lewis Street – Excerpt from “Pictorial History and Memories of Nassau’s Over-The-Hill”

By Rosemary C. Hanna

The Percival (Percy) Blyden Family lived on the south side of Lewis Street opposite St. Agnes Church. Mrs. Sybil Blyden was a member of the Nicolls family from Tin Shop Corner in Grant’s Town. She was the third of eleven children in her family. The Blydens later moved to Farrington Road. The picture at left was taken at their sixty-fourth wedding anniversary. Mrs. Blyden was baptized at Wesley Grant’s Town Methodist Church where she was actively involved until in 1964 she became a founding member of St. Michael Methodist Church, where she was also involved in every aspect of the Church. Mr. Blyden was a member of St. Agnes Church.

I knew the Blydens all of my life and attended Sunday School with their children at St. Agnes. However, I got to know Mr. Blyden better when we were part of a church group that travelled to the Holy Land in the early nineties, and we became good friends. Percy and Sybil were married on 29^th April 1943. When I visited with them a few years prior to their deaths, Mr. Blyden very proudly showed me the original framed “visitation” letter that he received from Mr. Nicolls giving permission for Percy and Sybil to be engaged and setting visiting hours at two evenings per week from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. The Blydens had six children: Veta Brown, Calliope Williams, Persis Hepburn, Dr. Gershwin, Louise and John.

Percy was a carpenter and he worked for a number of the large construction companies, including McAlpine, Sunco Builders and, Cavalier Construction where he held the position as site foreman. He was a quiet gentleman who grew just about everything in the dense garden on the eastern side of his yard at Farrington Road including rose bushes, other flowering trees, avocados, breadfruit, plums, bananas, sapodillas, citrus and many others. On a few occasions I rambled through the garden with him as he showed and shared his crops with me.

Sybil initially worked as a seamstress, and later as an Assistant Teacher at Woodcock Primary School. However, at the age of 38 years, with six children, and with the full support of her husband, she undertook to become a fully qualified teacher. This meant that after a full day’s work teaching she got on her bicycle and went to evening classes in order to prepare herself. It did not bother her that she was the most mature among the many young students. She successfully obtained her professional qualifications at The Bahamas Teachers’ College and the Maria Gray College in England, and rose to become the pioneering Principal of the Stapledon School for the Mentally Retarded. A special site was designated on the Stapledon School grounds for a building to be constructed in honour of Mrs. Blyden in 2008, prior to her death. The building was subsequently constructed, commissioned and officially named in April 2010. She received the Queen’s Certificate of merit and the Victor Sassoon Golden heart Award in 1971. One of the streets in the Millennium Gardens Subdivision is also named in her honour.

Veta is a Health Management consultant. She is married to Granville Brown and they have two children, one daughter and one son: Gravette and Gerard. Calliope is a High School Guidance Counsellor in New York. She is married to Darwin Williams and they have no Children. Persis is employed at the Eugene Dupuch Law School as a secretary. She is married to William Hepburn, Sr. and they have two sons: William II and John, two grandchildren twins, Kyle and Katherine. Gershwin is a medical doctor practicing in Miami, Florida specializing in Hematology and Oncology. He is married to the former Donna Russell and has one son Gershon. Louise is employed as an Accounts Supervisor at the National Flag Carrier, Bahamasair. She has one son Lamon and one grandson Jaden. John is employed at Chekard as the Office Manager. He is married to the former Princess Butler and they have three children: one daughter Johnneice Blyden-Williams, two sons Percy “PJ”, Prince, and one son-in-law Robert Williams. John is a member of the Senior Choir and a soloist at St. Agnes.

Mrs. Blyden died on 11^th May 2009 and Mr. Blyden passed away on 6th October the same year.

ADDENDUM: You can see the original “Visitation” letter and learn more about the Nicolls family in the special exhibit in the Pompey Museum, Bay Street, Nassau, N.P., which includes the family links to the last known documented slave ship to land in The Bahamas.

St. Agnes Anglican Church, Blue Hill Road, Grant’s Town, New Providence, The Bahamas

Excerpt from “Pictorial History and Memories of Nassau’s Over-The-Hill”

By Rosemary C. Hanna

St. Agnes Anglican Church played a pivotal role in the lives of my family and many others Over-the-Hill. When I was a child all of the families that lived on Gaol Alley were members of and actively involved in the life of the Church. Parents took their children to Church and children attended Sunday School, were involved in the Guilds, Boys Brigade, Anglican Young people’s Association (AYPA) and other organisations.

The Church was established in 1841 and dedicated on 12^th July 1845. It was established to provide a place of worship for the freed slaves who had settled in Grant’s Town. Both St. Agnes and the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin were Chapels of Ease under Christ Church Cathedral and designated parishes on 18^th July 1889. The current Rector of St. Agnes, Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, points out that St. Agnes and other churches Over-The-Hill played an importnt role in the education of the people. The Anglican Church first established schools in The Bahamas in the 1700s.

In 1840 Deacon Edward Jordan Rodgers came to The Bahamas from Falmouth, England as a missionary. He was the first Anglican Priest to work with the freed black slaves in Grant’s Town. He returned to England in 1843 to be ordained as a priest. Rodgers held the first St. Agnes services in the old African School House in 1841. He served at St. Agnes from 1841 to 1847. At the time The Bahamas was part of the Diocese of Jamaica. The Bahamas became a diocese on its own in 1861.

Reverend William John Woodcock was ordained as a Deacon on 12^th November 1848 by the Lord Bishop of Jamaica, Aubrey George Spencer, and licensed as Assistant Curate at Christ Church Cathedral, New Providence, with charge of the St. Agnes District Chapel. At that time the Chapel was located at the present site of the St. Agnes Pre School. Woodcock began his duties at St.Agnes District Chapel on 1^st Janury 1849 and he served the Church until 1851.

He realized that good schools were of paramount importance in the district and opened the Woodcock School on 28^th March 1849. The wooden building with thatched roof accommodated seventy students and the attendance quickly expanded, making it necessry to add another room. Father Woodcock left all of his assets to the Woodcock School. His remains are interred inside the Chancel Gate at St. Agnes Church.

Reverend James Fisher served as Rector for fifty years (1856-1906). He was te first rector to be called “Father”. It was during his tenure that the new Church was built on Blue Hill Road to include a new Chancel and Lady Chapel.

Reverend Audley Browne was appointed Rector on 14^th October 1906 and he served until 1925. He was made Archdeacon of Nassau in 1918. He was an accomplished musician who built and repaired organs and installed the the first organ in St. Agnes. He and Mr. Austin Destoup taught my father, Percival Hanna, to play the organ. St. Agnes had other accomplished instrumentalists and vocalists who took part in church services and regularly presented concerts.

In 1916 the porch at the Western entrance to the Church was erected and dedicated in memory of Father Fisher and the former rectors of the parish. The addition was planned by Father Fisher but he did not live to see it come to fruition and the project was completed by Archdeacon Browne.

Reverend Herbert George was Rector from 1925 to 1936. During his tenure the Church was destroyed during the 1929 hurricane. During the time that the Church was being renovated, services were held at the schoolroom and at the Woodcock School. The newly renovated Church included the enlarged nave and other changes shown in the 1952 and 2009 pictures below.

Bahamian Rectors of St. Agnes Church

Canon George Loran Pyfrom was born on 16^th April 1883, the only son of George Loran Pyfrom, a pineapple farmer, and his wife Elizabeth of Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera. They also had three daughters, Lucilla, Ella and Meta. George Loran was a young boy when his father died and he was greatly influenced by Reverend Charles Smith who was then the Rector of St. Patrick’s Church, Governor’s Harbour.

In 1902 George Loran and one of his sisters came to New Providence where he ran the Church’s bookstore. He worshipped at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Virginia Street, and was a member of the serving choir. In 1911 he went to England to study theology at Dorchester College. In 1913 he was ordained Deacon at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.

After his return to The Bahamas he was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 17^th July 1915, by then Bishop Wilfred Hornby, at St. Mary’s Church, Virginia Street. After his ordination he was sent to Long Island where he served for twenty-two and a half years, travelling the length and breadth of the 70 mile Island by horseback, sometimes accompanied by his wife, Ethlyn, who was from Simms, Long Island. In 1931 he was appointed as a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral He was honoured as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1935.

Canon Pyfrom was appointed as Rector of St. Agnes in 1936. He was loved by his parishioners and well known for his emotional sermons. Below is a quote from an article written by his son Roscow Napier and recorded in “The Voice of the Church”. Lent 1988:

The beauty and dignity which still surround the services at St. Agnes are a reflection of Canon Pyfrom’s high standards for correctness and proper decorum and his passion for dignified ceremonial. He often affectionately referred to St. Agnes as the Pro Cathedral. The people of St. Agnes responded with affection and enthusiasm to Canon Pyfrom’s ministry among them, and together they built St. Agnes into a very vibrant institution and it most certainly became one of the leading parishes in the Anglican Church in The Bahamas.

Canon Pyfrom made plans for extensive improvements to St. Agnes; however, due to ill health, he resigned in January 1947. He died on 2^nd January 1950, five months after the passing of his wife. Their children were George Loran III, LaGloria, and Roscow Napier.

Canon Milton Edward Cooper was born in Exuma on 25^th May 1903. He was the first Bahamian to go to Codrington College in Barbados. He was ordered Deacon in 1928 and served at churches in Cat Island, Long Island and Andros before his appointment as Rector of St. Agnes. He was made a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral in 1950. Archbishop Drexel W. Gomez, who was an acolyte when Father Cooper came to St. Agnes, recalls that he was always impressed with the attractive manner in which Father Cooper conducted services. Many persons who were not Anglicans used to come to Stations of the Cross at St. Agnes to observe how he conducted the service. Father Cooper had an outstanding tenor voice and people also came to Evensong on Sundays to hear him sing the Divine Praises.

Father Cooper encouraged many young men to become priests, prominent among them being: Archbishop Drexel Gomez, the late Archdeacon William Edward Thompson, Bishop Gilbert Arthur Thompson, the late Archdeacon Murillo Bonaby and the late Canon Dudley Strachan. Archbishop Gomez states that Father Cooper was the person who solidified the parishes. When he preached his last sermon at Evensong on 11^th June 1967, Father Cooper quoted the first line of the A&M Hymn 271: “O Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end”. He left the pulpit, took his seat in the Sanctuary and quietly died.

He was married to the former Gwendolyn Ramming and their two sons are Christopher, who resides in Freeport, Grand Bahama and Paul. Canon Cooper and Father John Taylor are pictured at left and right respectively in the above picture with Acoyltes.

Archdeacon William Edward Thompson, OBE was born in Eleuthera on 17^th December, 1933. He was the oldest child of William Edward and Corene Thompson (née Hutcheson). Father Willie, as he was affectionately called, was educated at the St. Agnes Day School, the Western Preparatory and Junior Schools and St. John’s College. He was one of Canon Milton Cooper’s protégés and entered Codrington College in 1952. He obtained an Honours Degree in Theology as well as a Masters Degree in Theology from the University of Durham, England.

He was made a Deacon in Barbados on 21^st December 1956 and ordained to the Sacred Priesthood at Christ Church Cathedral on 21^st December 1957. He travelled throughout The Bahamas in his capacity as Diocesan Missioner. He was Priest in Charge of Exuma from 1958 to 1961. He subsequently returned to New Providence and taught Latin, English and Religious Studies at St. John’s College. In 1967 he succeeded Canon Milton Cooper as Rector of St. Agnes and retired in December 1999, having served for thirty-two years.

Father Willie followed Canon Cooper’s example and mentored many young men whom he encouraged to enter the priesthood namely, Keith Cartwright, I. Ranfurly Brown, Laish Boyd, the late Brian Colebrooke, Charles Simmons, Andrew Toppin, Roland Hamilton, and others.

During his time at St. Agnes, Father Willie was made a Canon of the Cathedral, Archdeacon, Vicar General and Sub-Dean of the Cathedral. He served the Church as Chairman of the Anglican Central Education Authority, and in many other capacities both locally and internationally. He also served on the Anglican Consultative Conference which is made up of bishops, priests, and lay persons throughout the Anglican World Communion. Father Willie was regarded by many as a Bahamian National Treasure.

Father Willie was married to the former Rosemarie Bailey. He was a sports enthusiast and in 1995 the softball field in the Southern Recreation Grounds, just North of St. Agnes Church, was renamed in his honour as the Archdeacon William E. Thompson Softball Park. Tragically, he was shot by an intruder at the St. Agnes Rectory and died a few weeks later on 23^rd June 2000.

Father Simeon Patrick Johnson (Father Pat) was born in Gregory Town, Eleuthera, on 3^rd November 1950. He attended primary school in Eleuthera and later came to New Providence where he attended St. Augustine’s College. He worked at the Public Treasury in New Providence and Grand Bahama and subsequently at El Casino in Freeport. However, from early childhood Patrick always felt the call to serve God and, after much prayer, he gave up his lucrative employment at the Casino to study for the Priesthood at Codrington College. Upon his return to the Bahamas Father Pat was posted at several churches in the Family Islands and New Providence, prior to taking up his appointment at St. Agnes on 1^st March 2000. He died suddenly on 15^th December 2005. He was married to the former Ethel Bethel and they have two daughters. Sonja is married to Kendyce Moss-Moultrie and they are the parents of a son and daughter, Kaleb and Kaiden. The Johnsons’ second daughter, Shaundica, is married to N’Krumah Vontez Edwards.

In the interim, between Fathers Johnson’s death and the appointment of Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, Bishop Gilbert A. Thompson served as Rector pro tempore 2006-2007.

Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown was installed as Rector of St. Agnes on 1^st February 2007. A “Son of St. Agnes”, he served as an altar boy under Canon Milton Cooper and also under Archdeacon William E. Thompson. Archdeacon Brown attended Queen’s College. He attended Codrington College and graduated with a Licentiate in Theology from The University of The West Indies. He also studied Urban Ministry at Colgate Divinity School in Rochester, New York and obtained a Master of Arts degree from Princeton Seminary in New Jersey.

He was made a Deacon on 24^th June 1977 and ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 24^th June 1978. He served as Rector of the Parish of Our Lady and St. Stephen in Bimini from 1980 to 1988 and as Rector of Christ the King Parish in Ridgeland Park from 1988 to 2007. He was appointed a Canon in 1996 and as Archdeacon in 1998.

Archdeacon Brown is married to the former Olga Maria Rolle. Their two sons, Michael and Ian, serve in the Sanctuary as members of the Guild of St. Ambrose. A third son, I. Ranfurly Brown II, is deceased.

This is an update to include Archdeacon Keith Cartwright, another Son of St. Agnes, who succeeded Archdeacon Brown in…….

St. Agnes Influence Abroad

The historic St. Agnes Episcopal Church in Miami, Florida had its beginnings as a result of the washtub singing of a former member of St. Agnes Anglican Church in Grant’s Town. To quote from “The Historic Saint Agnes Episcopal Church”:

“Saint Agnes Episcopal Church, one of Miami’s oldest and largest churches had its origin in October 1897. The Reverend James O S. Huntington late Father Superior of the Holy Cross came to the Miami area accompanied by two monks to supply the religious needs of the Episcopal Church until a priest was called to replace them.

One day while Father Huntington was visiting at the home of the late John Sewell he was attracted by the voice of Mr. Sewell’s washwoman, Louise Newbold. Mrs. Newbold, a Bahamian by birth was singing lustily the hymn, “The Church Is One Foundation”, to ease the burden of her chore. Father Huntington approached Mrs. Newbold and asked if a church existed in the area where Colored Anglicans could worship. She answered no, but told him there were scores of Anglicans in Miami who desired to worship in a way which they were accustomed. Father Huntington requested that Mrs. Newbold invite some of her friends to a meeting on the following Sunday. She complied.

“Thirty members assembled with Father Huntington in a private home located on North West 2^nd Avenue near Flagler Street, then known as Avenue C and 12^th Street. It was then that an idea “born in a washtub” became a reality.

“The founders chose the name of Saint Agnes for the new Church because the majority of them had been members of the popular and vigorous Saint Agnes in The Bahamas. When Father Huntington wrote to Bishop William Crane Gray to inform him of his meetings, he stated that he found the people to be quite intelligent and comfortable with the worship service.”

St. Agnes, Miami is designated as a local historic site. Two other Episcopal churches, The Church of the Incarnation and The Church of the Transfiguration, have come out of St. Agnes, Miami. As well, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a mission of St. Agnes. The current Rector of is Canon Richard Livingstone Marquess-Barry, who was born in Miami of Bahamian parents. Bahamian, Father Denrick Rolle, is now at St. Agnes and he is expected to succeed Canon Barry as Rector in December 2012.

The late Fathers James Edden of Lewis Street and Bruce Williamson of Blue Hill Road, who were both members of St. Agnes Church, served as priests in the United States as did Father John Taylor, who was a former Curate at St. Agnes. Father Taylor’s home Church was St. Mary The virgin. Father Charles Simmons, a protégé of Archdeacon William Thompson, is the Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, New York.

Dr. Joseph Robert Love

Dr. Joseph Robert Love was the grandfather of the late Vera Love and great grandfather of the late Cynthia Love, who were both lifelong active members of St. Agnes Church. Another of Dr. Love’s great granddaughters, Gloria Archer, lives in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Dr. Love was born in Nassau in 1839. He grew up in Grant’s Town and was a member of St. Agnes Church. He moved to the United States in the 1860s and became a priest in 1877.

In 1879 Dr. Love became the first black medical graduate of the University of Buffalo. He went to Haiti in 1881 as a medical missionary. In the 1880s many black West Indians went to Haiti in search of work as they felt more comfortable living in a Black Republic, where they would not be discriminated against by Colonialists. Dr. Love was among a number of foreigners who became involved in Haitian politics. He later moved to Jamaica where he also became active in politics and published a weekly paper the Jamaica Advocate. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1906 and served in other high offices in Jamaica. Dr. Love was a proud black man and he always encouraged black Jamaicans to become involved in politics. Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican Black Nationalist Leader, was influenced by the writings of Dr. Robert Love, who died in Kingston, Jamaica in 1914. The bust of Dr. Love was created and photographed by Andret John.

Percival James & Leona Aurelia Hanna (nee Butler)

c. 1954

2011

Our house at Anderson Street and Gaol Alley was built in 1934. My parents, Percival James and the former Leona Aurelia Butler were married on 4^th November 1925. The pictures below left were taken on their wedding day. My two oldest siblings were born at the Butler homestead on Market Street and the rest of us were born at Anderson Street, which was at that time called Harding’s Lane.

Below is the article about my parents’ wedding that was published in The Tribune on the day of their marriage:

WEDDING BELLS!

A very pretty wedding took place at St. Agnes Church this morning, when Mr. Percival J. Hanna of Meallett’s Orchestra, and organist of St. Agnes Church, was married to Miss Leola [Leona], eldest daughter of the late Mr. Chas. Butler and Mrs. Butler of the Southern District, by Rev. Canon George, assisted by Revs. Senior and Tillard. The bride and party arrived at the church at 7:30 a.m. where they were met by the Choir, and the Gym Club, (of which Miss Butler was a member), under Nurse Wood. The club formed a guard of honour and strewed their colours on the ground as the bride passed, leaning on the arm of her uncle, Mr. Herman Butler, who gave her away. Mr. John Forbes stood as best man. Miss Gladys Bailey presided at the organ and some of Mr. Hanna’s friends in the Orchestra provided other music. After the wedding a photograph of the party was taken by Mr. A. E. Armbrister of Armbrister’s Studio, and the party proceeded to the groom’s home in Meadow’s Street, where they will hold a reception this evening.

Father Marshall Cooper Park – Mason’s Addition

The park in Mason’s Addition is named in honour of the late Father Marshall Cooper (1846-1919), who was the second black Anglican priest in The Bahamas, the first being Father William Sweeting of Andros. The park is located at the site where Father Cooper’s daughter, Lillian and her husband Commissioner R.N. Thompson and subsequent generations of their family lived until 1969, when the Government of The Bahamas acquired the property to establish the first community park following Majority Rule. The Father Marshall Cooper Park was recently rededicated, when a new plaque was erected and Father Cooper’s grandchildren, Charles Cooper and Ellen Tate, planted a tree in his memory. Mrs. Tate is a retired educator from Colorado. Another grandson, Garth Reeves, is the publisher of the acclaimed Miami Times. He is the son of H.E.S. Reeves (the brother of C. H. Reeves, after whom one of our schools is named). The rededication of the park was also attended by former residents of Mason’s Addition.

The Oakes Estate and the Water Trenches

Cassandra Davenport describes her father George Bullard’s work at the Oakes Estate during the 40s, 50s and 60s.

The Machine Shop was a huge metal warehouse workspace, large enough to hold a small aeroplane. It was outfitted with tools and equipment needed to service the vehicles and tractors necessary to maintain and expand the Oakes Estate holdings. Apart from repairs, work was also carried out to design and make fancy gates out of wrought iron and even a small bridge was constructed on the Oakes Estate. Lengthy trenches were cut throughout the area George called “The Bushes”. These trenches were dug to collect water and dotted intermittently alongside them were Pump Houses which housed gasoline-run mechanical pumps which forced the water through pipes to a central Reservoir located in what is now called Sandyport, where it was treated and then pumped to The British Colonial Hotel, affording guests in the 1940s, 50s and until the mid 60s fresh and clean running water. Sometimes, these pumps would break down and George would receive a call late at night telling him that the water pressure was low at The British Colonial and so he had to make the trip, through the dark, bushy, unpaved and rocky roads to “The Bushes” to ascertain which Pump(s) had failed and then fix them with only the help of a searchlight, using his hands, not only to carry out repair work but to beat off the marauding mosquitoes. There was always the cacophony of frogs breaking the silence. Owls and other birds were plentiful. During the Season, George worked at night as a waiter at The Royal Victoria Hotel in order to subsidize his income to maintain his large family.

Once Government installed running water in the Western end of New Providence, there was no longer a need for The Machine Shop operation and even today, remnants of the trenches can be seen as one drives along the newly constructed highway that runs between JFK Drive and Saunders Beach. These trenches are also visible along sections of Ferguson Road in Perpall Tract. Perhaps many purchasers of lots in the Western end of the Island have found themselves faced with having to fill in parts of trenches which ran along their properties, not knowing why they were there.

Milk Stands

Mr. Austin T. Levy’s Hatchet Bay Farm Company owned and operated the Milk Stands which were strategically located on the Island of New Providence. Residents purchased fresh milk, eggs, chicken and ice-cream from the Milk Stands. On Saturday afternoons we would sometimes go to the Milk Stand on the corner of East Street and Mason’s Addition to buy our ice-cream treats that came in small white cardboard boxes, with flat wooden spoons. The Hatchet Bay Company changed hands in the seventies and eventually went out of business. Most of the Milk Stand buildings are still in use today as offices, small shops or “chicken shacks”. The building (above right) is the office of Mr Fernley Palmer, J.P. and legendary Boys Brigade Leader.

The Haynes Library photograph (bottom right) shows the modern retail stores that Mr levy built for the residents of Eleuthera. The buildings are no longer there.

Link to movie trailer: The Amazing Life & Times of Austin T. Levy by Kenneth Proudfoot

Everette Butler Family – Fort Fincastle / Palmdale

I was three years old when my uncle, Everette Butler, and his wife, the former Gregoria Monge (Aunt Goyita) came home from Spain with their infant daughter, Maria. I remember that we were at the Butler family homestead on Market Street and I was leaning against Aunt Goyita’s knee playing with the baby on her lap. Uncle Everette purchased the property on which he built his first home from Aunt Jessie Caroline McSweeney, my grandmother’s sister, who lived next door. The house was built by Melchoir Francis. After Uncle Everette and Aunt Goyita moved to their Fort Fincastle home I often stopped there on my way home from Mrs. Smith’s school to play with Maria and Clarissa, or my other cousins Calliope and Annette Thompson whose lived next door with Aunt Jessie.

Although Mother always instructed me to return directly home from school, I invariably stopped to play and Allan would come to collect me in the late afternoon and ride home with me sitting on the cross bar of his top of the line three-speed bicycle. I got a spanking on a few occasions but soon forgot and continued socializing on my way home from school.

Aunt Goyita did beautiful handwork and she embroidered the pretty little pink dress that I wore as flower girl in my cousin Roy Butler and his wife Freda’s wedding that was held at Our Lady’s Church.

Uncle Everette enrolled in the Hotel Training School at the Dundas Civic Centre and he subsequently went to work at the Montagu Beach Hotel, where he met a wealthy German industrialist who together with his Spanish wife (the Lewines), vacationed in The Bahamas frequently. The course of Uncle Everette’s life changed when he accepted the Lewines’ offer to join their employ in Germany. So, as Terry states, her father became not only the Butler in residence (Mr. Butler, the butler), but he was also the English Language tutor for the three Lewine sons. And thus began Uncle Everette’s twelve year sojourn in Europe – firstly for three years in Germany beginning in 1933 and then after 1936, nine years in Spain.

The rise of Hitler in Germany caused the Lewines to leave that country and relocate to their summer home in San Sebastian, Spain, and they eventually established their main residence in Madrid. This was where Uncle Everette met Aunt Goyita when she came to work in the Madrid residence as the family seamstress. At the end of the Spanish Civil war and then the Second World War, Uncle Everette returned to The Bahamas with his wife and infant daughter, Maria, the first of their six children. Aunt Goyita recounted the story about the rampant segregation they encountered on their journey to The Bahamas when travelling by train in Philadelphia. She took her seat with baby in her arms and when her husband went to take his seat, he was directed to the back of the carriage. When Aunt Goyita asked why, she was told that “Negroes” had to sit in the back, whereupon she responded, “Well, if he’s Negro, I’m Negro too!” and she followed her husband to the back of the train.

Upon his return home Uncle Everette worked as Maitre’d at the Royal Victoria Hotel. As his family grew they moved to Palmdale in 1955 at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Madeira Street where Maria’s daughter Tanya and her husband Todd now have their dental practice. Maria’s first husband was Ian Mortemore and their elder daughter, Elena is a lawyer. Both Elena and her husband James work in the banking industry. Maria subsequently married Bernard Taylor. Clarissa married David Honnett and they and their two daughters Jacqueline and Nadia and their families live in Calgary, Canada. Uncle Everette’s other children are Carlos, Teresa (Terry), Margaret (Maggie) and Carmina. Maria, Maggie and Carmina are bankers and Terry, was a Civil servant and former Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister.

Thompson Family – Market & Hay Streets

This Heritage Site, situated at the corner of Market and Hay Streets, is the home of the late William Edward Thompson and his wife, the former Corene Hutcheson and their children: the late Archdeacon William Edward Thompson (Willie), pictured at right, Bishop Gilbert Arthur Thompson (Arthur), pictured at left below, and Dr. Philip Thompson. The Thompsons were Baptists. Their grandfather was Reverend Gilbert Thompson who was a pastor in New York. He also pastored at St. John’s Baptist Church, Meeting Street and Metropolitan Baptist Church, Hay Street. Reverend A. E. Hutcheson was Corene Thompson’s father, and she also had a brother the Reverend Ernest Asquith Hutcheson. The Reverend Dr. H. W. Brown, long serving Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Meeting Street, was her mother’s brother. His father had been the Methodist Society Steward at Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera.

When they were infants, the Thompson brothers were prayed for in the Baptist Church. However, they were taken to St. Agnes Church by their cousin, Mae Adora Strachan, when she came from Rum Cay and lived with her aunt, Mrs. Maud Harriet Deveaux Thompson. Mrs. Thompson, who had been baptized at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, Rum Cay, by Father Marshall Cooper, the second black Anglican priest in the Diocese, abut 1890, married the Reverend Gilbert Thompson, a Baptist minister. On his death she returned to the Anglican faith. Mrs. Thompson was matriarch of the family, a proud descendent of the Deveaux family of Port Howe, Cat Island. Bishop Thompson recalls that he and Willie were about five and six years old respectively, when they were baptized by Father George Loran Pyfrom at St. Agnes. When they were children the brothers attended Sunday School at St. Agnes as well as Bible study classes at Transfiguration Baptist Church.

In their formative first twelve years everyone in the immediate Hay Street and Market Street neighbourhood got along well and there was no snobbery. They all had pride in their community and strong bonds of friendship. The Brown yard on Market and Hay Streets where mostly people from Cat Island lived, was the usual site for the jump in dance at night on festive occasions. Children were mostly spectators. The children were involved in sporting events such as cricket and softball; they attended the movies and played cowboys and crooks. Bishop Thompson also recalls that in the forties Mrs. Agnes Mackey always took a band with her when she travelled to Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera for the August Monday excursion. He also noted that Mrs. Diana Newbold of Hay Street East, who was a member of St. Agnes Choir, had an organ and a piano in her house. She was the grandmother of the Pinders. Her son, William, before moving to Florida, was the organist at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Nassau.

[Archdeacon Thompson was married to the former Rosemarie Bailey. In December 1999 he retired as Rector of St. Agnes having served in that capacity for 32 years. Tragically, in May 2000 he was shot during an attempted armed robbery at the rectory and succumbed to his injuries a month later in June 2000.]

Activities and events at St. Agnes included early exposure to classical musical preludes that were played on the Hammond organ before church services, concerts, plays and tableaus directed by Sister Thecla Mary. The tableau was a format in which a story was read while individuals acted the parts as the story was being told. The concerts, tableaus and plays were regular events at St. Agnes. Bishop Thompson recalls that on some occasions Cleveland Reeves came and played jazz on the piano which was not very familiar to many at the time. During the late forties there were the Boys and Girls Brigades led by Fr. Pyfrom. The boys’ uniform was composed of red jackets and blue trousers with yellow stripes. Before the Anglican Young People’s Association (AYPA) was formed the club of St. Agnes’ youth was called the Gardenia Club. It was open to all the young people in the area.

Bishop Thompson is married to the former Olga Louise Major. The Thompson family is pictured at left on the occasion of the Bishop’s 50th Anniversary to the Priesthood. The service was held at Christ Church Cathedral, George Street., Nassau, Bahamas. His daughter, Angela, who is separated from Patrick Williams, has a daughter, Falon. Heather, who is married to Clement Maynard, Jr., has two daughters Amelia and Mary. Gilbert who is married to Dr. Jahzeel Thompson, the granddaughter of Commissioner James Campbell, has a son Gilbert III. Angela is a music teacher and Gilbert and Heather are lawyers.

Bishop Thompson remembers the lessons that he and his brother learnt while sitting on the porch and listening to conversations of the adults who usually gathered there to socialize and discuss world and local affairs. Sometimes the group moved to the porch of their cousin, Wilfred S. Coakley, Sr. on Lewis Street, but the Thompson house was the main site because more people travelled on Market Street and stopped to join in the conversations. The discussions were led by Reverend Jerome Hutcheson, the Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, Hay Street, and they were often joined by persons such as Lawyer A. F. Adderley and Sir Alvin Braynen. There, the two older Thompson brothers listened as their elders talked about history, World War II and the Nazis, and as a result, the art of conversation became a part of the learning experience. Bishop Thompson commented that in those days Messrs. Adderley and Toote were the only two black lawyers around and, as a mark of respect, they were referred to as Lawyer Adderley and Lawyer Toote.

Dr. Philip Thompson is a surgeon who practices at the Lucayan Medical Centre in Freeport, Grand Bahama. He was born almost tirteen years after his second brother and became the “pet” of the family. Prince and Willie “Mays” Francis, who lived across the street, also spent a lot of time at the Thompson house.

Photo credits:

Thompson house by Rosemary C. Hanna

Archdeacon Thompson, Bishop Thompson et al by David Knowles

Funeral by Peter Ramsay

At. AGnes Website:

Links:

St. Agnes website: http://stagnesgt.com/

The Jamaica Gleaner – “Farewell to a Great Bahamian” by Errol Miller, Professor and head of the Institute of Education, UWI, Mona: http://web.archive.org/web/20100518100817/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20000713/Cleisure/Cleisure3.html

Dr. Judson & Marcheta Eneas – The Gentlemen’s Club

Judson Eneas was educated at Jamaica College, Fisk University and at the Medical School: University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. He is the recipient of many academic, professional and civic honours, and is now in private practice in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Doctors Hospital. He is also Medical Director and Founder of RenalMed Associates, Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas. Judson met his wife, the former Marcheta Q. McManus, of Maryland, at Fisk University. Their children are: Kemba Tiombe Eneas Walton, an attorney in Washington, D.C., Judson Picot Eneas, MA, a portrait artist, and Kashta Kandia Eneas, LL.B, an attorney in Los Angeles, California. Both Judson and is older brother, Dr. Cleveland W. Eneas, Jr. (Fritzi) are members of Eta Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Fisk University. When Fritzi returned home he became a charter member of Pi Xi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in Nassau, of which Judson is also a member.

Like her mother-in-law Muriel Eneas before her, when Marcheta came to The Bahamas she immediately became involved and started the Links Chapter in The Bahamas with new found friends. Marcheta also introduced the Beautillion to The Bahamas in 1991 and the first Ball was held in 1992, when twelve (12) young men were presented to society, as members of The Gentlemen’s Club. Since that time the Committee has been doing a wonderful job in preparing young men for life. To date they have mentored 824 young men and awarded over $5 million in scholarships in cash, awards and school scholarships to Morehouse College, Fisk University and St. John’s University. In addition to Judson and Marcheta, the charter members of the organisation were Dr. Eugene Newry, Mr. Alain Newry, Mrs. Rose Braynen, Mr. Patrick Rahming, Mrs. Marilyn Rahming, Dr. Barry Russell., Mrs. Missy Russell, Mr. Rodney Williams and Mrs. Frances Williams.

The History of the Beautillion states in part:

“In October 1991, Mrs. Marcheta Eneas organized a group of professional men and women in her home and organized the first Bahamas Beautillion Committee. In today’s society, many events, Cotillions, and scholarships are presented to young ladies. The news of the increasing crime statistics and the negative press on men in The Bahamas, demonstrates the need for positive programmes to further develop the young men of our society. As a result, the Committee met and planned the production of the First Bahamas Beautillion ball. A number of workshops and cultural events were planned. The young men were chosen by the counselors at the various public and private secondary schools and submitted to the committee. Thus the Gentlemen’s Club was formed.”

In 1994 the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity adopted the Gentlemen’s Club as its community responsibility. Similarly, in 2009, the Nassau Chapter of the Links, Inc. joined the Beautillion Committee as co-sponsors of the Gentlemen’s Art and Talent competition. Collaboration with both organisations continues.

I find it wonderfully refreshing to see the members of the Gentlemen’s Club attending, concerts plays and other events, thereby fostering an appreciation for the arts and helping them to become well rounded individuals. Were it not for the Gentlemen’s Club many young men would not have had the opportunity to further their education. Thank you to Judson, Marcheta and the Beautillion Committee, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and the Nassau Chapter of Links, Inc. for their generosity in helping to allow Bahamian young men to realize their full potential.

Gentlemen’s Club 2011 – Photograph by J & J Imaging

New Yorkers who came to buy the Book

Recently I received a telephone call from Marva Moxey, daughter of the late former Parliamentarian, musician and Bahamian cultural icon, Edmund Moxey, who was searching for my book “Pictorial “History and Memories of Nassau’s Over-The-Hill” for her uncle, Dr.Emil Moxey and his friends (Messrs. Hugh Knight and Andre Springer) who were visiting from New York and were returning the following morning.

I was happy to accommodate them at home which turned out to be a memorable occasion, not only because they bought several copies of the book, but because I learnt that Dr. Moxey had been a close friend of my deceased brother Perce. Furthermore, because of our meeting I was able to put Dr. Moxey in touch with his and Perce’ s mutual friend, Christopher Francis. Pictured l-r in the bottom photo are: Andre Springer, Hugh Knight, Emil Moxey and Marva Moxey.

Tribute to Edmund Moxey by Anthony A. Newbold