Abaco — The Near Island

Wyannie Malone and her children left South Carolina after her husband had been killed in battle, and her side had lost the war. It was 1785, America was independent now, and Wyannie and her loyalist sympathies were looking for a new home. Although destined for the mainland, the ship ended up 150 miles off the coast of Florida, at what is now Elbow Cay, a mile or so off the Bahamian island of Abaco. The South Carolinians liked the clear water, the abundant seafood and the fact that potatoes grew easily there, so they settled. Later, the King of England, always ready to give away a part of the earth to loyalists…