By Stephen B. Aranha

It is a common misconception amongst hobby genealogists in The Bahamas to automatically assume that their progenitors were Loyalists. While this is true for many Bahamian family names, others have been around before the arrival of the Loyalists in the 1780s. One such example is the Pinder family of Spanish Wells.

The book Homeward Bound: A History of The Bahama Islands to 1850 with a Definitive Study of Abaco in the American Loyalist Period by author Sandra Riley contains reference to a number of documents that leave absolutely no doubt that this family was in the country as early as 1726. One document mentioned is the "List of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burial in Ye Government of His Excellency Governour Phenney since his arrival November 13th, 1721 to this present year 1726." On this list, we can find the family name Pindar.

A census taken by Governor Rogers in 1731 lists a family named Pinder. It must be assumed that these two different spellings are either the result of spelling mistakes or an indication of separate branches of the same family. The latter does not seem very likely considering that the current telephone directory lists Pinders on most of the islands – but contains not a single entry for a Pindar.

Another quick glance at the phone book, and it becomes obvious that the Pinder family's centre is Spanish Wells, whose residents are described as mostly "European - true blonde-haired, blue-eyed descendants of the original Eleutheran Adventurers who still draw sustenance from the sea the way their forefathers did over three hundred years ago."

While it cannot be denied that this description is somewhat accurate, one must avoid drawing false conclusions. Spanish Wells is a tiny island, and, as it has no airstrip, the only way to get there is by boat. This geographic isolation is an important factor contributing towards the fact that Spanish Wells seems to be dominated by a small group of families. There simply is no room on an island 1.5 miles long, half a mile wide for many more settlers to change this.

Admittedly, in the past, certain Spanish Wells families erected artificial burdens to add to the geographical isolation, and it was no rarity to see first cousins joined in matrimony. When the Loyalists settled in Abaco, families from Spanish Wells were amongst the first to forge close ties with these new settlers, because they viewed the Loyalists' as desirable, eligible spouses for their own kin.

However, Bahamian society is much more open in the twenty-first century than it was in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Through the media and an improved infrastructure, Spanish Wells is now as much part of one Bahamian society as any other Family Island.

It is impossible to imagine Spanish Wells without the Pinder family. Whatever you are after, chances are you will be dealing with somebody by the name of Pinder. The phone book lists more than 180 Pinders for Spanish Wells. One German website designer obviously met so many Pinders on Spanish Wells that he believes "Pinder" is the generic term for the inhabitants of Spanish Wells.

Yet the reason he met so many natives is probably the fact that Spanish Wells is not really a tourist destination. Its main industry is fishing; and naturally, the general manager of crawfish-exporting firm Ronald's Seafood is a Pinder.

While there is no doubt about the influence of Pinders on Spanish Wells, there have, of course, also been Pinders from Spanish Wells who set out to leave their mark on The Bahamas as a whole.

Byron Pinder, for instance, who was born in Spanish Wells in 1919, joined the Audit Department as a clerk in 1936. In 1943 he was made Assistant Superintendent of Prisons; in 1954 he was promoted to Superintendent. In 1968, he was appointed Director of Social Welfare, and in 1974 he was transferred to the National Insurance Board, where he served as Director. Mr Pinder was also a founding member of the East Nassau Rotary Club, where he served as President from 1966 to '67. He died on November 18, 1980.

Lee Marvin Blaine Pinder was born in Spanish Wells in 1949. He was admitted to the Bahamas Bar in 1974. In 1987, he was elected to the House of Assembly for the Malcolm Creek constituency, and in 1990, then-Prime Minister Sir Lynden O. Pindling appointed him Minister of Local Government and Family Island Development. Though he set to work straight away, he was not given the chance to finish the initiatives he started.

In 1992, he ran for the Progressive Liberal Party in the St. John's, Eleuthera, constituency. Though the first count of the votes declared Mr Pinder the winner in St. John's – by a majority of two votes – the incumbent, Noel Roberts of the Free National Movement, challenged the count.

After some four months, the Election Court ruled in Mr Roberts' favour, and Mr Pinder lost his seat. The FNM had not only won in St. John's, but was the winner of the General Elections of August 19, 1992. It was for the new FNM government to implement a system of Local Government, which is still hotly debated today.