When I first came across George Phenney, it was because of my research on Penelope Johnston, whom I suspected was my seventh great-grandmother. Penelope’s third husband was George Phenney, who served as colonial governor of the Bahama Islands before marrying her. After digging further, the family connection grew less certain. Still, when I found myself alone in Nassau with a free afternoon, I decided to see whether I could find any trace of him on the island where he had lived from 1721 to 1727.
Standing in Fort Fincastle on the Island of Nassau. The fort was built in 1793 by Lord Dunmore to protect Nassau from pirates.
I started with two of Nassau’s best-known historic sites, Fort Fincastle and Fort Charlotte. Fort Fincastle was quickly ruled out. According to the sign on site, it was completed in 1793 by Lord Dunmore, well after Phenney’s time and even after his death. Fort Charlotte seemed a slightly better possibility, but not by much. It was completed in 1789, also under Lord Dunmore, and named for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. The fort was interesting enough, with its underground passages, well and storage spaces, but it offered no sign at all of George Phenney.
Cannon at Fort Charlotte
My next stop was the Nassau Public Library and Museum. It took a bit of asking around to find it, but it turned out to be only a few blocks off the main tourist strip. The librarian was kind and tried to help, but the only mention of George Phenney was in a book I had already seen back home at the Memphis Library.
Nassau Public Library and Museum, est. 1873
The building itself was memorable, small but packed with books spilling into side corridors off a circular main room. “Absolutely No Photography” signs were posted everywhere, so I obeyed. I did not want to end up in the local jail. With time running short, I had one more place to try before heading back to the ship.
Pirates of Nassau Museum
Since anyone in Nassau during Phenney’s day would have lived in the shadow of piracy, I made my final stop the Pirates of Nassau Museum where “wax exhibits celebrate the history of pirates in the Bahamas.” It was exactly what you might expect, complete with a costumed pirate outside and plenty of entertaining scenes of piracy inside.
Inside the Pirates of Nassau Museum
But near the end of the exhibit, just before the gift shop, I finally found one little reference reference. On a display panel beside a figure representing Woodes Rogers were the words: “He was forced by ill health to return to London and was replaced as Governor by George Phenney who proved totally ineffective.”
Panel at the Pirates Museum describing the last years of Woods Rogers
As I discovered, Phenney’s wife has been credited with introducing basket weaving to the islands, though she was also accused of exploiting enslaved labor, intimidating competitors and trying to dominate local trade.
In the end, my Nassau research did not uncover many of the footprints of Phenney, but I sure had a fun day looking. Genealogy often works that way. Sometimes a name on a chart sends you down a side road, and even if the relationship is distant or uncertain, the search itself becomes worthwhile.
Dinner with friends on the 2010 Elvis Cruise
By the end of the afternoon, I had at least found one small trace of him in Nassau. That and a fun day of exploring the island was enough to satisfy my curiosity before I called it a day and headed back to the ship for the rest of the 2010 Elvis Cruise.
Leave a Reply