Ernest Jerome Sawyer was born on February 24, 1901, in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco to Samuel L Sawyer (1863?-1944) and Minerva Beatrice Lowe (1870-1913).

His siblings included…

• Mary Edith
• Stanley
• Thomas Wilson
• Edward Robert
• Olive Minerva
• Hilda
• Samuel Horace
• Myrtis
• Maisie
• Irwin

In October 1928, Ernest married Mizpah Malvena Russell (1912-1995) daughter of Richard Horton Russell (1889-1969) and Verona Angela Lowe (1893-1984) at Ebeneezer Methodist Church in Nassau, New Providence.

Their children included…

• Roswell Irwin (1928-2005)
• Sylvan Ernest ‘Sid’ (1930-2016)
• Elsie Marilyn (1932-1981)
• Sheila Rose
• George Christopher
• Richard Carroll (1938-2014)
• Windsor (1940-2016)
• Sylvia Annette
• Jeremiah Franklin ‘Jerry’
• Gloria Eloise
• Joy Daphne

Daughter Gloria recalls…

Dad Ernest was a seaman by occupation, but he turned his hand to a variety skills. He was one of twelve siblings. His mother Minerva died when Dad was twelve years old. Dad had to leave school early to help farm his father’s plot to provide for the family.

He left home as a young man and worked on various boats in Key West. Dad worked on the project which dredged Miami Beach and removed the mangroves. Afterwards, he was a mate on an American yacht. During this time, he met and married Mom Mizpah Russell.

He later captained a glass-bottomed tourist boat in Nassau that transported visitors to observe the sea gardens with its spectacular underwater views. After a hurricane destroyed that boat, he worked many varied jobs including carpentry on the Government House in Nassau.

Due to a lack of steady work in Nassau, Dad, Mom and their young family returned to Green Turtle Cay. He resumed his life at sea, working with his brother, Eddie Sawyer, who helped pioneer the crawfishing industry in Abaco.

Dad acquired two ships with his two oldest sons and began his own crawfish export business. After many years, both ships were lost at sea – one in a storm near Grand Bahama, and one sank in the Gulfstream during a voyage to Florida.

Dad and Mom had a large family of eleven children. Dad also provided a home for his younger sister and helped other family whenever a need arose. A kind a gentle man, Dad was also strong and resourceful with a deep knowledge of the sea. He was respected by his community and much loved by his large family.

Ernest Jerome Sawyer passed away on February 24, 1971 (age 70) and is buried in the Green Turtle Cay cemetery.