EGMONT KEY — U.S. leaders never meant for there to be a Seminole tribe in Florida today. In the 1850s, the Seminoles were ordered relocated or, if that failed, exterminated. Still, a few escaped their captors and rebuilt the tribe in the state. Polly Parker was among them. She survived a treacherous journey on a slave boat, then escaped into Florida’s untamed wilderness at St. Mark’s in the Panhandle to make her way home. The tribe believes hundreds of Seminoles, including many of its leaders, can be traced to Parker’s lineage. On Sunday, a few of Parker’s descendants gathered for a 22-hour boat trip from John’s Pass in Pinellas County to St....
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