Dr. Thomas Walker, II

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA. DAR Ancestor # A119663

Dr. Thomas Walker

(1714 - 1794)

Thomas Walker was born in King and Queen County, the son of Dr. Thomas Walker, Sr. and Susanna Peachy Walker. He studied medicine at William and Mary and was one of the most prominent physicians in Albemarle County. In 1741, he married Mildred Thornton Meriwether, the widow of Nicholas Meriwether, II, and through her, obtained the property known as “Castle Hill,” an estate of 15,000 acres. In the 1742 Personal Property Tax List of Albemarle County, Thomas Walker is listed as having 86 slaves, 93 cattle, 22 cattle, and two carriages. (Cappon) In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Walker explored portions of Southwest Virginia and into Kentucky, naming the Cumberland Mountains and River. He served as commissary of Virginia troops under General Braddock during the French and Indian War and later was asked to negotiate with Native Americans of New York and Pennsylvania. He was elected to the House of Burgesses for Hanover, Louisa, and Albemarle County (Albemarle and Louisa Counties were formed from parts of Hanover County) and surveyed the Virginia-North Carolina border. Dr. Walker was a trustee for Albemarle County in 1763, charged with the task of selling lots in the new county seat, Charlottesville. He was appointed guardian to the young Thomas Jefferson after the death of his father, Peter Jefferson. (Anderson, p. 222-223; The Magazine of Albemarle County History, Vol. 52, p. 40)

Edinburg Univ.

Doctor to President Jefferson's father

Guardian & Doctor to Thomas Jefferson

Delicate to Revolutionary Convention

First to locate Cumberland Gap

Home on Castle Hill

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Walker_(explorer) Thomas Walker (January 25, 1715 – November 9, 1794) was a physician, planter and explorer in colonial Virginia who served multiple terms in the Virginia General Assembly, and whose descendants also had political careers. Walker explored the Western Colony of Virginia (present day Kentucky) in 1750, 19 years before the arrival of Daniel Boone.
2. http://www.virginiaplaces.org/settleland/thomaswalker.html Thomas Walker was one of the early Virginia explorers who pushed westward across the Appalachian Mountains, expanding European settlements by documenting the existence of Cumberland Gap, building the first colonial house in Kentucky, and surveying both parcels for sale and boundaries between colonies.1 cites:
   1. "Dr. Thomas Walker History," Kentucky State Parks, http://www.parks.ky.gov/parks/historicsites/thomas-walker/history.aspx (last checked July 13, 2014)
   2. Archibald Henderson, "Dr. Thomas Walker and the Loyal Company of Virginia," American Antiquarian Society, 1931, pp.82-84, http://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44806881.pdf (last checked July 13, 2014)
   3. posted online in "The Land of Our Ancestors," TNGenWeb, http://www.tngenweb.org/tnland/squabble/walker.html (last checked July 13, 2014)
   4. "Castle Hill 002-1112," Virginia Department of Historic Resources, nomination to National Register of Historic Places, http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Albemarle/002-0012%2... (last checked July 13, 2014)