Thomas Walker, Capt.

1. Charles Walker of London, England was one of the early White settlers of the Bahamas. In the 1671 census of the Bahamas: Charles, his wife Ann, and their children Charles, John, Thomas (2), Alice and Elizabeth (perhaps the same Elizabeth Walker-Collier – see Elliott Family History) were the only Walker family recorded at that time. The resource was "The Early Settlers of the Bahamas and Colonists of North America," by A. Talbot Bethell, 3rd ed. rev., (Norfolk, England: Rounce & Wortley, 1937; reprint by Heritage Books, 1999) [hereinafter "Early Settlers of the Bahamas"], at p. 80.

2. Thomas Walker, born 1659 Nassau, Bahamas, was the 3rd son of Charles and Ann. Captain Thomas Walker apparently lived most or all of his life in the Bahamas. In 1684 two Spanish attacks in the Bahamas destroyed the little town of New Providence. Calendar of State Papers, Public Records Office, Great Britain, vol.11:No.1927. Most of those who survived these attacks relocated to Jamaica but others joined small settlements scattered on Harbour Island and in the Abacos, prime areas for access to ships passing the islands. Thomas Walker reportedly had to relocate to Abaco in the aftermath of Spanish attacks on New Providence.

In 1698 Read Elding, a mulatto, was commissioned lieutenant governor by the governor. Thomas Walker, Judge of the Vice Admiralty, often disputed with Elding and claimed that Elding "had refused to accept his commission and that he and the other proprietary representatives had been 'molested, disturbed, and in danger of our lives of Read Elding, the assumed Deputy Governor of the Bahamas.'" "Homeward Bound" p. 51 (citing to Thomas Walker, January 30, 1700, Calendar of State Papers, Public Records Office, Great Britain, and Nassau Public Archives, Nassau, The Bahamas). So by 1704 Thomas Walker was seeking a salary for his position as judge of the Admiralty, a position he apparently has held for several years, and was concerned with providing for his family. His daughter Sarah (3) was generally listed as being born about 1700 and reportedly was dark skinned. Some have stated that Thomas Walker’s wife was Sarah was also a free Black. His other children by Sarah were Thomas Jr., Charles and Neal. Being a Mulatto apparently was not a social handicap in the Bahamas as demonstrated by Read Elding, a Mulatto, who was appointed lieutenant governor in 1698. Elding "might be" related to Sarah Walker but it hasn't been proven. 3. Sarah Walker, born say 1700/3 New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas was the dark skinned Mulatto daughter of Thomas and Sarah. On March 27, 1723/24 Sarah Walker married a White man named William Fairfax of Toulson, Yorkshire, England b. 1691 at Providence, the Bahamas. William was the son of Henry and Anna Harrison Fairfax. Fairfax County Virginia was named after William.