Thomas Walker (abt. 1688 - abt. 1727)

Born about 1688 in Westmoreland, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about Feb 1727 at about age 39 in Montross, Westmoreland, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jim Ward [send private message], Edison Williams [send private message], and Gary Nicholson [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Walker was a Virginia colonist.

FreeSpace Discussion Page

Following some recent profile changes in this family line, a FreeSpace page has been created for research and collaboration. This section will be removed once we can come to a consensus, and all interested are invited to participate: Walker/Hardwick Family Research and Discussion.

Birth

Map depicting the Chesapeake Bay colonies in 1685, not long before Thomas Walker's birth. For the approximate location of the Walker family plantation near Montross, Virginia, see this Google Map.

Thomas Walker, in some instances identified as Thomas Walker III and in the FamilySearch tree even as Thomas Walker VI,^[1] was the son of Thomas Walker and Mary Jeffries. Indications are that he was the eldest son of the couple, but his date of birth is uncertain. Unfortunately, the FamilySearch data use a christening record from 3 May 1685 at Saint John the Baptist Church, Croydon, Surrey, England, as citation for the birth;^[1] of course, however, this is in error and conflates an unrelated record to this Thomas Walker, about whom there is no indication of his ever leaving North America. Benjamin C. Holtzclaw, writing for The Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume VI, Number 1, January 1968, estimates the birth as more likely to be about 1688 or even as late as 1690.^[2]

Marriage

Though no primary records have yet been found for the date, it is believed that Thomas Walker married Lydia Hardwick circa 1710-1712.^[2] She was the daughter of James Hardwick and Anne Armsby, daughter of John Armsby.^[2]

Another derivative, secondary source exists, Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, U.S., 1649-1800, page 364, but the information on the date is less than helpful:

"Walker, Thomas & Hardwick, Lydia; well bef. 11 Dec 1726; bride was a dau. of Jas. Hardwick (c. 1647 - d. WC 1698); she mar. (2) Wm. Plunkett; Lydia (Harwick, Walker) Plunkett d. 7 Jan 1766; (WC DW 14:417; Hardwick 1:104; Hardwick 2:12)"^[3]

Transcription of Will

(With special thanks to Teresa Davis for posting the transcription.)

IN THE NAME OF GOD Amen, I THOMAS WALKER of the County of Westmoreland in Virginia being weak in body butt of perfect sence and memory, praised be to Almity God, doe make my Last Will and Testament in manner and forme hereafter following: First, I bequeath my Soul to Almity God my heavenly Father hopeing by the menus of my blessed Saviour to receive it again at my resurrection and my body I bequeath to the Earth from whence it came, to be decently buried by my, Executors heareafter named, and as to what worldly Estate it hath pleased Almity God to bestow upon me. I bequeath it as followeth:

Item. I give and bequeath unto my Son, JAMES, the track of land and planttation as I nowe live on to him and his heires for ever, and Thirty akers of land by GEORGE WALKERs to him and his heires for ever.

Item. I give & bequeath to my Son THOMAS, three hundred and Sixty two akers of land that lies by POTOMACK RUN in STAFFORD County, to him and his heires for ever.

Item. I give to my Sons, SAMUELL, WILLIAM and HARDDIGE and to my Dafter, HANNAH. twelve hundred and seven akers of land in STAFFORD County lying upon the LICK RUN and SALISBURY PLAIN RUN, to them and their heirs for ever to be equaly devided.

Item. I give to my Wife. LIDYA my pacein Horse, Sharper, and side sadle and Negro Winne dureing my Wife's life. and after my Wife is deceased, I give Negro Winne and Horse to my Sun, JAMES:

Item. I give to my Son, JAMES, my Oval Table and all the rest of my moveable Estate that is not all ready given I desire to be equaly devided between my Wife and Six Children. My Will is that all my Children shall be free for themselves and enjoy their Estate att the age of seaventeen years ould agd.

Item. I constitute appoint & make my loving Wife, LIDYA WALKER, and my Son, JAMES and my Brother, GEORGE WALKER, my whole and soul Executors of this my Last Will and Testtament. As Witness my hand and seal December the 11th day in the year of our Lord 1726

Tested, Sined. Sealed in the presence of us
WILLIAM his mark LANE. THOS: WALKER
PETER his mark DUNKIN

Westmoreland ss. At a Court held for the said County the 23d. day of February 1726 The Last Will and Testament of THOMAS WALKER, deced., was presented into Court by LIDYA his Relict, and GEORGE WALKER. two of the Executors therein named, who made Oath thereto and being proved by the Oaths of WILLIAM LANE & PETER DUNKIN, the witnesses thereto, is admitted to Record

Test G. TURBERVILE, Cl Co. W.
Recorded the Fifteenth dy of March 1726 pr G. T. C. C. W.
On margin: Collo. & Capt. LEE's Deed to Capt.^[4]

Death

Thomas Walker's will was dated 11 December 1726, and shown as proved on 23 February 1726/27.^[5] Therefore, the exact date of death is not know. Per WikiTree's standards for date entries and reconciliation of Julian vs. Gregorian calendar dates, the date of death has been shown as February 1727. We can be confident that Thomas did not die December 1726, and given the prove date for his will, February is more likely than January to have been the month of his death.

Thomas's will mentions sons James, Thomas, Samuel, William, and Hardidge; one daughter, Hannah; spouse Lydia; and Thomas's brother George. The co-executors of the will were George, James, and Lydia.^[5]

Slaves

Item. I give to my Wife. LIDYA my pacein Horse, Sharper, and side sadle and Negro Winne dureing my Wife's life. and after my Wife is deceased, I give Negro Winne and Horse to my Sun, JAMES...

As a member of the US Black Heritage Project, I have added a list of the slaves owned by Thomas Walker on this profile with categories using the standards of the US Black Heritage Exchange Program. This helps us connect enslaved ancestors to their descendants. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.
—Susan Pearson, 23 June 2022

Research Notes

The image currently showing as the primary for this profile seems to be in error. Note that the section of the book in which this appears (Virginia County Records, William Armstrong Crozier, ed., Vol. VII, 1910, The Genealogical Association, New Jersey), page 147 of the PDF) is titled "Richmond County Wills (Continued from Vol. VI, page 230)." It does not involve marriage permissions as stated in the image title. The date, 1702/1703, and location, Richmond County, do not correspond with this Thomas Walker (Walker-15949; died 1727 in Westmoreland County; see record of will and proved date), his father (Walker-6108; will 1716 in Westmoreland County), or his grandfather (Walker-753, d. abt. 1657). The given name of the wife, Anna, also corresponds to none of the Thomas Walkers in this immediate line.

The mention of a Shedderick Williams in the will summary and to "Rachel Walker, my daughter," seems to point to a Shadrack "Edward" Williams (c. 1673-1719, birth and death in Richmond, Virginia) who married a Rachel Elizabeth Walker abt. 1692 (Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649–1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003): "...bride was a dau. of Thomas Walker (d. RC 1703); (RC WI 1699-1709:f63v; Jenkins:101)."

Rachel Walker's father seems as if he might have been a Dr. Thomas William Walker, born c. 1643 in Richmond, Virginia; died 1703. No primary sources were easily found to confirm that, however.

Since we can't rule out that the summary of the will provided in the image is germane to this Walker line, it is being left as-is. It seems clear, though, that it is not directly applicable to Walker-15949.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "User Submitted Genealogies." Database. FamilySearch. Entry for Thomas Walker VI, 1685-1727, LJRT-GJ9; accessed 4 December 2020. Note: on 9 July 2021 this FamilySearch record and records of the immediate family were essentially vandalized with 24 deletions/changes by suspicious user "UnknownA123456789"; this was reported to FamilySearch and a comment left on profile LJRT-GJ9 cautioning visitors about the corrupted information.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} The Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume VI, Number 1, January 1968. B.C. Holtzclaw, "Appendix on Walker and Jeffries." The Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA; The Generations Network, Inc., 2002. Original data, The Virginia Genealogical Society. Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly and Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. PDF version of the complete Appendix.
3. ↑ Marriage of Thomas Walker and Lydia Hardwick, Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, U.S., 1649-1800, page 364 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Ancestry Record 5063 #6829; click here for a free to view image of the page from Ancestry. Original data: Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649–1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003.
4. ↑ WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA DEEDS & WILLS. No. 8. Part 1; 1723-1738 {Antient Press}: pp 78. See also: Permalink at the Internet Wayback Machine to the original online transcription by Edward White; Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties, website maintained by Mike Marshall; https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/index.php; accessed 4 Dec 2020.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Ancestry Record 4900 #3045. Original data: Lineages, Inc., comp. Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800. Records transcribed from LDS Family History Library microfilm copies of wills. Name: Thomas Walker; Description: Decedent; Date: 11 Dec 1726; Prove date: 23 Feb 1726; Notes: "Walker, Thomas, 11 Dec. 1726; 23 Feb. 1726. Sons James and Thomas land; sons Samuel, William and Hardidge; dau. Hannah land on Salisbury Plane in Stafford County; exrs. bro. George Walker; son James and wife Lydia."

See also:

• Land Grant, Thomas Walker, 15 Dec 1716; Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1694-1742. Vol. I, p. 63. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Ancestry Collection 49389; free Ancestry image of page. Original data: Gary, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1694-1742. Vol. I. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Text of entry: "5-130: Mr. Thomas Walker of Westmoreland Co. 362 A. in Stafford Co. on Reedy Br. of Patowmack Cr. adj. Charles Hinson, Mr. Bryan Young. Surv. Mr. Thomas Hooper. 15 Dec. 1716."
• Source: Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly Volume 6 Number 1 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6131/images/VGS_1968_01_01_0020?ssrc=pt&treeid=164037268&personid=282262443664&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=507544596

• Source: Thomas Walker in the Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800 https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=4900&h=3045&ssrc=pt&tid=164037268&pid=282262443664&usePUB=true

• Source: Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly. Vol. II. Cobb-Hay - John ARMSBY https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/164037268/person/282262443664/media/518b1e86-d79e-4b82-8fb2-64b1fbfadfce?_phsrc=Gvw636&usePUBJs=true

• Source: Notable Southern Families, Volume II https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/164037268/person/282262443664/media/420d9aa2-35d1-437e-80d2-0c9c022dee0f?_phsrc=Gvw636&usePUBJs=true