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 Western Colony of Virginia (present day Kentucky) in 1750, 19 years before the arrival of Daniel Boone. Early and family life and education Thomas Walker was born at "Rye Field", Walkerton, King and Queen County, Virginia. He was raised as an Englishman in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Walker's first profession was that of a physician; he had attended the College of William and Mary and studied under his brother-in-law Dr. George Gilmer. Walker married Mildred Thornton (widow of Nicholas Meriwether) in 1741, and acquired land and enslaved people in the soon-to be formed Albemarle County from her late husband's estate. The new couple built a home known as Castle Hill and had 12 children. They in turn would later become prominent Albemarle County citizens in their own right. Two of Walker's sons, John and Francis Walker, became Congressmen in the new United States. After the death of his first wife, in 1781 Walker married Elizabeth Thornton. Planter and burgess In April 1744, Walker was elected as vestryman at his church, a position he held for more than forty years, until 1785. He also served Virginia as a delegate to the House of Burgesses many times, first from Louisa County, then newly formed Hampshire County in the Appalachian region, and finally from Albemarle County. Walker also became a trustee of the newly formed town of Charlottesville. Around 1742, Walker imported six or eight couple of English Foxhounds, thus beginning a foxhunting tradition of the local Albemarle gentry, particularly in Keswick." Pioneer and explorer On July 12, 1749, the Loyal Land Company was founded with Walker as a leading member, along with fellow surveyors Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, as well as many investors. After receiving a royal grant of in what is now southeastern Kentucky (which was occupied by Native Americans), the company appointed Walker to lead an expedition to explore and survey the region in 1750, so he set out, probably along the Wilderness Road. Walker also bought a plantation from Joshua Frye along the Hardware River in Albemarle County, in part to pay sums due him for his surveying services. Fellow stockholders elected Walker head of the Loyal Land Company in 1752.