His father wanted him prepared for demands for government and commerce in his homeland, before the Sierra Leone Protectorate was established by Great Britain.
His father's ambition for him was influenced by the evangelical Christianity in the region, introduced largely by British abolitionists.
Thomas Canry Caulker was born into a powerful hereditary chiefdom in the Sherbro region.
Descended from Anglo-Irish colonial official Thomas Corker and the Sherbro princess Seniora Doll, the mixed-race family had become one of the wealthiest in the region.
This authorized the British navy to intercept on the high seas any suspect slave trading vessels originating from or belonging to, inhabitants of Bompey, and the other Sherbro signatories.