The antecedents of Thomas Austin are not known. Surviving registers of Barbados parish churches and censuses show that there were several, probably unrelated, families of Austins on the island before Thomas was born. Many early registers of Barbados parish churches have been lost or destroyed, and it is also likely that in those times not all births, marriages and deaths were recorded in church registers. Thus the antecedents of Thomas Austin will probably never be established with certainty. It is possible that Thomas’ father or grandfather arrived on the island a bachelor, as a settler, servant or ‘transported’ political rebel. Alternatively, his parents or grandparents may have arrived as a married couple. However, there is no evidence on any of these possibilities.

Thomas left descendants in direct line now living in the West Indies, the United Kingdom, Eire, Canada, the U.S.A., Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.