Biography
He was born on 30th March 1944 to the proud parentage of Samuel and Lilymae Farquharson on the island of New Providence. His formative years however were spent on Crooked Island where he attended the “All Age Colonel Hill School”. This foundation qualified him to obtain a scholarship to attend the Government High School where he excelled academically. He graduated in 1960 having obtained his Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) O levels. This would be the preparation for much of his academic matriculation later on in life. In 1967 he was joined in holy matrimony with Beverley A. Farquharson nee Sweeting and the union is blessed with two children and four granddaughters.
Rev. Farquharson recognized the need for spiritual grounding and accepted the Lord as his personal Savior early in life. This calling led to him being licensed to preach the gospel by the Rev. Enoch Backford Sr., Superintendent of the Bahamas Baptist Union and Pastor of Salem Union Baptist Church on 16th September 1964, thus allowing him to be quite active in his home church of Salem as well as the New Providence District of Churches and the Union group of churches. Some of these activities included: President of the Youth Society; President of the Baptist Training Union (B.T.U.); President of the Men’s Fellowship, Sunday School Teacher and Associate Minister.
Recognizing the need to be formally trained in all his endeavors, he studied theology at the Bahamas Baptist Institute and was ordained to the Sacred Gospel Ministry on February 11, 1990 by the Rev. Dr. C .W. Saunders, Pastor of the Salem Union Baptist Church and Superintendent of the Bahamas Baptist Union. Additionally, Rev. Farquharson served for several years as Minister in charge of the Mt. Zion Union Baptist Church, Gambier, and as an officer of the Parent Body of the New Providence District of the Bahamas Baptist Union. He was elected President in 2009 and served in this capacity for twelve (12) years, ending in 2021 when he demitted office. He presently serves as Auditor of the Bahamas Baptist Union.
As President of the New Providence District his accomplishments are numerous, some of which include; appointing a nomination committee to identify persons interested in holding office in the New Providence District; establishing three-year terms for persons elected to office in the executive body of the District; having the various Departments District day services moved to evening worship; bringing in “subject oriented” speakers to cover designated topics during the morning sessions at annual conventions. He also incorporated his technological knowledge to the presidency as well, via supplementing the mode of communication from paper and hard copies only to embrace electronic via email, WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms. He also has revolutionized the way the membership and indeed the broader community learn about the New Providence District and by extension The Bahamas Baptist Union by spearheading the launch of a website, bahamasbaptistunion.org that can be visited by all.
His formal work years were spent at the Telecom Department later known as Bahamas Telecommunication Corporation which he joined in 1961 as a Trainee Technician. His aptitude and ability allowed him to progress through the ranks rising to the office of Deputy General Manager with responsibility for customer service and marketing. He retired in 1995 having given thirty-four (34) dedicated and committed years of service. Some of the academic achievements that prepared him for the opportunities he embraced included; schooling at the Mid Essex Technical College, Chelmsford Essex in England where he was awarded the Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Electrical Engineering; the Florida International University earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering; the University of Miami earning the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Harvard Graduate School of Business in Boston, Massachusetts. He has also participated in numerous conferences, seminars and workshops in the telecommunications sector around the world.
Rev. Farquharson continues to serve his God and Country and in doing so, recognizes the admonishment that, “God has no hands but our hands, no feet but ours” so we are admonished to go out into the world and make disciples of them all.