I’m looking for information on a Tucker family that I have yet to see discussed on this board (or anywhere for that matter.)

My great great grandfather was David M. Tucker born in Virginia about 1811. He was married to the former Hannah A. Grammar born in Ohio about the same time. The last name Grammar comes from my great grandfather’s (Freeman Sydney Tucker) death certificate as well his short bio written in 1917. Birth years are iffy because they come from census records.

They had 5 kids: Larkin M, Martha A, Harmon, Dickinson, and Freeman. Census records list them all as being born in Illinois, with the oldest (Larkin) being born in 1838

I see them all in Jersey County in the 1850 and all but Dickinson in the 1860 federal census. David’s occupation is listed as blacksmith, but the bio of Freeman Tucker says that his father built wagons. It also said that he was a former river captain who gave up the river when the high water of 1844 washed away his land. The bio also said that David moved to Jerseyville after he lost his land (in the high water) and lived there until his death at the age of 69.

In 1850 they are shown living in Township 7 Range 13, Jersey County. In 1860 they are in Richwood, Jersey County.

I see Hannah with the family in the 1865 Illinois State Census, but no David. I don’t believe he would have died by then. I found a civil war record for a David Tucker but don’t know if it was MY David Tucker; there just isn’t enough information to say “Yeah, that’s him.”

In 1870, I see both Freeman and Larkin, still living in Jersey County (back in Township 7 Range 13) with wives. Both give their occupation as farmer. Harmon and Dickinson are nowhere to be found and neither are either of the parents, but I haven’t found any death records.

By 1880, Freeman and Larkin and their respective families moved to Nebraska, along with the family of Freeman’s in-laws.

I see no land or tax records, at least online, for MY David Tucker, although I do see the same name belonging to a doctor in Jersey County. In fact, I don’t see any tax records for any of them, which makes me wonder if they were tenant farmers or something like that.

The Illinois Genweb site confirmed marriage info for Freeman and Larkin, and suggested a possibility for the marriage of Martha. The marriage of Freeman by a JP makes me wonder if the family didn’t have any particular religious beliefs.


There are a couple of other tidbits of info that may or may not lead to clues. One is that Freeman was quite industrious in his own right as a young man. In his bio it stated that he brought the first steam powered thresher to Jersey County. Would that be documented anywhere that might offer any further info?

Freeman also thought very highly of education according to his work later in life as an elected official in Nebraska. Coincidentally, the 1850 census shows a school teacher by the name of Dumas living with the family in Jersey County. It makes me wonder if the interest in education was a family trait, and if so could there be any related records of that nature?

Does anyone have any knowledge of this Tucker family, perhaps on the periphery of someone’s tree? I have seen that they tend to re-use some of the names in the family: Larkin named one of his sons Freeman, and Freeman named one of his daughter’s Martha. So when I see some of those names in records of the previous or later generations, I wonder if they might be some relation or if the names are just a coincidence.

Other than that does anyone have any suggestions on how and where to proceed? It’s my understanding there is a severe lack of death records from that time period, so I would guess that birth records are probably hopeless, and I have seen no sign of any sort of religious records as of yet. I’m afraid that short of visiting every cemetery in Jersey County, I’m not going to find anything more about David and Hannah; and even if I could do that, I have to wonder if they weren’t buried on a farm somewhere.

I feel like I know so much about them, but still know so little. Plus another little monkey wrench in what I THINK I know. I found a marriage record from Madison County Illinois for a David M. Tucker and Hannah Mize in 1836. That year would be about right considering the age of their oldest child, and the right location for someone who worked the river and lost land in a flood. But I can’t figure how they would have gotten the name Grammar out of Mize.

Again any input, suggestions, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.