My grandmother was Martha Tucker, daughter of Freeman Sydney Tucker. I have quite a bit of information on Freeman, but very little on his parents.

So here is what I known about Freeman. He was born 1 Feb 1847 in Jersey County, Illinois. He was the youngest of 5. His siblings were Martha, Larkin, Harmon, and Dickinson. He married Mary Lorain on 30 July 1869. Along about the mid 1870s, Freeman moved to Nebraska, first settling in Blair. It would appear that at the very least he was joined by his brother Larkin, and a contingent of the Lorain family.

In Nebraska, Freeman rose to a position of prominence and can be found in historical texts (or at least one.) The following is an excerpt that discusses his parents.

"…Freeman Sydney Tucker, who is now carefully directing municipal affairs. He was born in Jersey County, Illinois, February 1, 1857, a son of David M. and Hannah (Grammar) Tucker, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. The father was a river captain who made trips out of St. Louis for a number of years. During the high water of 1844 his property was all swept away and that was his last year of active connection with navigation interests. He had been captain of the Bonnycord* and also of a number of other boats. He had also been an overseer on a plantation in his early days. After leaving the river work he went to Jerseyville, Illinois, where he engaged in wagon making, and there he made his home until death called him when he was sixty-nine years of age."
*I have learned there was a boat called the Bon Accord, so I'm assuming that was probably it.

The only other thing I have for David is a birth year of 1811 (which is a bit iffy) and the middle initial “M” from the census. Interestingly, there is a marriage record for a David M. Tucker and Hannah Mize in Madison County, Illinois in 1836, but not sure how the name Mize could be mistaken for Grammar, or vice versa. The marriage year would be about right considering 1838 is the earliest estimated birth year I have for their oldest child, but it’s complicated by a historic text than makes reference to a David and Hannah Mize living in that county.

In looking at old records and historic texts for Jersey County (or what would become Jersey County) Illinois, I find a number of Tuckers, but none that I can conclusively tie to any of my Tuckers. I thought that Freeman was kind of an unusual first name, but in doing my research I am seeing that amongst Tuckers it’s fairly common. I know at least one of the Freemans (the one born in about 1864) is the son of Larkin Tucker, Freeman Sydney Tucker’s brother, but I see others in both Nebraska and Illinois. I'm wondering if somewhere back in time it started with common ancestor named Freeman.

I'm at a loss as to where to search next for more information on David and Hannah. Since the census records contain little info from 1840 on back, I'm having difficulty spotting him/them; I see them in 1850 and 1860, but nothing before or after.

I've also researched riverboats and captains and haven’t seen him in anything available online, and I can’t even tell if he went with the family to Nebraska, stayed in Illinois, moved somewhere else entirely, or died before they left.

Does anyone know of this branch of the family, or have any suggestions on how to proceed? I have Freeman's marriage and death records but they don't really tell me anything other than what is already known.