John TUCKER (~1755-Oct 1801) +
Jane “Jenny” HARROD (~1760-18xx)

Mary (????)

Enoch (1784-1855) — m. Frances Dunaway on 9 Dec 1805

Hannah (1 Jan 1787-10 Oct 1872) — m. Julius C. Elmore about 1801

Henry G. (~1790-187x) — m. ????; m. Elizabeth Wells Thompson on 18 Apr 1857

Sarah E. “Sally” (2 Jun 1790-20 Jun 1862) — m. Joseph Stephen Dorris about 1807

Nancy (179x-183x) — m. Nicholas Norris, Sr.

Margaret “Peggy” (~1793-1810)

Phoebe (~1795-????)

William Riggs “Riggs” (~1795-~1860) — m. Susannah Hutson/Hudson in 182x

John () — died in infancy

Samuel Alexander (~1801-9 Jan 1891) — m. Cynthia Chapman in 182x; m. Lavina Israel on 7 Aug 1864

John was born in North Carolina. His father might have been named Samuel. His first wife was Keziah Breshears (~1756-18xx), whom he married on 31 Aug 1772 in Rowan County, North Carolina. They went west into the Smoky Mountains, where they joined the Watauga Association, a semi-autonomous 1772-1775 government at what’s now Elizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee. In 1776, John was one of the signers of a petition asking the North Carolina assembly to annex the Watauga area into North Carolina, which they did. He ran out on Keziah shortly after the birth of their second child, and headed further west.

Jenny was the daughter of James Harrod (~1738-~1781) from Stafford County, Virginia, one of the signers of the 1780 Cumberland Compact that layed the legal foundations for the state of Tennessee. Her mother was named Elizabeth. The family name is sometimes written Harod, Herod, or Herrod.

John was also one of the 13 May 1780 signers of the Cumberland Compact. He and Jenny were married that autumn by a justice named James Shaw at Fort Nashborough (now Nashville), although some accounts say they just lived “in a state of adultery”. Of course, depending on one’s understanding of the law, it could be that both are true. Also reportedly in 1780, John was one of the signers of a petition to the new Tennessee legislature to abolish slavery in the territory. That same busy year, John joined the Patriot militia of overmountain men formed to counter the Loyalist militia raised in the Carolinas by the British Major Ferguson. He took part in the 7 Oct 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain in what’s now South Carolina, a pivotal victory for the southern Patriots.

John and Jenny remained at Fort Nashborough until at least 1783. The settlers there clashed repeatedly with Cherokee and Muscogee tribes. About 1781, Jenny’s father was killed by Indians; her mother later remarried to one Daniel Hogan. In late winter or early spring of 1782, John and a man named Joseph Hendrix were attacked by a party of Indians while unarmed and outside the fort. They each suffered a broken arm, but made it back to the fort.

On 10 May 1784, John was granted 640 acres of land as a reward for his part in defending the settlement. This land was supposedly in Davidson County, which nowadays encompasses Nashville, but he and Jenny settled in Robertson County, which is north of Nashville. John died there in October 1801. His will, dated October 1798 and witnessed by Jenny’s stepfather Daniel Hogan, was executed in January 1802. It named Jenny and the first nine children shown above. John’s estate remained in litigation for many years, at least in part because of the family he abandoned in North Carolina. His first wife and one of their two children, their daughter Mary, were still living.

Jenny either remarried to a Joseph Engelman and moved west, or was committed by her eldest son Enoch to a lunatic asylum where she hanged herself, depending on which story you believe.

Children

Enoch Tucker (1784-1855)

Enoch claimed to have been born in Virginia. He married Frances Dunaway (14 Aug 1784-15 Oct 1870) from Halifax, Virginia in 1805. The 1820 and 1830 census records showed them in Rutherford County, Tennessee. They had at least six children, but I have names for just two:

boy (181x-????)

America (1830-14 Jul 1898) — never married

Elizabeth (1832)

In 1840 and 1850, they were in Gibson County, Tennessee. Enoch reportedly died in 1855, and is buried in Concord Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Concord, Gibson County. In 1860, Frances (76) was still there, with daughters America (30) and Elizabeth (28) and a probable grandson named James Tucker (11). Frances died in 1870, and is buried with Enoch.

Hannah Tucker (1787-1872)

Hannah married Julius C. Elmore, Sr. (1779-27 Apr 1869) from North Carolina about 1801. Julius took part in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans and the Creek Indian wars. He and Hannah remained in Tennessee until the late 1820s before moving to Illinois. An incomplete list of their children:

Patsy (1806-????)

Travis (1808-27 Nov 1894) — m. Elizabeth Scott on 16 Jan 1834

Rachel (9 May 1812-21 Feb 1898) — m. Thomas Combs on 23 Sep 1830

Darious E. (1816-1899) — m. Mary E. Young in 1839

Julius, Jr. (1822-14 Apr 1872)

Charles (~1827-????)

Samuel Peter (~1830-????) — m. Elizabeth Whitesel on 19 Jun 1851

The 1850 census for Cass County, Illinois listed Julius (70) and Hannah (64) with children Patsy (44), Julius (28), Charles (23) and Samuel P. (20), plus an unexplained girl named Sarah H. Elliott (6). The 1860 census showed Hannah (78) and Julius Sr. (81) in Lancaster, Cass County with Patsey (54), Julius (38), Catharine (35), and Charles (35), all born in Tennessee. Catherine was likely a daughter-in-law, not a daughter. Samuel P. Elmore (30) and family were next door, along with the Sarah H. Elliott (16) from the 1850 census. Julius Sr. died in 1869, and is buried in Crow Cemetery, Ashland, Cass County. In 1870, Hannah was still in Lancaster with Patsy, Charles, and Julius. Hannah and Julius Jr., who both died in 1872, are buried with Julius Sr.

Henry G. Tucker (~1790-187x)

Henry was living in Castor, Madison County, Missouri in 1830. He had children, but I lack names and ages. By 1840, he was in Lebanon Township, Lawrence County, Arkansas.

In 1857, Henry (69) married Elizabeth Wells Thompson (49), the widow of William Thompson, in Lawrence County. The marriage must not have lasted, because the 1860 census found Elizabeth living with a married daughter and Henry living with Louisa Tucker (32) and her children in Lebanon Township, Lawrence County, Arkansas. I’m guessing Louisa was a daughter-in-law? In 1870, Henry was living with a couple named Sanders in Strawberry Township, Lawrence County.

Sarah E. “Sally” Tucker (~1790-1862)

Sally, born in North Carolina, married Joseph Stephen Dorris, Sr. (10 Feb 1779-2 Nov 1866) about 1807. They lived in Robertson County, Tennessee. Known children:

Roland Baker (1 Jul 1811-18 Dec 1872) — m. Eveline Jones; m. Margaret Emma Grimm on 20 Apr 1848

William Plummer (2 Jan 1816-5 Nov 1873) — m. Amanda Baggett on 10 Dec 1839; m. Martha Webb on 12 Jun 1854; m. Ari Anna Porter in 1862

Robertson Tucker (24 Mar 1818-22 Aug 1894) — m. Rebecca Cane Beasley on 8 Aug 1839

Joseph Alexander (12 Feb 1821-Feb 1893) — m. Louisa Virginia Roe on 25 Mar 1843; m. Priscilla E. Powell

Sarah Drucilla “Sally” (16 Oct 1825-22 Apr 1920) — m. Moses Jones Roe on 5 Dec 1843

Jackson P. (15 Jan 1828-28 Nov 1911) — m. Narcisy Elizabeth Wilson on 7 Jan 1850

Bailey Marion (1 Feb 1837-11 Sep 1923) — m. Caroline Isabella Luton in 1863

In 1850, Sally (60) and Joseph (70) had a Caroline Dorris (35) and son Bailey (13) with them. Don’t know if Caroline was a daughter or a daughter-in-law or what. In 1860, it was just Bailey, by then 23. Sally died in 1862, and is buried in Bethlehem Cemetery, Greenbrier, Robertson County. Joseph died in 1866 and is buried with her.

Nancy Tucker (179x-183x)

Nancy has her own entry in the family tree.

William Riggs “Riggs” Tucker (~1795-~1860)

Riggs married Susannah Hudson or Hutson (1807-185x) from Kentucky before 1826. The 1830 census showed them in Castor, Madison County, Missouri, the same place as Riggs’s older brother Henry, although this census record claimed William R. Tucker was still in his twenties. By 1840 the family were in Liberty Township, St. Francois County, Missouri. Their children:

William Weaver (19 Aug 1824-1882) — m. Lucinda ?Barron? in 184x

Henry (1826-????) — m. Louisa ??? in 185x

John (1830-????)

James W. ()

Washington (1834-????)

Mary Ann “Polly” (1835-????)

Samuel (1837-????) — m. Nancy Isabella Johnson on 27 Dec 1860

Richard (1841-????)

Joseph N. (1843-????)

Hester Ann (1843-????) — m. David Conner on 24 May 1860

Nancy Jane (1846-????) — m. Thomas Laborat or LaBrot on 7 Jul 1872

Rebecca R. (1848-19xx) — m. John F. Baldwin on 7 Mar 1871

Drew Allen (6 Oct 1850-9 Jun 1921) — m. Winifred Ellen Henry in 1871

Riggs was still alive for the 1860 census. He reportedly died that year. Burial location is unknown, but his wife Susannah and their son William are buried in the Barron-Gordon Cemetery in Libertyville, St. Francois County, Missouri. So is a Samuel Tucker who was probably William’s son, and several other, later Tuckers.

Samuel Alexander Tucker (~1801-1891)

Samuel was raised in Tennessee by an aunt and uncle. He married Cynthia Chapman (?8 Dec 1805?-185x) in the early 1820s. They moved by the early 1830s to Greene County, Illinois, where they appeared in census records from 1840 on. Known children:

Susan (19 Feb 1825-1901) — d. in Kansas

Betsy (17 Nov 1826-????))

George Gary (2 Oct 1830-10 Feb 1883)

James Brown (15 Jan 1832-7 Jan 1905) — m. Sarah Angeline Overby on 6 Sep 1853; m. Elizabeth Neece on 28 May 1866; m. Martha Jane Burris ?Rose? on 8 Aug 1885

Priscilla (~1835-1865)

Charlotte A. “Lottie” (10 Jun 1836-17 Jul 1897) — m. George Markwick on 27 Dec 1860

Lavina J. “Vinie” (7 Oct 1837-31 Oct 1925)

William Jasper “Doc” (~1840-1928) — m. Emmaline Ann England

Cynthia Octavia “Tavie” (5 Oct 1843-23 Oct 1892) — m. Thomas Quinton on 1 Nov 1861

Cynthia died in the 1850s. On 7 Aug 1864, Samuel married Lavina Israel (~1840-????) from Ohio. Known children:

Samuel Andrew (21 Jan 1867-25 Apr 1933) — m. Nancy Moore

Charles (~1871-????)

The 1870 census, which mistakenly said Samuel was from Illinois, showed the family in Scott County, but by 1880 they were in Roodhouse, Greene County. Samuel died there in 1891.

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