My Grandfather, Frank Clarke's mother was born Lizzie Tooker. Her father was John Harvey Tooker, of Lyme, CT, who fought in the Civil War in Company F, 26th Connecticut Regiment.
John Harvey Tooker's father was born John Harvey Tucker (1790-1874)...and therein lies an interesting tale...as told by Sarah Bogue Tooker...
John's oldest son was born Oliver Tucker, 1817 in Lyme, CT. Apparently, at some point prior to 1839 there was another boy living in Lyme by the name of Oliver Tucker, who was reputed to be a thief. Rather than endure further speculation from the town rumor mill that it was his own son doing all the stealing, John changed the entire family's name to Tooker...which has always been a variation of the Tucker name. The following generations all carried that spelling as a result.
Now, according to church records above, John Harvey Tooker was baptized with that last name in 1793 (where Vashty and John are mentioned as parents). According to the church records, John was baptized as a Tooker, of course many years before he had his own son Oliver.
...so I'm not sure how much weight old Sarah's story holds. It is entirely possible that the church simply kept the names Tucker and Tooker as interchangeable for many reasons back then.
The first Tucker to arrive on US soil was John Tucker, born 1632 in England. He arrived in Boston sometime before 1677 (when his son Noah was born in Barnstable, MA).
The furthest I could trace the Tucker line to was John Tucker born 1520 in England. This is the same problem all genealogists face. The next earliest indication of an English Tucker was a series of Tuckers that lived during the Norman Invasion and fought alongside William the Conqueror. But there is a gap between the 1100's and 1520. Tucker was a name given to a person who was deemed courageous in battle, as to "tuck" was to beat raw cloth in water in order to thicken it.
The Tookers, Clarks, Halls, and Bogues all intermarried in CT in the 1800s.
SOURCES:
Connecticut Town Church Abstracts (Lyme), Vol. 032
Hi my name is Megan Humphrey I was born Megan Roberts and changed my last name when I was 18 as I did not have a relationship with my father. I am in school to be a Marriage and Family Therapist and have been working on my geneology for about 3 years. It wasn't until recently that I learned anything about my paternal side and that lead me to your site. I love it and you have helped me a lot in my research. I was wondering if in all your research you found anything about a Diadet Tooker. I have some records of his family tree and I am trying to see how he is related to me (if at all). I would love your help if you know anything.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Megan Humphrey
Clinton, CT
Megan, can you send me an email?
Deletelobsterjesus@yahoo.com