Jeffrey:

I borrowed a copy of the Town of Southold last weekend and have had a chance to again review the available record against the latest information (from you, Franklin and others) on the origins of the Tuckers/Tookers of Southold. Here's how I currently interpret the few available records.

1. It is doubtfull that John Tucker was among the initial group founding Southold in 1640 -- but he is documented as being a landowner before 6 April 1650/51. The several 'lists" of the earliest Southold residents are, at best, guesstimates compiled long after the fact. I don't think any of the lists can be used as "proofs". There are no surviving records from Southold before 6 Apr 1650/51 and John Tucker is mentioned as a landowner in the first surviving record. Problem is we don't know whether the reference is to the senior or junior John Tucker -- I suggest the 1650/51 reference was to the senior Tucker. In fact, the ONY reason we know there were two John Tuckers in early Southold is that Town records show that one of them died in 1658 and left a widow named Ann who later married Benjamin Horton. However, knowing that the elder John Tucker Sr. died in 1658 explains why Southold town records present an inventory of Capt. John Tucker's property (83.5 aces and 7 unspecified lots) on 6 Jan 1758/59. Such an inventory was necessary when property was inherited (no sale documentation) as it was the only way that property title could later be "perfected" -- by establishing the history of ownership.

2. Speaking of Ann Tucker, we know from Torrey's "New England Marriages Before 1700" that Ann Tucker's maiden name was Anna Budd and that she was the daughter of John Budd Sr. (Lt. John Budd) and Katheryn Browne, early Southold settlers. John Budd (c1600-1669) and Katheryn Browne (1606-1672) were probably married in England about 1624/25 and Anna was certainly born between that date and 1630 when a brother, John Budd Jr. was born. Thus Anna Budd Tucker was a generation younger than her first husband and was a contemporary of her step-son, Capt. John Tucker/Tooker. Also worthy or note is that Anna's 1686 will established that she had no surviving children by either John Tucker or Benjamin Horton.

3. Southold land records seem to indicate that the Charles Tucker shown as an owner of a residence before 1652 was NOT the Charles Tooker who went to Elizabeth Towne in 1665. An January 1658/59 land record calls him "..Charles Tucker, Gent., deceased, ..." when his Town Street residence lot was sold to John Swazey. I think that the elder John Tucker and this homeowner Charles Tucker were related, probably brothers. So, in your search for John Tucker's origins, you might keep an eye out for brothers named John and Charles, both probably born before 1600.

4. Capt. John Tucker (he and others did not use the Tooker spelling until after 1660 -- possibly a politically inspired change related to the 1660 restoration of Charles II) purchased his residential property on Town Street from Nehemiah Smyth in 1653. A 1655 petition to the Connecticut Assembly that appears to have been hand written by either John senior or junior, clearly spelled the last name Tucker.) The house purchase probably coincided with his marriage to Sarah _____. (Her maiden name may have been Johnson as William Johnson's will shows that he had a married daughter named Sarah when he died in 1666 -- and William Johnson originally came from Hingham, Norfolk although Johnson was not among the original settlers of Southold. In any case, her maiden name is not a critical point at this juncture.)

5. Capt. John Tucker, soon to be Tooker, moved from Southold to Ocquabank in 1660/61. In 1664/65 he moved west to settle in Brookhaven,Setauket. In 1684 he sold his Southold residence to William Hallock. Who actually lived there between 1661 and 1684 is unclear. Capt. John Tooker kept his Ocquabank property and left it to his last wife, Hannah, with provision that it be passed on to his oldest son Charles. Hannah actually transferred the property to Charles in 1695, soon after she married Col. John Youngs.

6. Southold's Charles Tooker was made a freeman (voter) in October, 1662 which implied several things about Charles -- he was a property owner or at least a stable, committed member of the community; he was a member of the Congregational Church; and that he was at least 26 years of age. John Tucker was a "deacon" of the Southold church before 1663 implying that he, too was probably a freeman of the town. However, there is no indication in the post 1651 record of his being named freeman, so it must have occurred before 1651.

7. I do not think Capt. John Tucker/Tooker or his brother/cousin Charles Tooker were as old as is sometime suggested. If John were made a feeman before 1651, he must have been born before 1625. However, John married and bought his first house in 1653 which suggests to me that it is likely that he was not born much before 1625. Similarly, we know that Charles was born before 1636, but I suspect he was born closer to 1630. He did not marry Mary Mitchell until AFTER he moved to Elizabeth Towne in 1665. Why do I think that? Because there were no Mitchell families recorded in Southold before 1665 or anywhere else on eastern Long Island, but there were two Mitchell families in Elizabeth Town. One of those Elizabeth Towne Mitchells was the mother of Benjamin Littell who married a granddaughter of Charles Tooker. Of course, Charles also could have had an earlier wife and just not have had surviving children. (DCT Note: Charles not marrying until he reached Elizabeth Towns fits with what we know of his children. His oldest known son, Charles Jr., did not marry until 1694 although property records establish that he was born 1670 or earlier.)

8. Between 1675 and 1678, the name of Samuel Tooker appears on several Brookhaven documents, at least two of which are signed by both Samuel and Capt. John Tooker. Who was this Samuel Tucker? The documents establish that Samuel Tooker had a occupation (tailor) and was born before 1654. Was he perhaps the son of Capt. John Tooker? If so, he would have been John's oldest son and must have died before 1686 when John Tooker's will established that Charles was the oldest son. Or is it possible that Samuel of Brookhaven was another son of the senior John Tucker who died in Southold in 1658? (If he was a son of Anna Budd Tucker, he had died before 1686 when her will established that she had no surviving children. However, he might have been the son of an earlier wife, in which case Samuel would have had to have been born before 1650. (DCT Note: A Samuel Tooker paid taxes on property along the Elizabeth Towne/Newark border in 1696. I have always thought that this Samuel must have been a son of Charles Tooker and Mary Mitchell of Elizabeth Towne (no other Tooker being present old enough to have a son who was a property owner in 1696) but he might have been the Samuel Tooker who showed up in Brookhaven records in the 1670's. Another Tooker puzzle that needs more research!)

Keep in mind that none of this is etched in granite -- just my musings on the open Tucker/Tooker issues at Southold. Maybe it will help when you are ready to hook up these Tookers with one of your Wilshire lines.

Doug Tucker dougtucker@erols.com

Subject: The Elder Charles Tucker of Southold
Date: (No, or invalid, date.)
From: "Doug Tucker"
To: "Jeffrey Tooker"
cc: "Franklin B. Tucker"

Jeffrey:

As you know, I believe the were two Charles Tuckers living in early Southold. The younger Charles is the Charles Tooker who went to Elizabeth Towne in 1665. The elder Charles Tucker appears to have died in 1657/58 or perhaps a year earlier. My judgement is based on two entries in the Southold town tecords. One is a plat diagram of the town, showing that Charles Tucker owned a residence on Town Street prior to 1652 -- he appears to have been the original owner of that particular lot which was situated between the residence lot of John Budd Sr. and the residence lot of Barnabas Horton (Budd and Horton reportedly being the two wealthiest residents in Southold.)

The second entry is as follows:

"Charles Tucker, late of Southold, Gent., deceased, by his deed in writing bearing date of the first day of ffebruarie 1657, for valuable consideracion, conveyed to the said John Swasey all his right and interest in the above written whom lott and all the accommodacions thereunto of right belonging with tt' apptenncss, as in and by the same deede at ..".

I do not think the younger Charles would have been accorded the title "Gentleman" as he was not elected a freeman until Oct.1662. He was too young -- Gent. usually connoted age, community esteem. It is worthwhile to note that the Gent title was also used for the elder John Tucker when his death was announced in 1658. His son, Capt. John never was accorded the Gent. title while he lived at Southold.

In sum, I suggest that the elder Charles and the elder John were closely related (brothers or cousins) and were of the same generation, probably born before 1600. The younger Capt. John Tooker and Charles Tooker of Elizabeth Towne were of the next generation and also were closely related -- in their case I think they were likely brothers as Charles seemed to be free of property when he went to Elizabeth Town which suggests that he was the "second son" of the elder John Tucker who Southold records show left his property to eldest son, Capt. John Tooker.

Also, I checked the entire Southold town record and the first instance that the name Tooker appears in the record is in 1662 when it is applied to Capt. John Tooker. So, as far as Southold goes, there seem to have been no significance as to which way the name was spelled.

Hope this clarifies why I think there were two Charles Tuckers at Southold.

Doug Tucker dougtucker@erols.com

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