I suppose the earliest 'definitive, proven' Tucker. I can trace was George Cheeseworth Tucker, born in 1862, confirmed and verified not only from my own research but also from face-to-face conversations I was luckily able to have with his elderly daughter - Lilian Margareta RoseTucker - and his granddaughter - Lilian Ivy Hall - sadly both no longer with us. It says something for the secrecy of older generations that they were both bemused that I wanted to know details about the past.
I can make very educated guesses for a generation, maybe two, of Tuckers before that, back to the early 1800's in the village of Halwell, maybe even to the late 1700's, but absolute confirmation of that isn't really possible, as it relies on Parish Registers rather than traditional Certificates and the very useful 10 year Censuses, currently don't go back further than 1841.
The 'early years' will be covered in a separate page (click here, coming soon...)
So, enter my Great-Grandfather, George Cheeseworth Tucker - born in the Totnes 'Union' Workhouse on 10th December 1862, to his unmarried mother Maria Tucker, seemingly from the parish of Halwell, just outside Totnes. I say 'seemingly' from Halwell, because in future Censuses she gives Halwell as her place of birth.
In those days, Workhouses tended to also be the prime source of medical help for the poor, as well as a home for the destitute.. It was also the place where unmarried mothers, often without family support, went to give birth relatively safely, often in the Workhouse associated with their own birthplace.
[ scan of birth certificate to go here ]
George Cheeseworth Tucker - interesting choice of middle name, maybe a hint towards the fathers surname, still looking into that, more later - was baptised in the Totnes Parish Church on 16th January 1863, where the vicar helpfully (?) noted in the Register entry that he was born in the Totnes 'Union' Workhouse, and was indeed 'illegitimate'. As always, click on the image for a full-screen version.
So, in the early 1860's, the Tucker name moved from the female to the male side of the family. Life was much harder then, and I can find nor record of Maria Tucker having any future association with her parents or siblings.
I was able to look at the surviving original Totnes Union Workhouse ledger, when the Public Record Office was in Chancery Lane in London, but unfortunately no records covering the 1860's seem to have survived. The book I saw was just paper, so not surprising, most surviving early Parish Registers were made of stronger stuff, (check actual wording) and often safely locked away in parish chests when not being used.
Life took a turn for the better just a year later, for Maria and George C, when, on 14th Dec 1863, Maria married a Marine, James Mardon, and that's when their life in East Stonehouse, adjoining Plymouth, was firmly established....
[ do I have a copy of the marriage certificate ? ]
( The rest is coming, as and when... )
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