William Tucker

William Tucker

Male 1845 - 1908  (63 years)

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  • Name William Tucker  [1
    Birth 29 Jan 1845  Stratton, St. Margaret's, Highworth, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Birth Certificate of William Tucker
    Birth Certificate of William Tucker
    Birth Certificate of William Tucker

    Gender Male 
    Will 8 Aug 1905  Hoyleton, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Last will and Testament of William Tucker. 

    Last will and Testament of William Tucker
    Last will and Testament of William Tucker
    The Will of William Tucker late of Hoyleton, South Australia, Australia.
    Death 3 Apr 1908  On the farm at Hoyleton,South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • William died on his farm at Hoyleton, South Australia, Australia.
    Burial Kybunga (whitewell), South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3
    Headstone of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    Headstone of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    In Loving Memory, of, William Tucker, Died 3rd April 1908, Aged 63 Years, Martha Tucker, Wife of Above, Died 8th Oct 1925, Aged 79 Years

    Person ID I1201  Tucker Family Tree | The descendants of James Tucker
    Last Modified 31 Mar 2019 

    Father John Tucker,   b. 27 Nov 1805, Liddington, Swindon, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Dec 1889, Warnertown, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 84 years) 
    Mother Eliza Kent,   b. 25 Sep 1812, Childrey, Berkshire England. Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 24 Jun 1876, Hoyleton, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years) 
    Marriage 3 Nov 1831  The parish church of The Holy Cross, Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5, 6
    • Located Church St Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England


    Parish Church of the Holy Cross, Chiseldon, Wiltshire England
    Parish Church of the Holy Cross, Chiseldon, Wiltshire England
    The parish Church of the Holy cross, Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England is located in Church Street, Chiseldon, Wiltshire England.
    Marriage of John Tucker and Eliza Kent
    Marriage of John Tucker and Eliza Kent
    John Tucker married Eliza Kent 3 November 1831 at Parish Church, Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England by Banns
    Family ID F0062  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Martha Lemon,   b. 8 Jun 1846, West Orchard, Dorset, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 8 Oct 1925, Hoyleton, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 79 years)  [7
    Marriage 6 Mar 1869  Residence of Minister Willunga,South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [7, 8

    Marriage Certificate of William Tucker and Martha Lemon
    Marriage Certificate of William Tucker and Martha Lemon
    The certificate of marriage of William Tucker and Martha Lemon - 06 March 1869

    Marriage Transcription - William Tucker and Martha Lemon
    Marriage Transcription - William Tucker and Martha Lemon
    William Tucker married Martha Lemon 06 March 1869 at the residence of the Minister, Willunga, South Australia, Australia.
    Children 
    +1. Eliza Tucker,   b. 23 Jan 1870, Crows Nest, Inman Valley, District Yankalilla, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 25 Aug 1945 (Age 75 years)
    +2. John Charles Tucker,   b. 28 May 1871, Inman Valley District Yankalilla, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Oct 1945, Balaklava, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years)
    +3. Sarah Tucker,   b. 31 Aug 1874, Inman Hills, District Yankalilla,South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 May 1955 (Age 80 years)
    +4. Lucy Kent Tucker,   b. 6 Jun 1876, Inman Valley, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 May 1954 (Age 77 years)
    +5. William Edmond Tucker,   b. 7 Jun 1881, Inman Hills, District Yankalilla, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Apr 1958, Tailem Bend, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years)
     6. Louisa Aveline Tucker,   b. 2 May 1884, Inman Valley, District Yankalilla, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Aug 1885, Woodlands, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 1 year)
    +7. Inman Tucker,   b. 3 Aug 1886, Woodlands District Upper Wakefield, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Jul 1960 (Age 73 years)
     8. Myrtle Olive Harriett Tucker,   b. 3 Oct 1889, Woodlands, Hoyleton District, Upper Wakefield, South Australia, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Nov 1973 (Age 84 years)
    Family ID F0711  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 19 Dec 2017 

  • Photos
    The Sons of John and Eliza Tucker (nee Kent)
    The Sons of John and Eliza Tucker (nee Kent)
    Rear: William Tucker, Edmund Tucker
    Seated: John Charles Tucker
    House of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    House of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    The house that William and Martha Tucker lived in.
    Tip-dray
    Tip-dray
    A tip-dray used by the Tucker family on their farm at Kybunga and Hoyleton, South Australia, Australi
    William Tucker
    William Tucker
    William Tucker - Eight child of John Tucker and Eliza Kent.
    The Family of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    The Family of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    The Family of William and Martha Tucker (n. Lemon)
    Back l to r: Sarah Penfold (n. Tucker), Eliza Clarke (n. Tucker), Lucy Kent Coulls (n. Tucker).
    Sitting l to r: John Charles Tucker, William Tucker, Inman Tucker, Martha Tucker (n. Lemon), William Edmond Tucker, Myrtle Olive Harriet Tucker

    Documents
    The Passenger list of the Ship Eliza
    The Passenger list of the Ship Eliza
    The passenger list of the ship Eliza departed Plymouth to Adelaide 1849. List John and Eliza Tucker and family.
    At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
    The Immigrant Ship 'Eliza' Certificate of final Departure
    The Immigrant Ship "Eliza" Certificate of final Departure
    John Tucker, his wife Eliza and Children departed Plymouth, England 11 May 1849, arriving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 23 August 1849. The family is listed on page 5 of this document.

  • Notes 
    • Marriage details obtained from Digger -South Australian Marriages, Registrations 1842-1916 reference Book 78 page 440. At the time of their marriage Will was 24yrs old and Martha was 23yrs old.
      Death details obtained from Digger - South Australian Deaths Registrations 1842 to 1915, Book 332 page 393. William was 63 years of age at the time of his death, his death was reported by his Brother John Charles Tucker.
      When William met his future wife, who lived with her family on a farming property at Lovely Valley near Willunga, it was commonly said that William was the local "lemon squeezer". The lemon family came to Australia with their children Louisa, Mary, Virtue, Martha, Edwin and William. They settled a little inland from Myponga Beach, and were part of a larger family group consisting of Charles' older brother John and his wife Elizabeth (nee Hunt) and after the death of the first wife, John's second wife Mary Ann King, Also in the district was the boys' sister Elizabeth who was married to Matthew Hunt, the Hunts having arrived in 1848 on board the "David Malcolm"
      After the marriage of William and Martha, they continued to live within the Inman Valley area. Their eldest child Eliza always told her family she was born in the Crow's Nest which was a property just outside Inman Valley. Eliza and her brother John Charles and her two nearest sisters, Sarah and Lucy, were pupils at the Inman Valley School and would have also attended the Inman Valley Methodist Church at which their father was a Sunday School teacher along with their uncle, John Charles Tucker. About 1885 the family decided to leave this district, because of many difficulties with soil degradation and poor crops, and bought land at Hoyleton. They purchased sections 338, 339 in the Hundred of Hall, County of Stanley, with only a small percentage cleared at the time of arrival, it being natural mallee scrub land. William and Martha's grandson, Laurence tucker, now residing at Balaklava, and son of the late Inman Tucker, has researched and written the following stories about the families, the property and the district.
      "William and Martha Tucker moved to the Hoyleton area in 1885, travelling by road in a very large tip dray drawn by horses. The property consisted of Sections 338 and 339, and the original land grant was issued to Michael O'Toole of near Hoyleton, 228 acres for the amount of 228 pound on the 21st day of January 1879. The land was transferred to James Johnson and Benjamin Wishart (storekeepers) of Hoyleton on 10th February 1881. Th land was then transferred to William Tucker of Inman Valley on 7th March 1885. (158 acres of the original land is still in the possession of Lawrence Tucker.
      "I (Laurence) have no knowledge of the religious background of William, and Inman; my father never mentioned it. However, as William was a Trustee and a Sunday School teacher at the Inman Valley Methodist Church, it is assumed that he was indeed a committed Christian, and encouraged his children into the faith. When the family first settled in the mid-north, it is probable that church services would have been held in private homes, as in the early days prior to 1896, in the Kybunga area, church services probably conducted by Rev William H. Rofe would be held in local homes. It seems unusual to us now that people living only a few mile south of Kybunga should have been originally known as living at Hoyleton. This was because the railways terminated at Hoyleton, long before the railway line was extended to Blyth. The house in which William and Martha Lived was built (I Believe) by Michael O'Toole. It was of pug and pine construction (pine seemed resistant to termites) and pine was plentiful together with the mallee which grew very effectively. White mallee was also resistant to termites.
      The house consisted of four rooms, galvanized iron roof, pug and pine exterior and interior walls, which had lime-soaked Hessian ceilings that my grandfather William had installed. The front Verandah was added later. A large underground tank, situated on the eastern side of the house held about 4,000 gallons and was made of lime mortar and natural limestone about 15 inches thick, and lined with cement on the inside.
      My grandparents William and Martha had a difficult time. No super phosphates, and the available cleared ground was of low fertility. The stock had a hard time and many of the cattle died with what was called in those days "dry Bible". The family worked hard and long, and single-handedly my grandfather grubbed section 330 (35 acres). After digging down and around the trunk of the trees, and cutting the surface, especially the tap roots, he used the "Wallaby Jack" to push the trees over and then cut them up with an axe and crosscut saw (usually a two-man saw). The saw is still in my possession (1991).
      The family depended on dams, filled by natural run off. When supplies ran low, or ran out, which was often, water would be carted in a 400 gallon square tank, by three horses pulling a large tip-dray, filling the tank with water from the Peak natural spring, which in the early days had to be bucketed. The peak Springs were to the east, on the western side of the hills, about 5 miles or more from grandfather's property. Uncle Jack (John Charles jnr, my dad's brother) was the water carter. The property "Hughes Park", on which the spring is situated was, I believe, the Honorable J.J. Duncan's (M.P.) land and he was forced by government legislation to sell off valuable farming land, extending to the west and south in 1906. (A Sale map is in my possession).
      Ploughing the land was done with a single furrow plough, hand held usually, with 2 horses, and ploughed to a depth of 9 to 12 inches. Later years saw the two furrow plough, and after that the tree furrow plough with on wheel at the front, two wheels at the back and a seat to ride on. Sowing the grain was by hand casting, called broadcasting, from a container held in front of the person by waist and neck straps. The hand casting could then be done using both hands. it was then hallowed into the soil. There were no super phosphates and therefore some failures. Harrow and ploughs were the basic implements, both of which had rigid tyres which often got damaged if the ground was not properly cleared of stumps, roots and stones. All work was done by hand and harvesting was done with a scythe.
      Among the items brought with them from Inman Valley was some furniture, carpentry tools and the plough and scythe and a large hollowed out tree trunk. This truck was the second-length cut of a big old tree grown in the area of Inman Valley. All these items were carried in the big tip dray. The tree trunk was used as a "wet pickle" trough; Formalin liquid or Blue Stone liquid preparation was used for killing smut and other diseases of wheat. Blue stone was also used as a dry powder mix. The grain had to be placed on a hard floor and the blue stone powder added and then with a shovel the grain had to be moved to and fro until thoroughly mixed.
      Lime for building was burnt on the farm. Stones were gathered and placed in a deep pit. Huge Stumps, pulled by the horses, were dragged to the site and often it took three men to roll the stumps into the pit and positioned to cover the stones ready for firing. After the stones were burnt and heated to a fine powder, the ash would be carefully scrapped away and the clean white lime would be harvested. This would be used for building (using a lime mortar mix) to erect fowl houses and for use in the lavatories and cow yards. The "bi-hole, open-type" lavatory was usually situated between 4 and 6 chains away from the house and wormwood was often grown around or near the house, as a deterrent against flies and mosquitoes.
      Roof cladding for the cellar was of galvanized iron, but the iron used for roofing was about half zinc and very heavy and thick. The same type of roofing I took off the old pug and pine house and, after over a hundred years, it was barely showing any signs of rusting/ i reused this old heavy zinc-coated type iron on the sides of a shed which was built on section 168, Hundred of Dalkey, land which I purchased in January 1979 from Mr Keith Keller, and which now is owned by Maurice and Joy Tiller. My guess is that the iron will still be going strong in another hundred years, if it is not neglected.
      In later years wider implements were mad. The rigid type tyres were used until the advent of the "stump-jump" plough and the implement era. After the scythe era the five foot stripper came into being and what a boon a five foot stripper and three horses was to the farmers of that time. Well, I remember using one in the depression of the 1930s to save cocky chaff to feed the cows and horses, I used one as late as 1939/40 which was a very dry and feed-short year. Big heaps of chaff and grain were hand-winnower; harvesting was a breeze! A five foot stripper and a winnower, wow! A breeze was needed" 110' in the shade and the man turning the winnower handle getting slower every minute, would hear amongst the clatter, "More wind...more wind!" The early winnowers had no grain elevators and so the cleaned grain ran down the sieve to the ground level and was gathered into four-bushel bags with shovels, tins, hands etc. Those 240 pound bags were then man-handled, lifted or lumped, or carried by the men. No mechanical devices helped with the heavy lifting.
      "Hoyleton was a thriving town as the railway had been extended from Balaklava to Blyth in 1876 and locomotives replaced horses on 14th March 1876. Wheat from Hoyleton would be loaded with a guard in charge to work the brakes, and a van of several horses attached, the trucks were put into motion and would, with the momentum of the heavy load, free-wheel to Port Wakefield, where the wheat would be off-loaded on to lighters (small boats or vessels) to carry the wheat to waiting ships anchored in the Gulf. The rail trucks were then pulled to Hoyleton by the horses, that had had a free ride to Port Wakefield, but they worked hard coming back.
      Martha had a strong desire to succeed, and accompanied Grandfather in the move from Inman Valley to Hoyleton. She helped with Milking cows, feeding pigs, house chores, cooking, making bread and caring for her family. She learned the art of cooking in the "camp oven" and over the coals of a fire in the open fireplace. The house had two large open fireplaces. The inside of the fireplace was large enough to hold and burn two large stumps of the trees grubbed out by Grandfather. It took two men to carry the big stumps in and place them for burning. The fire would rarely go out and the coals would burn for up to a fortnight. The open fireplace had a mantle piece above and the cooking utensils were suspended above the coals of the fire, on a solid iron bar, built in, across the width of the fireplace. Grandma would cook most of the food in the large boiler, all at once, or added in stages (e.g. put in a plum pudding tied in a clothe to boil, and at the appropriate time add the vegetable.
      Particularly in summer, the meat would be pickled or corned in a salt petre or pure salt mix, for preservation. The meat was obtained by slaughtering young steers or pigs and an odd sheep or two, out in the open, under the large over-hanging Malle trees. The pulley-block was fashioned from the trunk of a tree grown on the farm. This work was done by Grandfather who was very cleaver with his carpentery work.
      The home-made bacon was cured in a smoke-house, made from an old dis-used 400 gallon water tank. The smoke house was designed by Grandfather, so that a continuous flow of smoke could be kept going in and through for about a fortnight or more. Until it was needed the smoke-cured bacon was hung in an open space, or room or verandah. Then it was thoroughly washed, cooked in a frying pan or camp oven or in the boiler. The flies seemed to think that the hanging bacon was good place to inhabit, but because of the hard dry surface, no maggot infestations resulted.
      In later years an underground cellar was built, about five feet underground and three feet above. Home made lime and sand mortar mix kept the limestone wall in position. The timber gable roof fashioned from native pine trees, was covered with galvanized iron (with about as much zinc as iron _zinc formed the galvanized-iron-like protection). The cellar also had the lime-stone, open fireplace type chimney (presumably for ventilation) There were no windows, but two reject cast-iron type water pipes, about three to four inches in diameter, were set at a steep angle from high in the part above the ground to within three or four inches above the floor for ventilation. One door was set in the opposite end to the chimney and there were stone steps leading to the ground level. the door was made by grandfather and had fancy patterns hand-augured through it to assist ventilation. The cellar was used for hanging meat and storage and cooling off milk. There were no milk separators so milk was cooled, the cream rising to the surface being skimmed off with concave circular type skimmer with small holes in it. The cream was churned in a wooden churn, salt was added and the butter was pressed into one pound oblong blocks ready to sell to the store keepers or be exchanged for other commodities (tea, sugar etc). Things were improving; travelling by horse and spring dray or cart would enable the family to go to Balaklava more often. My mother, Mary Tucker, told me the story of how a store keeper was caught out. A pound of butter weighed one pound or was supposed to. On one trip, the store keeper complained that the butter was under wight and he required an extra pound to compensate. "Well that is funny", replied Grandma. "I balanced it with the pound of dates you sold me!" You see the weighing was done with equal balance scales. Travelling methods improved with much lighter vehicles, such as the two-wheeled sulky and four-wheeled turntable hooded buggy.
      Better cooling for household commodities was the Cool-safe, which was just being evolved. The water drip cool-safe, with a water tank on top, into which a calico or fine Hessian bag was placed or draped down over the four sides, into a receivable tank at the bottom for the water (to be recycled or emptied out) was all in vogue. This was a method of gravitation, but when the tank was full of water it emptied too quickly, and when low, the material on the sides became too dry. later models had controllable drip taps and the material on the sides was not placed into the water in the tank, so it became a controllable drip feed. Air passed through the fine mesh safe creating a good cooling system, the same principle in effect as the canvas water bag for cooling water.
      Martha tucker was a grand old lady, a person who always kept her promises. If she promised a penny ice cream, a penny ice cream was received. Whatever the promise it was always kept. As a small boy, I was cheeky to her and I was promised smacks to my bottom. Grandma was getting older and I could run a bit faster than her. however, the promise stood! That night, after being put to bed, Grandma walked in, pulled down the blanket, and whack! whack! Whack! "that's what I promised!"
      Grandma was outstanding in her help to others; whatever the circumstances Grandma would be there. She also acted as midwife when many of the babies in the district were born. She mad soap from fat, caustic soda and other ingredients. Small lots, i believe, were made in the big boiler. Later years saw soap and jam etc cooked in the cast iron frame 10 gallon copper. Clothes washing was done by hand in a tub, or rubbed on a glass washing board mounted on a frame, then hand wrung out, rinsed and boiled and then put out to dry, The clothes would then be put through a hand-turned wooden framed mangle, as this helped dry and press the clothes before they were ironed with "Mother Potts" irons."

      William Tucker died seventeen Years before Martha. After her death a newspaper obituary appeared:

      Mrs. Tucker, who was highly respected in the districts of Kybunga and Hoyleton, died at the residence of her son, Mr Inman Tucker, on October 85y at the age of 79. She was a colonist of 76 years. Born in West Orchard, Dorsetshire in 1846 she came to South Australia with her parent in 1849 and was married at Willunga in 1869 to Mr William Tucker, who died 17 years ago. Th first 16 years of their married life was spent at Inman Valley, where they engaged in dairying. They went to Hoyleton 40 years ago, and acquired agricultural land in the Hoyleton and Kybunga districts. Mrs Tucker took great interest in the Church of Christ, and was a member for many years. There are 3 sons Messrs J Tucker (Balaklava), W.E. Tucker (Menigle) and Inman Tucker (Hoyleton) and 4 daughter Mesdames J Clarke (Kybunga), J Penfold (Balaklava) and G v Coulls (Bowden) and Miss M Tucker (Hoyleton). There are 26 grandchildren and 11 Great Grandchildren. (The Tucker Family in Australia, 1992)


  • Sources 
    1. [S1] Cynthis Henley-Smith, The Tucker Family in Australia, (Gillingham Printers Pty Ltd Adelaide, South Australia), 1992, 191 (Reliability: 2).

    2. [S545] Supreme Court of South Australia, 7 May 1908, No. 14518 (Reliability: 3).
      Will of William Tucker was proven in the Supreme Court of South Australia by Martha Tucker, dated 7 May 1908.

    3. [S101] Headstone Inscription, 3 Apr 1908 (Reliability: 3).
      See attached photo of headstone.

    4. [S1] Cynthis Henley-Smith, The Tucker Family in Australia, (Gillingham Printers Pty Ltd Adelaide, South Australia), Jun 1992, 3 (Reliability: 2).

    5. [S81] General Register Office England (Reliability: 2).
      See Copy of Marriage Register

    6. [S87] Parish Records, The Parish Church of the Holy Cross, Chiseldon, Wiltshire England, 1834, Year 1834, Page 43, No. 127 (Reliability: 2).
      See attached Parish Record

    7. [S1] Cynthis Henley-Smith, The Tucker Family in Australia, (Gillingham Printers Pty Ltd Adelaide, South Australia), 1992, 191 (Reliability: 3).

    8. [S493] Genealogy SA, trading as the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society, findmypast, South Australian Marriages 1842-1937 Transcription, (findmypast), 6 Mar 1869, Reg No. 78/440 (Reliability: 3).
      See attached South Australia Marriages 1842-1937 Transcription for Martha Lemon and William Tucker.


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