M. before 1829 in (probably) North Carolina2
Husband: Joseph Luckey
D. 27 Feb 1883 in Waverly, Illinois1
Esther Tucker was an example of strong pioneer stock in the early Mid-West. She lived in several remote places as a young wife before losing her husband, then she ran her family’s farm for many years after.
Esther was born on April 20, 1803 in Iredell County, North Carolina.1 Her heritage traces back to the Potomac River area of Maryland, where her parents Robey and Rachel Tucker were born. Esther was illiterate and probably never attended school.3 She grew up in the post-revolution era, when bounty land out west was drawing families to move there. This dynamic would shape Esther’s life, although we don’t have any specifics of exactly when she may have migrated.
Sometime during the 1820s, Esther married Joseph Luckey, probably in North Carolina.2 Their oldest known child was born in Tennessee in 1829,4 but it may have been that they were just passing through while moving west; by the following year, Esther and Joseph made their home in St. Charles County, Missouri.5 Two other families, perhaps close relatives of Joseph, made a similar migration.6 By the mid-1830s, they all went back across the Mississippi River into Greene County (later Jersey County), Illinois.7,8
The life of a farmer’s wife in 1830s Illinois was pretty rugged. Esther would have likely lived in a log cabin rather than a frame house. She cooked and cleaned for her family while half the time being pregnant, as her husband Joseph attempted to clear and farm their land. This was a time of few modern conveniences — it would be several more years before the railroads improved everyday life. For Esther, her years as a young mother must have been filled with hard work.
19th-century farm in Illinois.
During the early 1840s, Joseph died,9 leaving Esther with six underaged children. Whether or not she had the opportunity to remarry, she never did, and this put her into a role of running her own farm. There’s no doubt Esther and her family were poor; the 1850 census showed that her personal wealth was only $100.3 Somehow she got by with the help of her children, but as they married off, they had their own households to look after. One son, John, never married, and was mentioned in an 1864 land sale as being represented by his older brother Samuel.10 This seemed to suggest he had some sort of disability, and after that date, he disappeared from records.
In 1860, Esther was living in Sangamon County with her four youngest children; that year the family's personal estate was valued at $200 (it was listed next to her son Joseph’s name).11 By the time Esther was 67, she was living on the farm of her son-in-law, Aaron Devore, who was married to her daughter Rachel.12 Esther passed away on February 27, 1883 in Waverly, Illinois,1 the small community where the Devores had moved. She was buried in a tiny cemetery back in Jersey County where her husband presumably had been laid to rest about 40 years earlier.
Children:
1. Ellen Ann Luckey — B. 1829, Tennessee;4 D. 1882, Labette County, Kansas;13 M. John Ross (1829-?), 3 Apr 1850, Jerseyville, Illinois14
2. Samuel Luckey — B. 7 Jan 1830, (probably) St. Charles County, Missouri;4,15 D. 8 Mar 1884, Labette County, Kansas;15 M. Mary Jane Davis (1834-1927), 7 Apr 1853, Jerseyville, Illinois16
3. Rachel E. Luckey — B. 10 Nov 1832, (probably) St. Charles County, Missouri;17 D. 23 Apr 1883, Morgan County, Illinois;17 M. Aaron B. Devore (1822-1884), 26 Feb 1861, Sangamon County, Illinois18
4. Joseph Luckey — B. 15 May 1835, (probably) Greene County, Illinois;8 D. 20 Jan 1916, Jersey County, Illinois;8 M. Edith Catherine Davis (1838-1913), 12 Jan 1865, Jersey County, Illinois19
5. John Luckey — B. about 1839, (probably) Jersey County, Illinois;3 D. after 22 Dec 186410
6. Mary Jane Luckey — B. 7 Jan 1842, Jersey County, Illinois;20 D. 15 Jan 1908, Belvidere, Nebraska;20 M. (1) John Stanfield (about 1838-?), 1 Mar 1863, Sangamon County, Illinois;21 (2) Charles N. Levercheck (1847-1927), 3 Feb 1870, Sangamon County, Illinois22
Sources:
1 Death record of Esther J. Luckey, Morgan County, Illinois
2 Find-a-Grave listing for Esther J. Luckey
3 1850 U.S. Census, Jersey County, Illinois
4 1870 U.S. Census, Jersey County, Illinois
5 1830 U.S. Census, St. Charles County, Missouri
6 Atlas of Jersey County, Illinois, 1872
7 1840 U.S. Census, Jersey County, Illinois
8 Find-a-Grave listing for Joseph Luckey (her son)
9 Estimated death date of Joseph Luckey based on birth date of his youngest child, counting back 9 months
10 Deeds of sale of Joseph Luckey’s land, Jersey, Illinois Deeds, 1864-1866, FamilySearch.org
11 1860 U.S. Census, Jersey County, Illinois
12 1880 U.S. Census, Jersey County, Illinois
13 Find-a-Grave listing for Ellen A. Ross
14 Marriage record of John Ross and Ellen Ann Luckey, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
15 Find-a-Grave listing for Samuel Luckey
16 Marriage record of Samuel Luckey and Mary Jane Davis, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
17 Find-a-Grave listing for Rachel Elizabeth Devore
18 Marriage record of Aaron B. Devore and Rachel E. Luckey, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
19 Marriage record of Joseph Luckey and Edith Davis, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
20 Find-a-Grave listing for Mary Jane Lovercheck
21 Marriage record of John Stanfield and Mary Jane Luckey, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
22 Marriage record of Charles N. Lovercheck and Mary Jane Stanfield, Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935, FamilySearch.org
