More Information on Lemuel for Military Monday

Now that I have regained use of the computer and scanner I can return to the goals for this blog, one of those being to use the records I am acquiring on Lemuel Tucker to discuss, share, and analyze as I work to see if I can't break through this long lasting brick wall on his ancestry.

Today I am going to show a timeline I assembled from his Muster Rolls while serving. I find putting them into list  form helps me visualize the information more clearly.

Lemuel's Muster In Date was 21 Dec 1863 in Carmi, Illinois as a Private in Company E 13 Regiment Illinois Calvary. Bounty paid was $60.
Muster Rolls for 13 Cav. Ill. state the folllowing:
21 Dec 1863 to Feb 29 1864- Present
Mar & April 1864- Present
May & June 1864- Present
July & Aug 1864- Present
Sept. & Oct. 1864- Absent month in Gen'l Hospl
Nov & Dec 1864- Absent month in Gen Hospt,  Bounty due, $2 premium
Jan & Feb 1865- Absent North Gen Hospt, Bounty due $2 premium
Mch & Apl 1865- Absent North in Gen. Hospl, bounty due
May & June 1865- Discharged May 3/65 for disability injuries rec'd in line of duty; *M. Roll of Mound City Hosp. for Nov & Dec 64 reports him "absent without leave." list of casualities for Nov. 1864 (same Hosp) reports "Furlough expired Nov. 24/64 reported deserted Nov. 30/64. Casualities for Dec 1864 report him "Readmitted from desertion Dec. 18/64".

The Hospital Muster Rolls from Mound City, Illinois and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri do not further describe either the cause of Lemuel's long standing illness that led to such a long stay or the circumstances surrounding his "absence without leave." However, that information is included in his discharge papers.

Here is part of his Certificate of Disability for Discharge from service that explains  the reason for his disability discharge.

Portion of Lemuel's Disability Discharge signed by Surgeon

Next time we will delve into the pensioner records that contain much more information about Lemuel and his family. Maybe some clues will begin to surface.

Military Monday- Lemuel Tucker

Lemuel Tucker is my 3rd Grandfather, and one of my tallest brick walls. There is much known of my 3rd Grandmother, Martha Ann Cozart and her line back to the Huguenots, but he is doing his best to be elusive. Some prefer to do that, and on my crazy days I would swear they do so just for the heck of it. Sometimes I find myself  imagining them sharing conversations much as the ghosts in the paintings in the halls at Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter movies.

The truth is I probably wouldn't want it any other way. After all, how much fun would family history be if I was just handed a 100% completed manual that contained every single record, connection, and story all the way back to Adam and Eve?

So when it comes to Lemuel I am assembling all the known data I can in the process of building his life, and his Civil War records at The National Archives are one of those sources.  I plan on sharing parts of those records over the coming weeks. Martha Ann Cozart had a brother, David, who served in the military at the same time. The difference in files in information and size is interesting, and I will later share parts of his as well to show how much they can vary.





Lemuel Tucker Volunteer Enlistment (provided by KE)

What I did learn from the Volunteer Enlistment of Lemuel Tucker on 21 Dec 1863:

He was born in White County, Illinois, was 21 years of age when he enlisted in the 13th Regiment Illinois Calvary, had gray eyes, dark hair, dark complexion, was 5 feet 11 inches tall, and left his mark instead of a signature.  

Surname Saturday

This is one area I have neglected here and decided that it's time I start entering this data. I never know, but maybe I'll find another cousin along the way. I am using the example that Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings uses at this time.

This weekend I am following part of my paternal's line back to John Rankin Tucker and his family

I    Me
II. My Father
III. My Mother
IV  My paternal grandfather

VI  John Rankin Tucker is my paternal great-grandfather.. John was born abt 19 Oct 1867 in White County, Illinois to Lemuel Tucker and Martha Jane Cozart.

John  married Rilda/Rildy/or Rilda E Cooper 21 Mar 1892 in White County, Illinois. John and Rilda had one child, a son Clarence Lemuel Tucker (No. IV) born 19 Nov 1896.  This marriage ended within a few years, but the reason is unknown up to now. (I still need to find a death record for Rilda or divorce proceedings).

John married for the second time to Virginia Kingery (born 4 Feb 1886 in Illinois)

Children born to this union were:

Adrian Tucker (born 15 Oct 1902 in White County, Illinois and died 26 Feb 1965) Adrian married Florence Allison and they had one daughter, Hazel Marie.

Snowdie Alice Tucker was born 19 Mar 1914 in White County, Illinois and died 26 Oct 1930 in White County. She was too young to marry at the time of her death.


Nothing makes me happier than to meet others who are researching the same families that I am. If any of these people are familiar to you and you would like to share or discuss information, please feel free to contact me. The welcome mat is always open.

Aunt Faye, Losses, and Time

Unexpected events come into our world at the moments we tend to be least prepared. The last few days have been filled with a variety of events that will be shared over the next few weeks about many of my ancestors, but the ironies of life sometimes are the ones that hurt the most.

Yesterday afternoon I stood on the land of one of my ancestors with a previously unknown cousin that serendipity brought into my life. Finally I knew the location of the land they toiled over, and got the long awaited clue I have needed for 30 years about a family farm cemetery. Later we stood in one of the family cemeteries overlooking hills of ancestral land with the sun shining and I was amazed and awed by the strength of those that came before- as always. One of the great highs that come in this pursuit/passion of mine.

Within 48 hours of that time, my family is preparing for a weekend out of town  family funeral for a relative who died suddenly when she was out for a walk. Charlene is on my maternal side of the family, and although I had not had the opportunity to get to meet her in years, I was looking forward to the next time she was going to be in the area in order to learn about this woman that played a role in my family. Unfortunately, an accident took here away from those that love her prematurely. This weekend  will bring tears, memories, and the chance to reunite with family members from around the country- some for what could be the final time. There is always the part of me that wants to run around with family group sheets in hand and my tape recorder in everyone's face so that I don't miss any important information, yet respect the pain that each  person carries at the time of these events.

Then I awake to yet another set of sad news, this one digging deeper and hurting more.

Yesterday I lost my dear Aunt Faye.




Alma Faye Tucker and her husband, my uncle

Aunt Faye was one of eleven children born to Clarence Lemuel Tucker and Flora Maude McDaniel in Maunie, White County, Illlinois. When she was a child, the family moved to Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana and lived at what was called the "LN & Y", actually a row of section houses at the railroad where Clarence worked. My grandfather later was proudly able to buy a home nearby for the family on the west side of Evansville. Aunt Faye went to Centennial School and Reitz High School, and worked as a secretary at the huge shipyards that were on the Ohio River in Evansville building LST's during World War II.

Later she moved to California with her husband and son. Her sister, Leona and family also moved to California and they lived closely to each other throughout their lives.

Aunt Faye was a character, a scrapper. She had a wicked sense of humor, loved to go out and have a good time, and was as sentimental as they came. I never had a conversation with her that didn't involve tears at some time.

Aunt Faye was one of the best dancers in the city, winning some contests, and taught my father how to dance. She also stepped in a couple times when he was in a fight as a boy and finished the fight for him (Faye is several years older). Aunt Faye was also strong-willed and determined, not afraid to stand up for herself when she was younger, and a bit rebellious.

I had learned something new about the family just yesterday (Irish news no less) and had planned to call Aunt Faye today to ask her about the information and to share a little gossip. Unfortunately, I will never get the chance. My angel is gone, but I have treasured every moment of getting to know her and to learn from her experiences.


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Let this be a reminder to us all. My family is dealing with two losses this week. Don't say , "I'll call tomorrow...." when it comes to anything that you can possibly take just a second to call today about. We all have regrets about the missed opportunities when it comes to our genealogy, so let's not compound it any more. shall we?

Veteran's Day- Enjoying The Experience of My Father

I know it has been way too long since I have been on here and I am determined to correct that, but today is not about me. It's about that father of mine. He served in the navy during World War II aboard what he calls one of the "tin cans", the destroyers that served in the Pacific at the end of the war.

I love to hear his stories, from the times when they would earn ice cream whenever one of the pilots would miss their landing on the air craft carrier so they would hurry to bring them aboard. When he was first crossing in a smaller boat to get to his ship the person who had their medical records dropped them into the ocean and he was afraid that he would have to take all his shots again. (He didn't). When he first arrived on the ship he didn't actually report to duty so for 4 months he did not have a daily job.

 When the captain found out he was awarded by being tied down in the top of the basket up in the air (for the life of me I can't remember the correct name). He did spot a torpedo, so the engines were turned off, the ship was made to lean the other way to slip by it, and then the guys at the back torpedoed it. He other adventure up there was the typhoon that came along. The captain had to send up 2 men to work to get Dad down. There are other stories that he doesn't speak of, but he does speak heatedly about the fact that when the Japanese came aboard the USS Missouri for the ceremony, the Japanese also came aboard ships across Japan to sign records of surrender, including the USS Remey. Dad has pictures of the event. It really bothers him that that is not written anywhere, history books or in Navy publications.

This is him aboard the USS Remey. Years later they were able to realize the loss of hearing he had suffered through all his life and that was continuing to diminish was related to one of the times when he needed to rush to the guns and was unable to put his gear on because of the situation. He was working one of the guns that was just below when the larger one fired and his ear immediately began to ring and lose hearing.

Today I will be going with to a Veteran's Day breakfast aboard LST 325 which was on the beaches on June 6, 1944. Our city built many of them at a riverfront that worked around the clock. Amazing the contributions by all, and I look forward to hearing the stories from others, and learning new ones from my father.

Happy Veteran's Day to All!!

Timeline of Martha Ann Cozart

After some attempts to start this timeline on the site TimeToasthttp://www.timetoast.com/, I decided that I would follow the steps of a fellow blogger (Tina Lyons from Gen Wish Listgenwishlist.blogspot) and just list my timeline here. The good thing is that I have set up an account (free) with TimeToast, and never being one to walk away from a challenge, will soon return and learn how to work the program to my satisfaction. I will let you know how it goes.

Timeline of Martha Ann COZART

Born about 1849 in White County Illinois to Samuel Nicholas COZART and Rocksanna WRIGHT.

Census records for 1850 list her at 11 months of age, living in District 13, White County, Illinois with her parents and 4 older brothers. She was the youngest by 10 years.

The census of 1860 lists her as 11 years of age, living at Township 5 Range 9E, White County, Illinois with her parents as the only child.

Martha marries Lemuel TUCKER on 20 Sept 1866 in White County, Illinois.

19 October 1866, my great-grandfather John Rankin TUCKER was born.

The rest of the children born to Lemuel and Martha Ann were as follows (all in Ilinois):

Amanda Ellen was born 2 March 1869
Samuel H. in 1872
George Raleigh 4 Feb 1876
Unnamed daughter 14 Nov 1878
Anna Belle  30 Nov 1880
Fronie  Date u/k
Minnie Jane  Nov 1881
Melvinia "Millie"  8 Nov 1883

Martha's husband Lemuel, dies on 2 Sep 1885.

On 12 August 1890 Martha applies for her husband's Civil War pension benefits as his widow.

On 6 February 1894 Martha marries for the 2nd time to Jeremiah SHELTON in White County, Illinois.

She died 30 March 1910 in Carmi, White County, Illinois at the age of 61. She is buried in Hamilton County, Illinois, which is where the SHELTON family has their family cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday

An Unusual Picture - The Empty Site

Amanda Ellen TUCKER

daughter of Lemuel TUCKER & Martha Ann COZART

Amanda died 13 Aug 1953 Lockport, Niagara, New York

Buried Posey County, IN

A cousin recently reported that she and a daughter are buried next to one another and initially a stone was there. Unfortunately, the bill could not be paid and the stone was removed, leaving an empty spot for Amanda.

Too Late

It was too late for me and when I read the notice in the obituary section of the newspaper I could only bend over and let out a little cry. For nearly a year I had been planning to go see a certain relative in the family related to my maternal side of the family to interview them.

Oh, I could give all the good reasons as to why it didn't happen from scehdules to a broken foot, but the reality is that over and over EVERY book, conference, and suggestion says to go see your relatives while you still can and I did not.

To put further pain into the wound, within 2 weeks another relative also passed away. Now I don't know about you, but my grandmother always said deaths came in threes so I tailed it over to Posey County Indiana to visit a very healthy cousin I had never meant in person this week, because I was not going to take any chances. We share the surnames of Tucker, Cozart, Wright and beyond and met each other through Ancestry.

We had a great time getting to know each other better and to share some info.

So for goodness sake, don't waste any time! Don't be another one of those fools like I was!