Rial Tucker Biography

Rial Tucker was born about 1808 to John Tucker and Martha Bunton. He gave both Virginia and Kentucky as his place of birth in public records. Rial’s father, John, had moved the family from Virginia to Breckinridge County, Kentucky in the late 1790s or early 1800s, so either is possible.

When Rial and his family came to Kentucky, it was still a relatively new state—having been carved out of Virginia and granted statehood in 1792—and the first territory west of the Appalachian Mountains to be given this recognition. The non-Native American population, while steadily increasing, was low. The area was still often considered an untamed wilderness, and a prime gateway into the American West.

It is said that a young Abraham Lincoln, and his family, stayed in Hardinsburg (Breckinridge County) for a few weeks in 1816. They were passing through, and stayed at a local cabin where they were given food and a milk cow by residents of the area before heading on toward their destination, north of the Ohio River. Rial’s family often had dealings in Hardinsburg, though I can’t say exactly where in the county they lived at the time. The fanciful side of me has to wonder if the 7-year-old future president was ever invited to play with our 8-year-old gggreat-grandfather.

When Rial was about 21 years old, he married Elizabeth Beavin. Over the next ten years, they had four known children: Leticia (Stephen Walker’s mother), Logan Walker, Stephen and Nancy.

After Leticia married Banister Tucker, both Rial and Banister decided to move their families to Pope County, Arkansas. This might have been spurred by the death of Rial’s parents. Rial’s Kentucky homestead was on his father’s land. When his father died around 1851, the Will stated that Rial would continue to have possession of that land until his mother died—at which time it would be equally divided among his siblings and one nephew. Rial’s mother died in 1854, and the estate, including the portion that Rial lived on, was divided out among at least 10, and probably more, siblings and the one nephew. I suspect that, with the deaths of his parents and the division of the property among so many heirs, Rial decided to set out and start a new life, in a new place.

He and Banister bought land near each other, and set out for Pope County, Arkansas sometime between 1854 and 1856. Their travel was probably by wagon; they covered at least five hundred miles (if not much more), likely hauling all that they owned by oxen or mules. They were very much at the mercy of the elements, but they finally made it to Arkansas.

By 1860, these families were well settled into their new homes. Rial was doing relatively well. The value of his real estate and personal property that year were recorded at about $2385. Given the inflation values, it is possible that would translate to a value of about $69,000 today. His grown children, including son-in-law Banister, also appeared to have been doing well for themselves during this time period. While I cannot fully attest to what their lives were like in Kentucky, it seems that the move to Arkansas was a success in terms of economics.

Rial’s wife, Elizabeth, died between 1860 and 1864. They had been married just over thirty years. In 1864, Rial married Lucinda Collins. He was in his mid-fifties and she was in her early to mid-thirties. They did not have any children, to my knowledge, and she may have left him a widower by 1880.

Throughout the years after Banister’s death, Rial tended to live near his son, Logan Walker Tucker. They moved to Boone County for a short time in the late 1860s and early 70s, before moving back to Atkins, Arkansas in Pope County. In 1880, Rial was living with his son, Logan, and his family. His date of death is unknown, but he died sometime before 1900 in Arkansas.

Note: Rial has been spelled Ryal in some records.

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Documents

1840 Census: See lower middle

1850 Census: See line 24

1860 Census: See line 3

1870 Census: See line 30

1880 Census: See line 13

Marriage Record:

Rial Tucker to Lucinda Collins on October 18, 1864

See mid to top left side

Source: Arkansas Marriage records, 1830-1952 ; indexes to marriages, 1830-1978