John
Tuck b.1735 - d.1801
My
5th Great-Grandfather
By
David Arthur
Lived
in Halifax County, VA
Married
to Mary Ellen Powell
Decendants
Achsah Tuck
George
Washington Winfrey
Catherine
Winfrey
William
Henry Wade
Anselona Deborah Wade
Edgar
Arthur
David
Arthur
DAR Records
TUCK, JOHN
Ancestor #: A116575
Service:
VIRGINIA Rank(s): CIVIL SERVICE
Birth: CIRCA
1730
Death:
8-10-1801 HALIFAX CO VIRGINIA
Service Source:
HALIFAX CO, VA, COURT REC, BOOK 9, PP 192, 267
Service Description:
1) OVERSEER OF ROAD
Accounts are, that he served with the VA Militia at the
Battle of Guildford Courthouse, along with his son Edward
-------------------------------------------------
William Munford Tuck
Gov. of VA at the time of my birth.
My double 4th Cousin twice removed by common ancestor John
Tuck & Mary Powell -
This is on Gov Tuck's Paternal
Family
My 6th Cousin once removed by common ancestor Robert Wade
& Elizabeth
Hampton - - This is on Gov Tuck's
Maternal Family
-------------------------------------------------
William Munford Tuck (September 28, 1896 – June 9, 1983) was
an American lawyer and lieutenant in the Byrd Organization, who served as the
55th Governor of Virginia from 1946 to 1950 as a Democrat, and as a U.S.
Congressman from 1953 until 1969.
Early and Family Life
He was the youngest of nine children of Halifax County,
Virginia tobacco warehouseman Robert James Tuck (1863–1930) and Virginia Susan Fitts (1860–1909). He was named for his grandfather William
Munford Tuck (1832–1899), who served in the Third Virginia Infantry during the
American Civil War. Tuck's mother died when he was 13. He attended county
schools, Virgilina High School, and Chatham Training
School (now Hargrave Military Academy). He attended the College of William and
Mary for two years, earning a teacher's certificate and working for a year as a
teacher/principal in Northumberland County. Tuck then enlisted in the U.S.
Marine Corps and served in 1917 in the Caribbean. Tuck returned to attend law
school at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, graduating in 1921.
In 1929 he married widow (and former schoolteacher) Eva Lovelace Dillard
(1891–1975), to whom he remained married until her death in 1975, raising her
son Lester Layne (L.L.) Dillard Jr. as his own.
Career
Tuck as governor
Upon being admitted to Virginia bar, Tuck maintained a
private legal practice in Halifax for decades, eventually with his stepson L.L.
Dillard. His career as an elected official began in 1923, when Halifax County
voters elected Tuck as their delegate (a part-time position) to the Virginia
General Assembly. He was re-elected once but declined to run for re-election in
1929, citing the need to grow his legal business to support his new family.
However, when his elected successor died, Tuck was drafted in 1930 and served
the remainder of the term. He was then elected to the Virginia State Senate in
1931, where he became a friend of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, a former
governor. During the national New Deal, state Senator Tuck worked to repeal
Prohibition and sponsored new child labor laws, as well as an unemployment
compensation system, old age assistance and jail reforms. He also helped
develop the state park system. In 1941, Tuck sought statewide office, but
Senator Byrd slated Colgate Darden to run for Governor of Virginia, so Tuck was
slated for and won election as the 25th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He
served from 1942 to 1946 under Governor Darden, and gained visibility
throughout the Commonwealth. Tuck defeated his Republican opponent, S. Floyd Landreth by a 2 to 1 margin and won election as governor.
As governor from 1946–1950, Tuck demonstrated his fiscal
conservatism as a Dixiecrat by reorganizing state
government and enacting a right-to-work law. He also created a state water
pollution control agency, helped reform state schools and mental hospitals, as
well as constructed roads. Governor Tuck gained national exposure, however, for
labor unrest in his home state. He worked with Senator Harry Byrd to oppose
President Harry Truman, although a fellow Democrat, especially Truman's plan to
establish a Fair Employment Practices Commission. Once, as governor, Tuck drafted workers of the Virginia Electric Power Company
into the state's national guard to avoid a threatened strike in an unionization
effort. Transportation and coal also experienced labor unrest.
Tuck's resumption of legal practice in South Boston after
his governorship proved short-lived, for he rose within the Byrd Organization.
In 1953 Tuck won election as a Democrat to U.S. Congress vacated by Thomas Bahnson Stanley who had resigned to run for Governor of
Virginia.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's
5th district
In office
April 14, 1953 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by Thomas B.
Stanley
Succeeded by Dan
Daniel
55th Governor of Virginia
In office
January 16, 1946 – January 18, 1950
Lieutenant Lewis
Preston Collins II
Preceded by Colgate
Darden
Succeeded by John
S. Battle
25th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
In office
January 21, 1942 – January 16, 1946
Governor Colgate
Darden
Preceded by Saxon
Winston Holt
Succeeded by Lewis
Preston Collins II
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 10th district
In office
January 13, 1932 – January 14, 1942
Preceded by James
Stone Easley
Succeeded by James
D. Hagood
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Halifax
County
In office
January 9, 1924 – January 13, 1932
Alongside John Glass, Samuel Adams and A. Owen King
Preceded by Daniel W.
Owen
Succeeded by Roy
B. Davis
Personal details
Born William Munford
Tuck
September 28, 1896
Halifax, Virginia, U.S.
Died June 9, 1983
(aged 86)
South Boston, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place Oak
Ridge Cemetery
South Boston, Virginia
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Eva
Ellis Lovelace Dillard
Alma mater College
of William & Mary
Washington & Lee University
Profession Attorney
Military service
Allegiance United
States
Branch/service
United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1918–1919
Battles/wars World
War I