Samuel J. Tucker was born around 1824 in New York. He married a woman named Matilda, and they had at least six children: Sarah, born around 1845; George, born around 1849; Judson, born around 1851; Alfred, born around 1855; Lilles, born around 1858; and Emma, born around 1861. They lived in Arcadia, New York, and he earned a living as a carriage maker. By 1850, he owned $300 of real estate. The family moved to Monticello, Iowa, in the 1850s, and by 1860, he owned $200 of real estate and $100 of personal property. He probably died around 1876.