Rigsby Family History
Baxter Family History
Mark's Leaves of Grass
The Info. below was sent to me by Mark Rigsby who received it from Melba Sampley Fuller
Thanks go to Melba Sampley Fuller�and Mark Rigsby
LUKER 2006 Our Luker family is probably of German descent. Perhaps our Lukers were German Huguenots and fled from Germany because of religious persecution. Most Luker researchers think that our line of Lukers sailed from England and came to America in the early or mid 1700's. They settled in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. There are early records of the Lukers living in those areas. Later they would migrate on down into the Carolina's and Georgia and the Mississippi Territory. We have no positive proof of how our Lukers came to be in South Carolina and Georgia. We do know from Tax records that they were in the Edgefield area of South Carolina and also Wilkes County Georgia by 1771. They lived along the Savannah River. The Indians occupied much of the lands in those days. We have found records that indicate that our Lukers were also known by the names of Lucer, Lucre, Looker, Lucar and other similar spellings of the name. Our Naomi Luker married Jesse Sample/Sampley in September 1794 in Columbia Co. Georgia. We have a copy of this marriage document. John Kelley was listed as bonded on this document. We do not know if John Kelley was connected to the Luker/Sampley family. We do not know who the parents of William Luker and Luranah Luker were. There are Luker researchers that have spent a lot of time researching the family. Most of the Luker researchers believe that Isaac Luker may have been the father of William. Isaac shows up on the earliest tax and land records of South Carolina and Georgia. Possibly the mother of William Luker was Mary Luker. One Mary Luker is listed in William Luker's estate records and money was awarded for her care. Actually when I first read the estate records of William Luker, I believed that Mary was a handicapped daughter. Other researchers believes Mary Luker was the mother of our William Who were the parents of Luranah Luker? We lean toward her parents being "Martins". Elisha Gentry died leaving a will in Clark Co. Georgia. His wife's name was Neomy. There has been a lot of research done on this Gentry family but no one knows anything about Neomy. Elisha and Neomy Gentry had only one daughter. Her name was "Patience". They also had a son named "Martin". In our Luker family we of course have a "Naomi". Patience Luker who married Bradford Hinton named a son "Martin" and a daughter "Luranah". We believe that Patience Luker was a daughter of William and Luranah. Also we believe that William and Luranah had a son named Martin. It seems to me that Neomy Gentry and our Luranah Luker may have been sisters. Hepsibeth Luker according to other researchers was a sister to our Naomi. She married Josiah Taylor. These researchers speak of an Indian Heritage for their Hepsibeth. In that case our Naomi would also have an Indian Heritage. I have read that names like "Patience" "Kindness" "Loving" etc. would be Indian names. At any rate I am 99% sure that someplace in our heritage that we have a Martin surname. One set of Lukers migrated on into Giles Co. Tenn. area. One set of Lukers migrated to the Clay and Randolph counties of Alabama. Still another set of Lukers migrated to South Alabama. Other Luker descendants migrated on to Texas. All these families have the familiar Luker surnames of Isaac, William, Jesse, Martin, and Levi etc. Isaac in particularly seems to have been a popular given name. And in those days names had significance. Our Lukers seem to connect with the Gentry, Ruff, Duke, Taylor, Love families as well as the Martins. Following are some estate records that show that there probably is a connection between these families. We have lots of records but so far we do not have the positive proof that we need for connections. William Luker died in Morgan co. Ga. in the spring of 1812. He left a widow Luraner Luker. He died without a will (interstate). Luraner was the administrator of the estate. We have all the appraisements and inventories from the Morgan Co. courthouse in Madison, Ga. Luranah applied for letters of administration of July 24, 1812. These papers are filed under �Inventories and Appraisements 1801 - 1814 Morgan, co. Ga. These are the appraisements of the Wm. Luker Estate: 1 sorrel horse $40: 1 sorrel mare $50: 1 sorrel Mare $35: 1 sorrel colt $10: 3 barron cows $33: 1 cow and calf herd of cattle $31: Cow and calf and bull $11: sow 8 pigs $6: herd of hogs $17.50: 2 hogs $3.50: 1 sow and 8 pigs $6: 2 beds and furniture and bedstead $40: 2 spinning wheels and one chest $5: 7 chairs $1.75: lot of pewter $%: cookingware $3: pots and oven pothooks $5.50: parts and 1 churn $2.87: 3 barrels and one set of spools $1.00: plantation tools $8.87: loom, one table one pair saddle bags $2: some old chairs, riflegun and shot bag $l0.25: debts due the estate: Wm. Herd $5.00: debts due from James Duke $5.00: total $348.12. These are the things Luraner Luker brought in the sale of the estate: 1 bed $16: 1 bed $5.50: 10 head of hogs $14: 1 cow and calf $13.50: 1 cow $11: 1 heifer $4.75: 1 steer $5.87: Luraner could not write and signed with an X> (It should be noted here for those not familiar with these times that the widow not cared for by a bequest in a will owned nothing. She was required to buy what she needed from the sale of the personal possessions of her husband. We might assume from what Luraner bought that she was planning to live with a child, taking only beds and livestock, not needing other house hold goods) Another researcher made me familiar with the laws of that time. These are the people who bought things from the sale of the estate: (Often time members of the family would buy the goods in the sale. Luraner and William apparently had no sons living nearby, as they were not mentioned in the estate papers. We have tried to determine if any of these men may have been son-in-laws of Lurannah and William. We found that some of them did migrate on into the areas where Luranah lived but have come to no definite conclusions on this matter. Luranah as stated before, died in Meriwether Co. Probably in a home of a daughter. These are the notes from The William Luker estate sale: Gabriel Gunn $6.00: William Duke $l0.87: Thomas T. Duke: $20.00;: Jesse Townsend $12.00: Eli Stroud $25.00;: ;William Ruff $18.50: Hubbard Glass $2.00: Abel Sparks $l0.50: Thomas T. Duke $20.00. Mark $21.50: Eli Stroud $25.00. A list of vouchers was recorded in January 17, 1814. No land was mentioned in the estate papers. Wm. Luker had previously sold 100 acres of land to Henry Kimble on Jan. 13, 1811. In the minutes involving the estate, Lurannah Luker was allowed $40.00 per annum for keeping and maintaining Mary Luker an insain woman. In another record Luraner is allowed $30.00 for maintenance of Mary Luker an infurm woman. Our Jesse and Naomi Sampley were not mentioned in these estate records. Very possible that they were already living in Blount Co. Tennessee. In addition to the two Dukes who bought items at William�s estate sale, there were David, James and Simon Duke listed on the 1817 Morgan Co. Tax list. William sold 100 acres of lot 30 to Henry Kimble. This land was sold over a year before he died, assuming he died in 1812. On the deed, they at first wrote William. Then they marked through Duke and wrote Luker. In another record found in Wilkes Co Deed records, Duke connections to Lukers may be found. On March 5, 1824, James M. C. Luker gave to Charles Coalworth Duke. One Aristotle Duke, a sorrel colt. One researcher also shares my beliefs that the Dukes, Loves, Ruffs and others seem to have a connection to our Lukers. William Ruff was also mentioned on the Luker estate papers. William Ruff was in Henry County in 1830. Dukes and Loves were also found in the areas of Henry and Campbell in the same time frame. We were particularly interested in the Meriwether Co. census records to try and track down Luraner Luker, possible living with her children. We did find a young William Ruff in Meriwether County. William P. Ruff was found on page 315 and was only 26 years old in the 1850 census. Here are some comments made by a Luker researcher. He states that on the 1812 Morgan Co. tax list that William Ruff was taxed on 50 acres of land in lot 30. He was listed on this tax list as an agent for William Luker for 50 acres on lot 30. A lot in Georgia contained 202 � acres. On the 1817 tax list William Ruff was listed as an agent for Lurany Luker for 50 acres of lot 30. On the 1809,1814, and 1817 Wilkes Co. tax list, Benjamin Luker was taxed on 150 acres on Fishing Creek. His land adjoined the land of Charles Ruff,. On September 4, 1823, William Ruff sold land in Henry Co. Ga. To William Hardin. Martin Luker witnessed the deed. On the 1818 Morgan Co. Tax list, the land owned previously owned by Lurany Luker and William Ruff was owned by Isaac Smith. This makes me wonder if by 1818 Lourany had moved on to a different location. By 1830 William Ruff was in Henry Co. page 245. In the 1850 census of Henry we have Dukes, Strouds, Glasses and Ruffs living near one another. As Luraney Luker apparently lived in Meriwether Co. Ga. in the 1830�s or early 1840�s we are interested in finding which family she lived with. Apparently the Ruff family did not move to Meriwether. Meriwether Co. was formed from Troup Co. in 1827. It is 26 miles by 17 miles. We have to remember that some of the counties in Ga. Are very small and people living in different counties could be very near to one another. Our Luker family and related families seemed to have traveled from Morgan to Coweta, Campbell, Henry, Walton, Newton and lastly they lived in Troup and Meriwether Counties. It appears that many of the Luker family remained in Henry County. By 1830 Thomas Duke was in Troup County. Richard Duke was in Meriwether in 1840. By 1840 the Glass family (this family mentioned in the Luker estate records) was in Meriwether Co. Ga. James and William were living near one another and both quite old. By 1850 we found one young Ruff person and an older William age 74 with wife Sarah 67 and a younger Glass person. In neighboring Troup County, there were several Dukes: James Duke age 70 and William Dukes page 71 and W P Dukes page 69. We have not been able to establish whom Lourany Luker was living with in Meriwether Co. Ga. We have several records from Clark Co. Georgia that indicate that the Gentry family, Martin family and Luker families were in some way connected but again, we have no proof. In Will book A, page 9 of Clark Co. Georgia, is listed the will of Elisha Gentry. It lists his wife Neomy (family name) daughter Patience: sons Cain, Micajah, Elisha, Elijah, Martin and David. A friend Jacob Martin Jr. Is mentioned. And Witnesses were Isaac Luker and Jesse Sampley. Jacob Martin Jr. Was listed in the will of Elisha Gentry of Clark County Ga. This will was probated in 1804. In 1806, Jacob Martin Sr. had died and our William Luker made application for letters of Administration on the estate of Jacob Martin who was deceased. James Martin and James Ruff were listed as securities. Some of the people who bought things at the sale were: Our Jesse Sample: James Martin: Elisha Martin: Martin Gentry: William Luker: William Ruff: Jacob Martin: Elisha Gentry: Naomi Gentry and Mary Luker. Naomi Gentry, Jacob Martin and William Luker bought about $30.00 each. We can only try to speculate on what connection the Martin family had to the Lukers. Jacob Martin Sr. may have been a brother to our Louraner. The Martin family and Gentry family are listed in the year 1789 as voters in Cumberland Co. Virginia. Listed are John Martin, Simon Gentry, Creed Taylor and Thomas Nash. In later years the Martins, Gentrys and Taylors would seem to connect in Clark Co. Ga. Josiah Taylor married Epsebeth Looker (Luker) in Clark Co. Georgia in 1807. In 1809 Josiah Taylor bought land in Morgan Co. from Philip Zimerman. Zimmerman�s District lists Josiah Taylor, William Luker and Martin Gentry as neighbors. Our William Luker died 1812 in Morgan Co. Georgia. In Edgefield County, South Carolina, Isaac Luker was listed as owner of 200 acres in 1771. The list of landowners included Abraham Martin and Philip Zimmerman. In some Court records of Edgefield Co. South Carolina is listed a case between Leroy Hammond and Isaac Luker. On the same page was listed a jury that included Hezekial Gentry and Matt Martin. Several families moved from the Edgefield District of South Carolina to Ga. The 1790 tax returns from Wilkes Co. Ga. Lists a William Lucke, Elisha Gentry, Philip Zememon, Isaac Hammond, John and James York, James Low, and Hugh Kelley. In a 1795 Ga. Muster Roll is listed Philip Zimmeran: James and Elizah Gentry: Jacob, Benjamin and Isaac Luker and James York. Unfortunately the early census records of Georgia were lost. And we have to rely on tax records for information. Even on our early census records of South Carolina, we can see that Gentrys, Lukers, Martins and others lived very near one another. We do not know who the children of William and Lurannah Luker were other than our Naomi Luker Sampley. I have listed these that were possibly closely connected with William and Lurannah. Our Naomi Luker Sampley: was born circa 1779 (Savannah River area) and died l847 in Ft. Payne Alabama. Married Jesse Sampley who was born 1763/64 and died 1852 Ft. Payne. Alabama. Their children were John, William, Charles, Levi, Jesse Jr, David J., George, Nellie Ellender, Isaac. Questionable is Sarah born circa 1802 and married Elijah Farmer: Martin and Paralee Sampley migrated along with our family. Pretty sure there is a connection there. And also Sarah Sampley who married Clairborne Manes. She was either a daughter or granddaughter. Bethany Luker Love: There is a very good possibility that Bethany was the daughter of William and Lurannah Luker. She married James Love April 5, 1810. They were married in the area where our Lukers lived. Bethany died in 1849 in Chambers Co. Alabama. The family moved there in 1843. James and Bethany lived in Blount Co. Tenn. at the same time that Jesse and Naomi did. The Love family traveled back to Henry Co. Georgia in 1815. Jesse and Naomi also traveled through the Indian Nation in 1815, possibly traveling back to Georgia. Perhaps they traveled together. Children of James and Bethany were Ransom, who died in Blount Co. Tenn. in 1813. Eliza P., Rufus Morgan, Seymour Bryon, Matilda, William Luker (this is a clue) Rosannah, Susannah, James Morgan, Mark Jackson, Mary and Alfred. Their son William Luker named one of his children Bethany Frances. The name "Francis" seems to crop up in our research. Hepsibeth Luker: married Josiah Taylor Oct. 1, 1807 Clark Co. Georgia. Hep was born in South Carolina about 1790. Their first son was named William Riley b. Feb. 16, 1811 Georgia: Hardina: Joanna: Creed: Josiah: Pitkin: Rufus (Bethany had a son named Rufus) James: Mary Jane. Researchers for this family have concluded that Hepsibeth was probably a daughter of William and Lurannah. Martin Luker: There is a strong possibility that Martin was a son of William and Lurannah. This family migrated on to Eastern Alabama. Lourana Luker married Ephrain Henry in 1842 with the bondsmen being Martin Luker, probably her father. Martin served in the War of 1812. He was in Morgan Co. in 1816. In 1822 and 1823 he was in Henry Co. Georgia. Joseph Luker: born in South Carolina. Listed as 70 years old in the 1850 census of Walker co. Ga. female Nancy 47: James: Joshua: Isaac: William: Lorina: and Elizabeth. Joseph sold land in Baldwin co. Ga., which is now Morgan Co. Ga. in 1808. Our Luker family was in that area at that time. Patience Luker Hinton: was born 1804 in Georgia and married Bradford Hinton in Henry Co. in 1822. She died after 1850 in Campbell Co. Ga. Her children were Wiley: Francis R: Lurannah: Martin: Jacob: Lovett T: Hugh H: She was either a daughter or grand daughter of William and Lurannah Joseph Luker: born in South Carolina. Listed as 70 years old in the 1850 census of Walker co. Ga. female Nancy 47: James: Joshua: Isaac: William: Lorina: and Elizabeth. Joseph sold land in Baldwin co. Ga. which is now Morgan Co. Ga. in 1808. Our Luker family was in that area at that time. Frances Luker. This one seems promising: Frances Luker was born 6/4/1802 in Georgia and died 6/18/1875 in Chambers Co. Alabama. Records indicate that Frances married Sinnot Gilder 8th of April 1816 in Twigg County Ga. This was a second marriage for Sinnot Gilder. A researcher shared these Bible Records of the family of Frances and Sinnot: There are other children by Sinnot�s first marriage: These listed are from the marriage of Frances and Sinnot. Martin Luther Gilder was born 28 Mar. 1818 Patience H. (Hulday) Gilder was born 17 May 1820 Rececca L. Gilder was born 21 Aug 1822 Mary Ann Gilder was born 9 Aug 1824 Sinnot J. Gilder was born 28 Nov 1826 James Lafayette Gilder was born 12 July 1829 Henry Jacob Gilder was born 18 May 1832 Frances Gilder was born 4 June 1802. Sinnot Gilder died 3 Aug 1838 age 64 buried Oak Bowery near Opelika, Ala. Martin Luther Gilder died 5 Jan 1863 Lynchburg, Va. CSA. Frances is buried in Lafayette, Ala. Her son is buried in the same cemetery. Notice the familiar names of Patience: Martin: Mary Ann, Jacob and Rebecca also seem to connect also. Francis Luker Gilder and husband Sinnot are listed in the 1820 census of Walton Co. What is particularly interesting is that this family is listed in the 1830 census of Meriwether Co. Georgia. Under Sinot Guilder 2 males under 5: 1 male under age 10: 1 male age 50 to 60 (Sinnot) 1 female under age 5 2 females under age 10 1 female age 30 to 40 ( Frances who would have been age 28 by 1830) Lurannah Luker (wife of William) lived in Meriwether. We have been looking for members of her family that may have lived there. It is quite possible that she lived near Frances and Sinnot. One researcher did some research in Walton Ga. For the 1820 census. He found James Love on page 516/517 in the Walton Co. census. On pages 504 to 510 he found several Smith and Duke families. On page 486/487 he found Richard B. Bradford, Jacob Guilder, Elisha Gentry and William Ruff. The last three were neighbors. On page 482/483 was Martin Luker and Buckener?Kimball. Sinot Guilder and Frances Luker were listed in the 1820 census of Walton Co. Ga. Bethany Luker Love had died by 1850 but her family (James Love) was listed in the 1850 census record of Chambers Co. Alabama. Frances Luker Gilder also lived in that County. So there seems to be a definite connection between the Gilder and Luker family. Possible Ruff/Luker connection: One researcher lists a? Ruff who married Mary Luker. They had a child William Ruff b. 1769 died 1836 Henry Co. Ga. This William Ruff was mentioned in estate papers of our William Luker. He married Rebecca Martin 1800 in Morgan Co. Ga. She was born in Morgan Co. Ga. and died July 1852. Children of William Ruff and Rebecca Martin are: Sussanah b. 1801: John Ruff: Martin Luker Ruff: Mary Ruff: Elisabeth Riley Ruff (the name Riley again) b. Aug. 10 1812 Morgan Co. Ga. Berella Ruff: William R. Ruff: Hardema Ruff: Benjamin Ruff born 1821 Morgan Co. Ga. This Rebecca Martin may have connected with Jacob Martin who died in Clark Co. Ga. about 1805 with William Luker handling the estate. Of Interest: Nelly Luker married Henry Shank Nov. 11, 1819. She had a child named Francis Cordelia. We note that Bethany Luker Love had a grandchild named Frances Cordelia. Frances Lucre/Luker: married James Landers 1/10/1816 according to marriage records in Madison Co. Georgia. Frances was born 1792. The researchers of Frances Landers say that she was a daughter of William and Luranah Luker. I do not know the names of the children. Of Interest: Henry Co. Georgia: George Washington Welch 1803-1893 and wife Luraney Welch nee Duke lived in a landmark house. The Dukes were connected to the Luker family in some way. This Luraney Duke Welch may have been a child of William and Loranah Luker. She was called Aunt Rainey. Of Interest: I have a note from Kindred Connections. Listing Patience Martin (Maddocks) death 1770 Father Melaliah Marttin and mother Rebecca Brooks. This could possibility be a connection. One researcher said that unraveling the Luker family was like unraveling Christmas lights. I tend to agree. We have lots of info but cannot connect it all together. These are records and notes that I have collected from other researchers and my own research. There are a lot of questions unanswered.
Melba Fuller
Researcher
