Tucker Family

[sactonative]

We are Tuckers in California and I have always wondered if we are related to Preston. The similarities in the inventions of Preston and my grandfather and grand uncles are just to similar to be coincidence.. My Grandfather, Jess D. Tucker, made many improvements on the automobile and, like Preston, was ripped off by the Big three. I have Jess's original patents for the automatic transmission and the modern clutch, for which he never received recognition. He also invented the process, but got credit for, of manufacturing multiple engine rings at once, instead of just one at a time. My older cousins used to play with the prototypes - walking them down stairs...yes, you guessed it...from that was born the Slinky. In 1947, he constructed the smallest diesel engine in the world - that fit in a suitcase. It's progeny is still used to do mine dredging in rivers. My uncles, Emmit and Otto Tucker, were the inventors of an "improved" Model-T and the Tucker Snocat. No one in our living family knows of any connection to Preston. Prior to coming to California in 1850, our branch of the Tuckers hailed from either Missouri or Arkansas. Does anyone out there know if there might be a connection to our two clans?