{{Short description|American pioneer}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Jane Morris Rucker | honorific_suffix = | image = Jane Rucker.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1830|1|29}} | birth_place = Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1907|11|10|1830|1|29}} | death_place = Everett, Washington, U.S. | death_cause = | burial_place = Evergreen Cemetery, Everett, Washington, U.S. | burial_coordinates = | monuments = Rucker Mausoleum | nationality = | occupation = | years_active = | era = | employer = | organization = Woman's Book Club | agent = | known_for = A pioneer of Everett, Washington and the first female resident of the city. Mother, partner, and advisor of the Rucker Brothers, who are known as one of Everett's first landowners and vital developers of the city, its infrastructure and enterprises. | notable_works = | spouse = | partner = | children = 7, including {{cslist|Wyatt Rucker|Bethel Rucker}}
| signature = Jane Rucker's signature.svg | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }}
'''Jane Morris Rucker''' (January 29, 1830 – November 10, 1907) was a pioneer of Everett, Washington. She was the first female resident of Everett, coming to the area in 1889. Jane Rucker and two of her sons, Wyatt and Bethal, were among the largest landowners of the city. Wyatt and Bethal executed real estate dealings and were later known as the "Fathers of Everett," while Jane served as their partner and principal advisor.
The Ruckers were one of the first two landowners and non-indigenous inhabitants at the site of the future Everett City. They settled on the Port Gardner Peninsula (now central Everett) in 1890, bought a large amount of land, and engaged in platting the town of Port Gardner with other pioneers of the area. Later, the Ruckers joined forces with John D. Rockefeller, Charles L. Colby, and Colgate Hoyt. Plans for the town of Port Gardner were later folded into the City of Everett. The Rucker family owned {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of downtown Everett and in 1891 they were the first to put the city's platted lots on the market. In 1905, the family moved into the Rucker Mansion, which would later be surrounded by other large residences that form the modern-day Rucker Hill neighborhood.
After Rucker's death, her sons built the Rucker Monument, which later became the family mausoleum in Everett's Evergreen Cemetery. Originally, the mausoleum was adorned with a seated statue of Jane Rucker.
==Early life and family==
Rucker was born in Ohio on January 29, 1830, to Moses Morris and Sarah Morris. Moses served as minister for more than 50 years. Both of the parents were pioneers from Ohio.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}} Rucker married Wyatt Rucker, also the son of a long-time minister, in 1850. The Ruckers were members of the Baptist Church and had seven children, four girls and three boys.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}
Wyatt Rucker died on May 27, 1878, in Ohio and was buried there.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Cuyle |first=Deborah |title=Haunted Everett, Washington |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4671-4284-7 |location=Charleston, SC |pages=49 |language=en}}</ref> On November 4, 1929, his remains were moved to the Rucker Mausoleum in Everett, Washington.{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}
==Pioneer life==
===Arriving in Everett===
Jane Rucker and her two sons Wyatt and Bethel Rucker moved from Noble County, Ohio, to Tacoma, Washington in 1888.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=21}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}{{excessive citations inline|date=August 2021}}
In 1889, after James J. Hill's announcement that the Great Northern Railway would come over the Cascade Mountains to Puget Sound region, the excitement rose that it would also reach the Port Gardner Peninsula (an area formed by the Snohomish River and Port Gardner Bay, which later became a central part of the City of Everett).{{sfn|Oakley|2005}}{{sfn|Hunt|Kaylor|1917|loc=v.I, p. 400}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}} That same year, after reading about the opportunities for development of Snohomish County, the Ruckers moved to the peninsula.{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=21}}{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, pp. 184, 525–526}}{{sfn|Hunt|Kaylor|1917|loc=v.I, p. 401}}{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{excessive citations inline|date=August 2021}} Jane Rucker also became the first female resident of Everett.{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}{{sfn|The Spokesman-Review; Nov 15,|1907}}{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}
At the time of the Ruckers' arrival, the area mainly consisted of forests and was sparsely settled by Coast Salish peoples.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} There were no marked roads or merchant routes, and the primary way to get provisions to the area was by boat.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}
===Developing Everett===
By 1890, the family bought {{convert|1,000|acre|ha}} of land on the Port Gardner peninsula (which later became Everett's downtown), becoming one of the first two non-indigenous landowners of the city's lands. They built their house there and started to plat the townsite of Port Gardner in partnership with William G. Swalwell, his brother Wellington, and Frank B. Friday.{{sfn|Oakley|2005}}{{sfn|History of Snohomish County|1926|loc=v.I, p. 310}}{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=22}}{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|Hunt|Kaylor|1917|loc=v.I, p. 401}}{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}{{excessive citations inline|date=August 2021}}
Their plans for Port Gardner were interrupted by Henry Hewitt Jr., a lumberman and land speculator from Tacoma.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} He sought the establishment of an industrial city on a much larger scale. Hewitt invited John D. Rockefeller, American Steel Barge Company president Charles L. Colby, and Great Northern director Colgate Hoyt to invest in the area's development. After securing a funding agreement, he persuaded the Ruckers, Friday, and Swalwell to join the development scheme. They agreed to cooperate and each of them transferred half of their holdings (overall, near {{convert|800|acre|ha}} of land) to the East Coast syndicate.{{sfn|Oakley|2005}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}} Despite giving away a substantial part of their property, the Ruckers still ended up personally owning {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of Everett's downtown{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=22}} and platted modern-day Rucker Hill.{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}} In 1891, they were the ones to put the first platted lots of Everett on the market and reaped a considerable profit from it.{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}
In November 1890, the townsite was renamed Everett. The Everett Land Company was organized, spurring and managing all of the area's rapid development. The Rucker brothers were the company's co-founders and ran it for several years.{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|Hunt|Kaylor|1917|loc=v.I, p. 401}}{{sfn|Oakley|2005}}
Everett was incorporated as a city in 1893. It had its own infrastructure and enterprises and grew to 5,000 people.{{when|date=August 2021}} However, the Panic of 1893 and the national economic depression that came afterwards almost destroyed the city's businesses and infrastructure; many citizens fled the area.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The city's government was almost bankrupt and additionally John Rockefeller started to withdraw his investments. Surviving the hardships, the city started to recover in 1899, when James J. Hill and his Everett Improvement Company bought the holdings of Rockefeller and the Everett Land Company (more than {{convert|6,000|acre|ha}} of Everett's townsite). The Rucker brothers took an active part in closing the deal between the businessmen.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, pp. 184–185}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|Oakley|2005}}
In different accounts, Jane Rucker was described as "a woman of exceptional ability,"{{sfn|History of Snohomish County|1926|loc=v.I, p. 310}} "intelligent and independent," and was considered a partner and advisor in the business affairs of her sons.{{sfn|History of Snohomish County|1926|loc=v.I, p. 310}}{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}} Wyatt and Bethel Rucker have since been recognized as Everett's founding fathers.{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}
The Ruckers also donated some of their property to house Everett's early factories and were involved in major city negotiations, such as the construction of a harbor. They owned the Monte Cristo Hotel and the park nearby,{{clarify|date=August 2021}} were in charge{{clarify|date=August 2021}} of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway and of the Everett Terminal Company. They built a mountain resort, the Big Four Inn, had interests in several banking enterprises and commercial organizations, engaged in timber and mining businesses.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, pp. 184–185}}{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}{{sfn|History of Snohomish County|1926|loc=v.I, p. 345}}{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}}
===Later life in Everett=== thumb|Rucker Mansion, 2009
In 1905, Jane Rucker, her two sons, and daughter-in-law moved into the Rucker Mansion on a hill overlooking Port Gardner Bay.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Steve |date=2023-10-31 |title=Rucker/Walton Mansion, 412 Laurel Drive – Historic Everett |url=https://historiceverett.org/2023/10/rucker-walton-mansion-412-laurel-drive/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Ruckers attracted other elite families to the area, which was later known as Rucker Hill. Their residence became a setting point for a district of upper class homes that have since been preserved as a designated national historic district.{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}
==Personal life, family, and death==
Rucker was a life member of the Woman's Book Club.{{sfn|Prosser|1903|loc=v.II, p. 184}}
Rucker died on November 10, 1907, at the family mansion in Everett.{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{sfn|The Spokesman-Review; Nov 15,|1907}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}} She was outlived by her three sons – Wyatt J., Bethal J., William Rucker, and one of her daughters.{{sfn|The Spokesman-Review; Nov 15,|1907}}
==Historic legacy==
===Rucker Mausoleum=== thumb|Rucker Mausoleum, 2009
After Jane Rucker's death, her sons built a pyramid-shaped monument with a tomb inside in Evergreen Cemetery honoring their mother. It is considered to be the largest monument in the cemetery{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=22}} and "one of the grandest tombs in the country."{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}} At some point, Jane Rucker's large seated statue stood over the doorway, but it was dismantled.{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}} The inscription on the door of the mausoleum dedicated to Jane Rucker by her sons read "The Pioneer of Everett, The True Wife, The Perfect Mother, The Soul of Honor."{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=23}} Her husband was also moved into the mausoleum in 1929.<ref name=":0" />
The {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=mid}} tall granite tomb became a family mausoleum for more than 20 family members and has a {{convert|9|by|9|ft|m}} chapel area.{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}} The mausoleum was appraised at $30,000 ($805,000 in 2021 dollars{{refn|group=note|name=Money valuation|The approximate value converted to 2021 dollars, based on a standard adjustment of the 1913 dollar value using the Consumer Price Index as calculated by United States Department of Labor.{{sfn|Bureau of Labor|2020}}}}).{{sfn|Holtz|2008}}{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}
In 1994, the film ''Assassins'' was filmed at the tomb.{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}} Ever since the monument was built, it has attracted attention of vandals. In 2008, the damage done to the tomb and nearby graves was appraised at $12,000 ($15,000{{refn|group=note|name=Money valuation}}).{{sfn|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}{{sfn|Holtz|2008}}
===Other familial historic landmarks=== thumb|Rucker Hill Park, 2009 There a few other Everett locations that bear the Rucker family name like the Rucker Hill, Rucker Avenue, and the Rucker Mansion.{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|pp=23, 25}}{{sfn|Muhlstein|2012}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}}{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}
* The {{convert|13,000|sqft|m2|adj=mid}} Rucker Mansion, where Jane Rucker spent the last years of her life from 1905 to 1907,{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}}{{sfn|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993|p=21}}{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}{{sfn|Oldham|2008}} is considered "the boldest, biggest mansion" of old Everett buildings{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}} and "the most beautiful site in the city." The construction was appraised at $40,000 ($1,000,000 in 2021 dollars{{refn|group=note|name=Money valuation}}).{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}} The Rucker family owned the mansion until 1923.{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}} In 1974{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}} or 1975,{{sfn|Oldham|2008}} the mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places register.{{sfn|historiceverett.org|2021}} * The Rucker Hill Historic District is a residential area above Port Gardner Bay in Everett, Washington. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.{{sfn|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}
== Notes == {{reflist|group=note}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== Literature cited == {{refbegin|indent=yes}} {{sort list|asc|2= *{{citation|access-date=December 16, 2020|work=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=United States Department of Labor|location=Washington|title=CPI Inflation Calculator|url=https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm|ref={{harvid|Bureau of Labor|2020}}}} *{{citation|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=historiceverett.org|publisher=Historic Everett|location=Everett|title=Port Gardner Neighborhood, self-guided history tour, Everett, Washington|url=https://historiceverett.org/walkingtour/PortGardner.html|ref={{harvid|historiceverett.org|2021}}}} *{{citation|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=LivingPlaces.com|publisher=The Gombach Group|location=Morrisville|title=Rucker Hill Historic District|url=https://www.livingplaces.com/WA/Snohomish_County/Everett_City/Rucker_Hill_Historic_District.html|ref={{harvid|LivingPlaces.com|2021}}}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}} *{{citation|date=November 15, 1907|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=The Spokesman-Review|publisher=Cowles Company|location=Spokane|title=They were pioneers|pages=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/566013861|url-access=subscription|issn=1064-7317|lccn=sn84024754|oclc=11102610|ref={{harvid|The Spokesman-Review; Nov 15,|1907}}}} *{{citation|editor-first=William M.|editor-last=Whitfield|date=1926|publisher=Pioneer Historical Publishing Company|location=Chicago|title=History of Snohomish County, Washington|volume=1|lccn=85190494|oclc=8437390|ref={{harvid|History of Snohomish County|1926}}}} *{{citation|editor-first=Jean B.|editor-last=Robinson|date=September 1, 1993|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=Rucker Family Society Newsletter|publisher=Rucker Family Society|location=Richmond|title=In Memoriam: Joshua Eldon Rucker|pages=29|volume=4|issue=3|url=http://www.theruckerfamilysociety.org/V4_N3.pdf|oclc=34280093|ref={{harvid|Rucker Family Society; Sep 1,|1993}}}} *{{citation|date=May 12, 2018|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=Adventure Sisters|publisher=PNW Adventure Sisters|location=Pacific Northwest|title=Rucker's Tomb – Tribute to a Mother's Love|url=https://pnwadventuresisters.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/ruckers-tomb-a-tribute-to-a-mothers-love-2/|ref={{harvid|Adventure Sisters; May 12,|2018}}}} *{{citation|first=J. E.|last=Bunch|editor-first=Sandee|editor-last=Suitt|date=August 8, 2015|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=Daily News Journal|publisher=Gannett|location=Tysons|title=Historical Perspective: Early settlers in region included Ruckers|url=https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/08/08/historical-perspective-early-settlers-region-included-ruckers/31351849/|issn=0745-2683|oclc=9008844}} *{{citation|first=Jackson|last=Holtz|date=July 17, 2008|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=HeraldNet.com|publisher=Sound Publishing Inc.|location=Everett|title=Vandals cause $12,000 damage at Evergreen Cemetery in Everett|url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/vandals-cause-12000-damage-at-evergreen-cemetery-in-everett/|issn=2332-0079|lccn=sn86071992|oclc=304341898}} *{{citation|first1=Herbert|last1=Hunt|author-link=|first2=Floyd C.|last2=Kaylor|date=1917|publisher=S. J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago|title=Washington, west of the Cascades; historical and descriptive; the explorers, the Indians, the pioneers, the modern|lccn=18015511|oclc=10086413}} *{{citation|first=Julie|last=Muhlstein|date=February 4, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=HeraldNet.com|publisher=Sound Publishing Inc.|location=Everett|title=Found photos may show Everett's early pioneers|url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/found-photos-may-show-everetts-early-pioneers/|issn=2332-0079|lccn=sn86071992|oclc=304341898}} *{{citation|first=Janet|last=Oakley|date=July 26, 2005|access-date=April 5, 2021|work=HistoryLink|publisher=History Ink|location=Seattle|title=Everett — Thumbnail History|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7397|oclc=124224498}} *{{citation|first=Kit|last=Oldham|date=April 4, 2008|access-date=January 15, 2021|work=HistoryLink|publisher=History Ink|location=Seattle|title=The Ruckers move into their new mansion in Everett, whose rapid growth they have helped promote, in the summer of 1905|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8569|oclc=124224498}} *{{citation|first=William Farrand|last=Prosser|author-link=William Farrand Prosser|editor-first=Edward Gardner|editor-last=Lewis|editor-link=Edward Gardner Lewis|date=1903|publisher=Edward Gardner Lewis|location=New York City|title=A history of the Puget Sound country, its resources, its commerce and its people|lccn=05013767}} *{{citation|first1=William Sidney|last1=Shiach|first2=Harrison B.|last2=Averill|date=1906|access-date=October 23, 2020|publisher=Interstate Publishing Company|location=Chicago|title=An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties: their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington|url=https://archive.org/download/illustratedhisto00inte/illustratedhisto00inte.pdf|lccn=06030900|oclc=11299996}}}} {{refend}}
== External links == * {{Find a Grave|13322568}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rucker, Jane}} Category:Washington (state) pioneers Category:People from Ohio Category:American real estate and property developers Category:19th-century American women landowners Category:19th-century American landowners Category:American industrialists Category:American investors Category:American women investors Category:19th-century American businesswomen Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:1830 births Category:1907 deaths Category:Businesspeople from Everett, Washington Category:Women in real estate