Tucker Essily Wilson was born in 1859 in Shelby County, Kentucky, and died in 1925 in Indiana. He married Priscilla U. Bolden in 1891, and they had a son, Faustin A. In 1888, Tucker Wilson became the first black graduate of DePauw University. He was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1889-1925), serving churches in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. As a student and as a minister, he was recognized for his pioneering spirit, his gifts of oratory and leadership.