Charles Keating Tuckerman (1827-1896)

He was born in Boston and educated at the Boston Latin School. He had business connections in China where he lived for several years before returning to the States in 1856, settling in New York City, where he directed the New York Institution for the Blind. In 1858, he married Mary, daughter of William and Cornelia Fleming Gracie. He was the first appointed U.S. Ambassador to Greece from 1868 to 1872, and his resignation was delayed for six months by President Ulysses S. Grant who wanted to keep him on. In Greece, the Tuckermans became close to the Greek Royal Family and Queen Olga became a particularly close friend of his wife, Mrs. Tuckerman. In those days, the Greek Court was a lively place with nightly balls and dinner parties for young people. King George, gave the Tuckermans a magnificent china dinner service made for him and his wife in Copenhagen. It is marked "G" and "O" on every piece and is stored in 9-barrels. The Queen presented Mary with a bracelet - a wide gold band with one ruby and one diamond, engraved with an inscription inside. Charles was awarded with the Order of the Savior on leaving Greece. Afterwards, he lived in London and at 18 Avenue Kléber in Paris (which later served as the U.S. Embassy from 1898 to 1913) before finally settling in Florence, Italy, where he died. He authored three books: The Greeks of To-day (1872), Miscellaneous Poems (1880), and Personal Recollections of Notable People at Home and Abroad (1895). He and Mary were the parents of two sons, Fleming and Arthur.