This Commission, which explored and surveyed the Upper Amazon River and its tributaries, discovered two new rivers, the Trinidad and the Herrera-yacu. Upon completion of the expedition, Tucker traveled to New York to meet with engravers to make maps and atlases from the Commission's findings. Tucker retired to Petersburg, Virginia, until his sudden death on June 12, 1883. Their children were Randolph Tucker, Tarleton Webb Tucker, and Virginius Tucker. The John Randolph Tucker papers, many of which are in Spanish, deal primarily with his service as President of the Peruvian Hydrographical Commission of the Amazon.
Correspondence is by far the most extensive and important.
The letters describe the expedition of the steamer Tambo and the difficulties encountered by Tucker and the Commission. These include hostile natives, as well as financial and other problems in their dealings with the Peruvian government. Correspondence from Captain James H. Rochelle, Tucker's friend and a Commission member, indicates that for years afterward Tucker and Rochelle suffered from malaria contracted on the expedition. Letters in Subseries C written by Tucker's son and Rochelle's nephew reveal that as late as 1897, years after the deaths of Tucker and Rochelle, the Peruvian government still had not paid the Commission members the money owed them. Questions on literary property rights should be directed to the Special Collections coordinator.