John Lucas, founder of Lucasville,
moved to the Scioto Valley with his two older brothers and a cousin
around 1800. John was the son of William Lucas and Susannah Barnes.
This Quaker family had roots that stretched back to 1679 in
Pennsylvania, though the family had recently moved to Virginia. The
Bicentennial of 2019 is an appropriate time to explore the times of
the Pennsylvania Lucas family.
The patriarch of the family was Robert
Lucas, of Deverall, Longbridge, County Wilts. He was a
yeoman (a man holding and cultivating a
small landed estate) who arrived at Philadelphia on April 4, 1679 in
the "Elizabeth and Mary" of Weymouth. Elizabeth, his wife,
arrived in July 1680 in the ship "Content" of London with
her eight children, John, Giles, Edward, Robert II, Elizabeth,
Rebecca, Mary and Sarah.
Robert Lucas received a grant of 177
acres of land, below the Fails, on the west side of the Delaware,
from Edmond Andross, Governor General under the Duke of York, and it
was confirmed by patent from William Penn, May 3, 1684. This land he
devised to his son, Edward.
Robert Lucas was a Justice of Upland
Court, 1681; a member of Provincial Assembly, 1683, 1687 and 1688;
and was a member of the first grand jury in Pennsylvania, summoned
March 2, 1683. His will was signed in 1687, and he died in Bucks
county in 1688. His will mentions his wife, Elizabeth, and sons,
Edward, Robert, Giles and John, and provides for his younger children
who are not mentioned by name.
Quakers – First Arrival
George Fox was an English Dissenter,
who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known
as the Quakers or Friends. The term “Quaker” arose as a popular
nickname used to ridicule this new religious group when it emerged in
seventeenth century England. It arose from the perception that, when
experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, some Friends physically
shook and trembled in meeting for worship. Since the term was so
widely recognized, some Quakers began using it informally.
Quaker missionaries had arrived in
North America in the mid-1650s.The first was Elizabeth Harris, who
visited Virginia and Maryland. By the early 1660s, more than 50 other
Quakers had followed Harris.. In 1656 Mary Fisher and Ann Austin
began preaching in Boston. They were considered heretics because of
their insistence on individual obedience to “the Inner Light.”
They were imprisoned and banished by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Their books were burned, and most of their property was confiscated.
They were imprisoned under terrible conditions, then deported.
* Note of Interest – The Inner
Light refers to the presence of Christ in the heart. Quakers took
this idea of walking in the Light of Christ to refer to God's
presence within a person, and to a direct and personal experience of
God. The Quaker belief that the Inward Light shines on each person is
based in part on a passage from the New Testament, namely John 1:9,
which says, "That was the true light, which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world."
William Penn and Pennsylvania
The History of colonial Pennsylvania
begins in 1681 when William Penn received a royal charter from King
Charles II of England, although human activity in the region precedes
that date. Penn established a colony based on religious tolerance; it
was settled by many Quakers along with its chief city Philadelphia,
which was also the first planned city. In the mid-eighteenth century,
the colony attracted many German and Scots-Irish immigrants. It
became one of the original 13 colonies.
Note of Interest – Charles II of
England granted the Province of Pennsylvania to William Penn to
settle a debt of £16,000 that the king owed to Penn's father. Penn
founded a proprietary colony. Charles named the colony Pennsylvania
("Penn's woods" in Latin), after the elder Penn, which the
younger Penn found embarrassing, as he feared people would think he
had named the colony after himself.
Although born into a distinguished
Anglican family and the son of Admiral Sir William Penn, William Penn
joined the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers at the age of 22.
The Quakers obeyed their "inner light", which they believed
to come directly from God, refused to bow or take off their hats to
any man, and refused to take up arms.
William Penn was a close friend of
George Fox, the founder of the Quakers. In times of turmoil after
Oliver Cromwell's death, the Quakers were suspect because of their
principles which differed from the state-imposed religion and because
of their refusal to swear an oath of loyalty to Cromwell or to the
King. (Quakers obeyed the command of Christ in Matthew 5:34 – “But
I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's
throne.”)
Penn's religious views were extremely
distressing to his father, Admiral Sir William Penn, who had earned
an estate in Ireland through naval service and hoped that Penn's
charisma and intelligence would be able to win him favor at the court
of Charles II. In 1668 William Penn was imprisoned for writing a
tract (The Sandy Foundation Shaken) which attacked the doctrine of
the trinity.
"If thou wouldst
rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled
by him....Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by
tyrants."
–William Penn
In time, the persecution of Quakers
became so fierce that Penn decided that it would be better to try to
found a new, free, Quaker settlement in North America. Some Quakers
had already moved to North America, but the New England Puritans,
especially, were as negative towards Quakers as the people back home,
and some of them had been banished to the Caribbean.
In 1677, Penn's chance came, as a group
of prominent Quakers, among them Penn, received the colonial province
of West New Jersey (half of the current state of New Jersey). Penn,
who was involved in the project but himself remained in England,
drafted a charter of liberties for the settlement. He guaranteed free
and fair trial by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust
imprisonment and free elections.
Penn marketed the colony throughout
Europe in various languages and, as a result, settlers flocked to
Pennsylvania. Those Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) fled
persecution not only in England, but also in Germany, Ireland, and
Wales for the shores of the North American colonies
From 1682 to 1684 Penn was, himself, in
the Province of Pennsylvania. Penn began construction of Pennsbury
Manor, his intended country estate in Bucks County on the right bank
of the Delaware River, in 1683. After he completed the building plans
for Philadelphia and put his political ideas into a workable form,
Penn explored the interior of the country. He befriended the local
Indians (primarily of the Leni Lenape (aka Delaware) tribe) , and
ensured that they were paid fairly for their lands. Penn even learned
several different Indian dialects in order to communicate in
negotiations without interpreters.
* Note of Interest – William
Penn introduced laws saying that if a European did an Indian wrong,
there would be a fair trial, with an equal number of people from both
groups deciding the matter. His measures proved successful: even
though later colonists did not treat the Indians as fairly as Penn
and his first group of colonists had done.
What is a less assuredly myth –
or fact – is whether Penn ever signed a 'Great Treaty' in 1682 at
the village of Shackamaxon. As we have seen, for many Americans (and
non-Americans such as Voltaire) this deed proved the most inspiring
“event” of Penn's life. Francis Jennings believes that Penn
signed the treaty and never broke it, but that his less scrupulous
successors destroyed the document, presumably so that they could
renege on its provisions. We do know that Penn did buy much land, so
must have made at least one such agreement, instituting what was
known in Indian terminology as a “chain of friendship.” And there
do exist several references to this chain being made between Penn and
the Delaware.
Penn had wished to settle in
Philadelphia himself, but financial problems forced him back to
England in 1701. His financial advisor, Philip Ford, had cheated him
out of thousands of pounds, and he had nearly lost Pennsylvania
through Ford's machinations. The next decade of Penn's life was
mainly filled with various court cases against Ford. He tried to sell
Pennsylvania back to the state, but while the deal was still being
discussed, he was hit by a stroke in 1712, after which he was unable
to speak or take care of himself.
Quakers In America
The Quakers’ arrival in the New World
helped shape its moral and political fabric, including the eventual
abolition of slavery. It is recorded that the first two prominent
Friends to denounce slavery were Anthony Benezet and John Woolman.
They asked the Quakers, "What thing in the world can be done
worse towards us, than if men should rob or steal us away and sell us
for slaves to strange countries.”
In 1688, a group of Quakers
along with some German Mennonites met at the meeting house in
Germantown, Pennsylvania, to discuss why they were distancing
themselves from slavery. Four of them signed a document written by
Francis Daniel Pastorius that stated, "To bring men hither, or
to rob and sell them against their will, we stand against." In
1758, Quakers in Philadelphia were ordered to stop buying and selling
slaves. By the 1780s, all Quakers were barred from owning slaves.
They were the first Western organization to ban slave-holding.
From the efforts of the Quakers, Ben
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were able to convince the Continental
Congress to ban the importation of slaves into America as of December
1, 1775. Pennsylvania was the strongest anti-slavery state at the
time, and with Franklin's help they led "The Pennsylvania
Society for Promoting The Abolition of Slavery, The Relief of Free
Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, and for Improving the Condition
of the African Race" (Pennsylvania Abolition Society).
Though the Quaker beliefs of gender
equality, universal education, and positive relations with Native
Americans were rejected by most colonists, by 1700 more than 11,000
Quakers had made America their home and come to dominate politics and
daily life in Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey.
A number of Quaker beliefs were
considered radical, such as the idea that women and men were
spiritual equals, and women could speak out during worship. Based on
their interpretation of the Bible, Quakers were pacifists and refused
to take legal oaths. Central to their beliefs was the idea that
everyone had the Light of Christ within them.
Their differences extended into social
settings. Quakers did not bow as a popular greeting. They popularized
the handshake. They typically lived plain, disciplined lives as
farmers, shopkeepers, and artisans, but in Massachusetts, some faced
the gallows for their religion, while others were banished. Many
other Christians believed that the Quaker practice of silent worship
undermined the Bible. Even so, Quakers remained loyal to their
convictions, and over time inspired progress.
* Note of Interest – While all
Quakers met in worship to hear more clearly God's "still small
voice" (1 Kings 19:12), Friends in the unprogrammed Quaker
tradition based their worship entirely on expectant waiting. They
took the Psalmist's advice literally: "Be still and know that I
am God" (Psalm 46:10).
The congregation met in plain,
unadorned rooms because they had found that, in such places, they
were less distracted from hearing that still small voice. There were
no pulpits in our meeting rooms because they ministered to each
other. Their benches or chairs faced each other because they felt
they are all equal before God. They had no prearranged prayers,
readings, sermons, hymns, or musical orchestrations because they
waited for God's leadings (guidance and direction) and power in our
lives.
Prison reform was another concern of
English Quakers. During the 1800s, Elizabeth Fry and her brother
Joseph John
Gurney
campaigned for more humane treatment of prisoners and for the
abolition of the death penalty. They played a key role in forming the
Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate,
which managed to better the living conditions of woman and children
held at the prison.
As a primary Quaker belief is that all
human beings are equal and worthy of respect, the fight for human
rights has also extended to many other areas of society. In the early
days Quaker views toward women were remarkably progressive, and by
the 19th century many Quakers were active in the movement for women's
rights. Many of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in the
U.S. were Quakers, including Lucretia Mott and Alice Paul.
Early suffragettes Quaker minister
Lucretia Mott was a fierce abolitionist who refused to use cotton
cloth, cane sugar, and other slavery-produced goods. Frustrated by
anti-slavery organizations that would not accept female members, Mott
set about establishing women's abolitionist societies.
In 1848 Mott helped bring together the
first American women's rights meeting in Seneca Falls, New York, and
was elected as the first president of the American Equal Rights
Association after the end of the Civil War. When slavery was outlawed
in 1865, she didn't stop her activist aims and began to advocate
giving black Americans the right to vote.
Another Quaker, Susan B. Anthony, also
dedicated her life to attaining equal voting rights for women in
America. Born into a Quaker family and committed to social equality,
she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. When she first
began campaigning for women's rights, Anthony was harshly ridiculed
and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage. She
founded the American Equal Rights Association in 1866.
Ignoring opposition and abuse, Anthony
traveled, lectured, and canvassed across the nation for the vote. She
also campaigned for the abolition of slavery, the right for women to
own their own property and retain their earnings, and she advocated
for women's labor organizations. In 1900, Anthony persuaded the
University of Rochester to admit women.
* Note of interest – To date,
two U.S. presidents have been Quakers: Herbert Hoover and Richard M.
Nixon. Other famous Quakers include author James Michener,
philanthropist Johns Hopkins and John Cadbury, founder of the
chocolate business bearing his name.
In 2007 there were approximately
359,000 adult members of Quaker meetings in the world, with about
87,000 in the United States. This includes all the various branches
of the Religious Society of Friends.
Quaker meetinghouses were unadorned spaces where men and women worshiped equally.
On Sundays, which they called “First Day,” Quakers worshiped in silence, waiting until
“the spirit found them,” and inspired them to speak. 1735, Pennsylvania.
(Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Lucasville Connection
The remarkable history of the Lucas
family includes many early American references. Even Robert II's wife
had a decidedly strong Quaker connection – On the March 7, 1816,
35-year-old State Senator Robert Lucas II married Miss Friendly
Ashley Sumner, a daughter of Edward Sumner, who had accompanied her
parents in their migration from New England. Friendly was Robert's
second wife. He had been married to Elizabeth Brown, his landlord's
daughter, in 1810. Elizabeth died in 1812 leaving him with an infant
daughter. How fitting a name for a member of the Religious Society of
Friends – Friendly.
About this time, or shortly after,
Robert and Friendly moved north into Pike County (then newly
organized) and settled in the town of Piketon on the main street,
which, for many years was to be his home. Residents there remarked of
Robert's “tall, straight figure and stern face.” Of Friendly,
many recalled her “delicious currant pies.” Of course, John Lucas
was busy platting the town of Lucasville, just a few miles to the
south.
In July of 1819, Lucas united with the
Methodist Church at Piketon, and throughout the remainder of his life
he remained a prominent worker in the cause of that denomination.
Lucas was as intense in his religion as he was in political
activities or military matters. His Quaker roots likely served him
well in his work with the new denomination.
Shortly after, Robert Lucas built
himself a house on the Jackson road two miles east of Piketon which
was said to be “among the finest in all Southern Ohio.” A
biographer wrote of the idyllic home ...
“The Lucas house was a large,
two-story brick house with a hall in the center and sitting-room and
parlor opening on either side of the hall. Each room, upstairs and
down, was provided with a fireplace. Over the front door was placed a
stone on which were cut the following words: 'Virtue, Liberty, and
Independence.' Beneath the word 'Liberty' appeared a five-pointed
star; while below the motto were carved name and date: ''K. Lucas,
1824.' Located on a farm of four hundred thirty-seven acres,
surrounded with large trees and with sweet brier and eglantine
growing in profusion about the place and over the walls, it was
indeed a home of wonderful attractiveness.”
The grove about the house was the
distinctive feature of the farm; and so, in honor of his wife, Lucas
fittingly named his new home "Friendly Grove.” The Lucas
family lived there, and Robert and his wife “entertained in great
state” for fifteen years. Political friends came “to discuss
weighty matters of public concern and to laugh at the quick-witted
sallies of Mrs. Lucas.”
Methodist circuit rider also stopped
there and “found spiritual improvement in religious conversation
with the serious minded legislator – while they incidentally
nourished their gaunt frames upon the ample and delectable meals
outspread by their hostess.” And history also records “not least
eagerly came the nephews and nieces from Piketon and the neighborhood
to spend a week or so amid the charms of Friendly Grove.”
Virtue, liberty, independence
– these were not just words but rather revered applications to the
Lucas family. Their dedication to these behaviors proved their
undying American commitment. From Pennsylvania to Virginia and from
Virginia to Southern Ohio, the pioneers forged a righteous chapter of
settlement, one of superior determination and service. Children of a
Revolutionary War veteran, soldiers of the War of 1812, and public
servants of Ohio and the Iowa Territory, the Lucases lived their
lives with integrity and honor. And, just as impressive, they did so
with friendly reverence to all. Their forefathers established tenets
that proved truly fundamental to a growing society in a very young
country.
* Final Note – I would like to
acknowledge the wealth of information taken from this source: The
Independence Hall Association, a nonprofit organization in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1942. Publishing
electronically as ushistory.org. On the Internet since July 4, 1995.
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