Some postcards sent to Blanche Lee for Thanksgiving in the early 1900s.
A family dinner, possibly Thanksgiving, maybe around 1910 or so. I don’t know who the lady in the front is, but she looks like Mary Lucas, Newton’s sister. Next to her on the right side of the picture I believe is Barbara Lucas, and in the back on the left hand side of the picture is Newton Lucas. They are at opposite corners. The other man with the long gray beard might possibly be Ethan Allen Lucas, but that’s just a guess.
Minnie Lucas (1868-1948) was the first of three children of Newton and Barbara Lucas. She was born in Timewell, Illinois, and had two siblings, Ruth (1875-1960), and William (Willie) 1873-1950. It seems as if they were very doted on children judging from number of photographs of them we have.
Minnie
Ruth and Minnie in the 1880s
Minnie married Henry Lee in 1888 (her 2nd cousin once removed I think). That means that Amassa and Elder Lee are both our 3rd great aunt and uncle and our 4th great grandparents. They are Henry’s great grandparents and Minnies’s great aunt and uncle. Very confusing!
Minnie and Henry on their wedding day in 1888
Minnie’s wedding dress
After Minnie and Henry married they moved quite a bit – Bakersfield, California, northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, and Dodge City, Kansas. He was a telegraph operator for the railroad and they lived right next to the railroad stations.
They had eight children, Henry Claude (1888-1898), Mamie Edith (1890-1891), Carl Lucas (1892-1895), Harry Sterling (1894-1896), Mabel Ruby Isabel (1896-1989), Grace Elmyra (1898-1980), Minnie Blanche (1900-1988), and Harlan Newton (1904-1967). The first four children all died in childhood.
They bought a house in Trinidad on Tillotson in the early 1900s, where they lived the rest of their lives. Henry died in 1935.
Gram (Joan Roper) went to stay with Minnie in Trinidad every summer- she had happy memories of staying with her “Gramma”.
She remembered that Minnie was very devout – she read the Bible at the dining room table every night, and she walked to the First Christian Church every Sunday (at least a mile or two). She walked everywhere, to the grocery, post office, wherever she needed to go.
She especially loved her grandchildren, Edgar, Joan, Mildred, Mary Lee, Claudia and Norton. She writes in one postcard to her daughter, Mabel:
“Dear Mabel, Edgar’s pictures are just splendid. I just keep looking at it how many times I have seen just that same look on his face so natural”
Newton Lucas driving his new auto with Ruth and Barbara in the back seat
The postcard sent by Barbara’s sister Sarah Frank to her when she heard about the car.
Newton Lucas must have been an adventurous person, with his trip to the Rocky Mountains in his twenties, and buying a car at age 71 in 1909! Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908.
Here is a timeline of his life: 1860 Trip to the Rocky Mountains
Dec. 25, 1860 While cutting firewood, a tree fell on him, crushing his hip and making him a cripple for life*
1866: Went with his brother William to Texas, bought 600 head of cattle and drove them back to Illinois. They crossed the Red River on April 22, and reached Quincy on Sept. 20, 1866. Apparently it was not a financial success.*
1872-1876 in the hay and grain business with his brother William, also operated a sawmill during these years.*
1882-1883 Operated a steam thresher in Mt Sterling*
1883 Bought his farm of 220 acres in Pear Ridge Township, Ill.*
1892 Was a delegated to the Republican State Convention. He had cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860*
Father of Newton Lucas. He was born in Butler Ohio, and grew up on the farm there. He moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1833 where he earned his medical degree. In 1836 he moved to Mt. Sterling, Illinois where he taught school and practiced medicine. He also had a lumber and mercantile business, and later bought his farm 1 1/2 miles south of Mt. Sterling, along with other land in the area. He had over 1000 acres and an estate worth about $30,000 at the time of his death.* He was married to Sarah Ann Keith, 1817-1890, and they had 12 children. Sarah was born in Hardin County, KY and died in Brown County, IL.
They named many of their children after famous people: George Washington, Henry Clay, John Hardin, Ethan Allen, and Daniel Webster Lucas. The ones with “non-famous” names are Newton, William, Martha Ann, Mary Elizabeth, Helen, James Edward and Rosa Roat (adopted child). Newton may have been closest to Ethan Allen – they had neighboring farms and Ethan was the executor of Newton’s will. The only other sibling we have a photograph of is Mary Elizabeth (1843-1940).
Duke City Roots 