Frederic William Lucas

(1842-1932)

Birth, Early life, etc.

Frederic William Lucas was the second son and fourth child of Joseph Lucas (1811-1903). He was born in Battersea, Surrey, in 1842, but moved with the family to Upper Tooting, Surrey around 1845. He attended grammar school at Brighton College, then went to Cambridge, and eventually became a solicitor in London, where he worked with his father and younger brother Edgar. He was older by four years from Joseph Lucas, the hydrogeologist.

Publications

Although he was a solicitor by profession, he had a great interest in history, particularly early exploration and voyages to America. He published two books. The first was in 1891 and has the wonderful title of "Appendiculae Historicae, or, Shreds of History, Hung on a Horn". If I ever publish a family history I'll use his title. This amazing book is about a scrimshaw map of eastern North America about 1763, etched on a powder horn. But a great stroke of luck UBC has a copy of this book in the special collections department, so it is easy to view. The dedication is "To all my many nieces and nephews". He also indicates that the horn is in his possession, and of course the big mystery is whatever happened to that horn after he died.

In 1898 he published a book with the great long title "The Annals of the Voyages of the Brothers Nicolo and Antonio Zeno in the North Atlantic about the end of the Fourteenth Century and the Claim founded thereon to a Venetian Discovery of America: A Criticism and an Indictment".

This book is a refutation of the claims of the two brothers and caused quite a stir in the circles interested in these voyages. [Attach some of the docs here]. The University of British Columbia Special Collections Department has copies of both of the books. Note that both catalogue records contain errors.

There was a third book titled "The new laws of the Indies for the good treatment and preservation of the Indians, promulgated by the emperor Charles the Fifth, 1542-1543; a facsimile reprint of the original Spanish edition, together with a literal translation into the English language; to which is prefixed an historical introduction by the late Henry Stevens of Vermont and Fred W. Lucas". Henry Stevens refers to this publication with the following comments:

In 1893 I issued to the subscribers that elegant folio volume which my father always considered as his magnum opus. It was entitled The New Laws of the Indies for the good treatment and preservation of the Indians, promulgated by the Emperor Charles the Fifth, 1542-1543. A facsimile reprint of the original Spanish edition, together with a literal translation into the English language, to which is prefixed an historical introduction. Of the long introduction of ninety-four pages, the first thirty-eight are from the pen of Mr. Henry Stevens, the remainder from that of Mr. Fred. W. Lucas, whose diligent researches into American history are amply exemplified in his former work, Appendiculae Historicae, or shreds of history hung on a horn, and in his recent work, The Annals of the Voyages of the Brothers Zeno.

The publisher of both of the books was Henry Stevens, Son, and Stiles,with the wonderful address of "39 Great Russell Street, Over Against the British Museum."

Appendiculae Historicae

In December 2004 I ordered a copy of this book through AbeBooks from a bookseller in France. It arrived on my birthday! What a lovely present to myself! Great fun, although it is uncut so a bit of a pain to read and I'll have to decide whether to cut it or not. There is a signature on the flyleaf of the previous owner "Henri Harrisse". He turns out to be fairly well known in the same area of historical bibliography. Like Fred Lucas he was nominally a lawyer although he obviously spent enormous time and energy on his hobby. He was born in France, lived for a while in the US, returned to France but considered himself an "Americanist".

The Lucas Book

I suspect that Fred Lucas had quite a bit to do with the compilation of the Lucas Book, at least from John Lucas the Younger on down on his side (ours) of the family. There are a few scraps of paper we have that have a recognizable handwriting, and I also found some scraps of paper at the Friends Historical Library in London relating to the Rudd family that are in the same handwriting. This is all speculation and a hunch.

Marriages

He married twice, and both times to daughters of well off fathers. The first marriage was to Clara Jane Wilson, daughter of John Wilson, of The Laurels, Upper Tooting. John Wilson was editor of The Globe, a barrister, and a Justice of the Peace. The families would have been neighbours in Upper Tooting. His marriage to Clara was in 1866, when he was 24 and she was 22. There was one daughter from the marriage, Winifred, born in 1867. Clara died at Brighton in May 1909 at the age of 64 after 43 years of marriage.

[Put this in a footnote]. "The Globe" was also published as "The Globe and Traveller", and later became incorporated in "The Pall Mall Gazette" which continues today as "The Evening Standard".

Almost exactly one year after the death of Clara he married again, this time to a woman 23 years younger than himself and only 11 months older than his daughter Winifred. The new wife was Gertrude Jane Corsar, the widow of David Corsar, of The Elms, Arbroath, Scotland. [For info on him search "David Corsar" Arbroath] Gertrude Jane was the daughter of George Simpson of Devizes, Wiltshire. [For info on Simpson search "George Simpson" Devizes].

George Simpson is listed as a newspaper proprietor in the 1881 census, and a son, another George Simpson is also listed as a newspaper proprietor. He must have carried on in the publishing business as there are books with the George Simpson imprint of the sort that Frederic Lucas would have been interested in.

Interesting that both of his father-in-laws were in the publishing business, and that he too must have been a bookish sort of man. He obviously had connections with Henry Stevens, the antiquarian bookseller and agent to the British Museum.

Colleagues and Aquaintances

Miller Christy - Victorian

Henry Stevens of Vermont - American born antiquarian bookseller. Lived in London the greater part of his life and was an agent for the British Museum buying American books. Also was a publisher. He

Henri Harrisse - His name is on the flyleaf of the copy of "Appendiculae Historicae". He was from France but lived part of his life in America and was a bibliographer and "Americanist".

His Estate

Frederick William Lucas died some time in 1932, and the details of his estate are published in The Times, Aug 5, 1932, p.13e. His personalty was valued at [pounds] 12,262, and the gross value of the estate was valued at [pounds] 23,939. No doubt some of this money somehow came from his wife's side of the family, but it is still a not inconsiderable amount of money.

Winifred Mary Lucas, his daughter

Winifred married, at the age of 34, a man older than her father and 23 years older than herself, Louis Hooper Le Bailly, of the Island of Jersey in the Channel Islands and living in Weybridge, Surrey. He was a widower and already had a family of his own, with the older children not much different in age than the new wife. There were no children from this marriage. You have to wonder what his family thought of this marriage!