Lucas, John Fredric 1844-1937

LUCAS, ZIMMERMAN, COKER, HURTSBURG

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 5/6/2005 at 17:29:37

The Newton (IA) Daily News 5 Jan 1937, Tuesday
J. F. Lucas, Confederate War Vet Dies Was Only 'Rebel' From Civil War Living in County
John Fredric Lucas

'Rebel' Dies {photo} Lynnville-J. F. (Fred) Lucas, 92 year old Confederate war veteran, last surviving rebel in this county, is dead. Funeral Services to Be Held at Lynnville at 2:30 Wednesday.

J.F. (Fred) Lucas, 92, Jasper county's only Confederate Civil War veteran, died Monday at 11:45 p.m. at his home in Lynnville, where he had been cared for in recent months by the Will Boat family., Mr. Lucas, who would have reached his ninety-third anniversary next April, suffered a stroke 13 months ago and had been seriously ill for the last several weeks. Neighbors had taken turns recently in staying with him through the night and Roy Youngkin and Ellsworth Matthews were with him at the time of his death.

Mr. Lucas lived in Newton with his daughter, Mrs. Nell Zimmerman, until one year ago, when the latter's death occurred. At that time he returned to Lynnville, which was his home for many years.

Funeral Rites.

Funeral services will be conducted from the Friends church in Lynnville Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. by the Rev. George Wood, pastor. Interment will be at Woodland cemetery.

Mr. Lucas was born in Page county, Virginia, April 24, 1844, one of a family of two children. A brother, Charles Lucas, died in 1915, at the age of 75 years.

When his home county in northern Virginia voted to secede by one vote, Mr. Lucas enlisted in the Confederate army, with Company H-33 Virginia Infantry, serving under Stonewall Jackson for three and one-half years.

War Record.

He fought in 14 major engagements including the bloody clashes at Bull Run, Gettysburg and Wilderness. It was on the latter battlefield that he received his only wound of the war, a saber slash on his right arm near the elbow. It was while he was recuperating from the wound that the conflict ended.

Immediately following the war, the set out for the west to establish a home and aid in developing the pioneer country. He went first to Cook county, Ill., and then to Cass county, Ill.

In Cass county, he was united in marriage to Mary Jane Coker in 1874, and the couple moved to Sangamon county. Here they lived until coming to Jasper county, Ia., in 1880.

Came to Iowa.

Mr. Lucas drove through to Iowa by team and his family followed by train. He spent the remainder of his life in the vicinity of Lynnville, with the exception of a time in Poweshiek county and in Newton. He retired from farming over 20 years ago.

Mr. Lucas was one of the earlier members of The Daily News' Three Quarter Century club and despite his infirmities attended the 1936 party in Newton last June, coming in a wheel chair.

"King" of Club.

He was one of three Civil War Veterans at the gathering and he and Lewis Bish of Newton, a Union veteran, now deceased, were named "kings" of the club for 1936 in recognition of being the two oldest men present. Both were 92 years old. Another Union veteran, John F. Baker of Newton, is the only one surviving of the trio of "Old Settlers" present that day.

Mr. Lucas was preceded in death by his wife in February, 1931, and lived with his daughter, Mrs. Zimmerman, until her death in January, 1936. Another daughter, Mrs. Ida Hurtsburg of Chicago, preceded him in death in 1919.

Surviving relatives include a son, A. L. (Bert) Lucas of Des Moines; five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.

Originally submitted on Sun Feb 8 05:00:23 1998 by
John J. Armstrong, justjohn@webwide.net