Lucas

(from various clippings)

Henry Clifford Lucas (1892–1993) was one of five sons born to Absalom Lucas and his wife Mary Kelly. The Lucas family was one of the first to settle in Brooke Twp. in 1835. The family’s origins were in Ireland. The Kelly family, also from Ireland, settled in Brooke in approximately the same year. Alexander Kelly (Cliff’s grandfather) had married Mary Mitchell and they had settled on Lot 21, Con. 6 SER Warwick in 1844.

Cliff’s brother Roy went west in 1909. His brother A. Burton was a teacher in London, Ont. and had a high school named after him. Melvin taught in Windsor, Ont. Cliff’s fourth brother was Arnold Clifford.

Cliff lived his life on the family farm that once belonged to his grandfather Kelly until he moved into the Watford Nursing Home. This farm was at one time considered to be an Indian burial ground. One of the items he found was a rock gouge, which University of Western Ontario archaeology experts considered to be approximately 3,000 years old. Another item was an incense burner used by an Indian chief or grandmother when someone was dying or sick.

Many of the pieces of farm equipment that the Lucas family used were donated to the Lambton Heritage Museum. One such piece was the shoe from the foot of one of the first horses to be introduced in the district more than 100 years before. Cliff believed the iron belonged to a “burying horse” which his grandfather owned in pioneer days in the Watford area. The shoe had a peculiar shape and this provided the main clue to its identity as an early Lambton relic. It was specially forged to fit a club-footed horse. A “burying horse” was one that drew the wagon taking the dead to cemeteries in early days.

Cliff Lucas had a special interest in taking care of St. James Cemetery near his farm for many, many years. At the family birthday party held to honour his 100th birthday, he was able to call most by name. He had driven his car until he was past 90 years old. Cliff was considered a truly remarkable man in the Watford community.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Lucas Family

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