South Carolina family of English descent. Johnathan Lucas (1754-1821) was a millwright who emigrated from England to Charleston, S.C. around 1790. He invented new types of rice pounding mills and water mills, and in 1817 either he or his son Johnathan Lucas (1775-1832) built the first steam rice mill. John Lucas (born ca. 1781), the fourth child of Johnathan Lucas (1754-1821), settled in America in 1816. His son, Johnathan Lucas (1815-1887), was a building contractor and architect. He built the Colleton County jail in Walterboro, S.C. (1855-1859) and about 1860 moved to Orangeburg, S.C. to build (and later rebuild in 1867) its county jail. His children included Albert and John F. Lucas.
From the description of Johnathan Lucas papers, ca. 1787-1925. (The South Carolina Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 36794058
