Lucas, Josiah M.

Flourished: Washington, D.C.

Lucas settled near Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1830. A Whig, he took over the Illinois Patriot in 1838 and renamed it the Illinoian. He eventually became editor and remained in that position until 1843, when he won election as county recorder. Lucas later moved to Washington, DC to accept a position as postmaster of the U.S. House of Representatives. He held many positions, both civil and military. Lucas served as a clerk in the General Land Office and as U.S. consul in Tunstall, England. He also claimed to be a witness to Abraham Lincoln's duel with James Shields.

Charles M. Eames, comp., Historic Morgan and Classic Jacksonville (Jacksonville, IL: Daily Journal Steam Job Printing, 1885), 89, 97-98; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:298.