Robert Lucas | |
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| 1st Governor of Iowa Territory | |
| In office August 15, 1838 – May 13, 1841 | |
| Appointed by | Martin Van Buren |
| Preceded by | William B. Conway (acting Governor) |
| Succeeded by | John Chambers |
| 12th Governor of Ohio | |
| In office December 7, 1832 – December 12, 1836 | |
| Preceded by | Duncan McArthur |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Vance |
| 11th and 15th Speaker of the Senate of Ohio | |
| In office December 7, 1818 – December 5, 1819 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham Shepherd |
| Succeeded by | Allen Trimble |
| In office December 7, 1829 – December 5, 1830 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Wheeler |
| Succeeded by | Samuel R. Miller |
| Member of theOhio Senate fromGallia,Scioto,Pike,Lawrence andJackson | |
| In office 1814–1822 | |
| Preceded by | Lewis Summers |
| Succeeded by | William Kendall |
| In office 1824–1828 | |
| Preceded by | William Kendall |
| Succeeded by | William Kendall |
| Member of theOhio House of Representatives | |
| In office 1808–1809 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1781-04-01)April 1, 1781 Mecklenburg, Virginia, U.S. (now Shepherdstown, West Virginia) |
| Died | February 7, 1853(1853-02-07) (aged 71) Iowa City, Iowa, U.S |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Brown (m.1810-her death 1812) Friendly Ashley Sumner (m.1816) |
| Relations | 1807-1815 |
| Children | 8 |
| Residence(s) | Piketon, Ohio Iowa City, Iowa |
| Profession | Surveyor, military officer, politician, farmer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | Ohio State Militia |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
Robert Lucas (April 1, 1781 – February 7, 1853) was the 12thgovernor of Ohio, serving from 1832 to 1836. He later served as the first governor of theIowa Territory from 1838 to 1841.[1] Lucas was a central figure in theToledo War and theHoney War.[2]
Lucas was born in 1781 in what was then Mecklenburg, Virginia (his birthplace's location in modern times is known asShepherdstown, West Virginia). He was the son of William Lucas and Susannah Barnes. Lucas came from aQuaker family whose roots stretched back to 1679 in Pennsylvania, though the family had recently moved to Virginia.
Lucas' father, anAmerican Revolutionary War veteran, ownedenslaved people and large amounts of land. According to family legend, Robert's uncle, Joseph Barnes, built a steam-powered boat long beforeFulton's invention. Robert received some early schooling in mathematics and surveying, skills that would prove invaluable to his future work.[3]
Around the age of nineteen, Lucas moved to theScioto Valley of theNorthwest Territory, now Ohio.[4] He was preceded by other family members, including two older brothers and a cousin. One brother would become a general, while his other brother and his cousin would become Ohio legislators. The family bought large parcels of land; eventually the town ofLucasville was named for them.
For his skill in recruiting troops for the Army during the increasing hostilities between England, France, and the U.S., Robert Lucas was madecaptain in 1807. Lucas served in theWar of 1812 and was famous for his resourcefulness and calm in an increasingly chaotic campaign. As one of his contemporaries stated, "As a spy he was productive and brave — as a soldier he had no superior."[5]
Lucas rose to national prominence during the court-martial trial of GeneralWilliam Hull. Hull was accused of incompetence in the loss of Detroit and the Michigan Territory to the British in June 1812, and the journals Lucas kept during the campaign were used as evidence to convict Hull.[6]
Through complex political maneuvering, Lucas was made abrigadier general in 1810 of the Ohio state militia.[3][7]
Lucas was elected to theOhio General Assembly for the first time in 1808 as a member of theOhio House of Representatives.
His political career blossomed and in 1818 he was namedSpeaker of theOhio State Senate, he was succeeded in 1819 byAllen Trimble, who would also go on to be governor. He was the Ohiopresidential elector in 1820 forJames Monroe.[8] In 1822, he lost the state Senate election to his former brother-in-law and political rival, William Kendall. Around 1824, Lucas built a large brick house two miles east ofPiketon, named Friendly Grove, which became an epicenter of local political activity, and still stands today.[3]
Lucas regained his state Senate seat in 1824, and campaigned for Andrew Jackson. He was an Ohio presidential elector in 1828 forAndrew Jackson.[9] Lucas again lost his Senate seat in 1828 to Kendall, and Lucas was part of the electoral congress that elected Jackson president that year. Lucas won his Senate seat back in 1829, in a special election after Kendall resigned; again, he was elected Senate speaker. In 1831, Lucas ran for the state assembly and lost, but he quickly rebounded.[10]
As an ardent Democrat, perhaps the highlight of his career was to serve as the chairman and president of the1832 Democratic National Convention, theDemocratic Party's first national convention. Lucas was also nominated the Democratic candidate for governor in 1832, and won after a vitriolic campaign.Lucas County, Ohio, was established and named for the governor during his second term, in defiance of theMichigan Territory, which also claimed the land around the mouth of theMaumee River, thus provoking the almost-bloodlessToledo War.[11]
During his tenure running Iowa, he again showed his tendency towards conflict with other states, starting theHoney War with Missouri. Technically, Lucas was not the first acting governor of the Iowa territory.William B. Conway, appointed territorial secretary byMartin Van Buren, arrived in Iowa six weeks before Lucas and thus assumed the duties of acting governor. Friction developed between Lucas and Conway over some of the decisions Conway made in Lucas' absence, and led to an acerbic relationship. Lucas was often at odds with the territorial legislature, his liberal use of absolute veto power and his condescending rebukes of legislators often made him the target of acrimonious exchanges. Conway complained to Van Buren that Lucas committed "vexatious, ungraceful, petulant, ill-natured and dogmatic interferences" with the legislature.[12] Van Buren and the U. S. Congress responded by limiting the territorial governor’s veto power and his ability to make appointments.Lucas served for only a few years as territorial governor, from 1838 to 1841, and spent those years mostly inBurlington, Iowa andMuscatine, Iowa (then called Bloomington), as there were only provisional accommodations in Iowa City for the territorial legislature.
He married Elizabeth Brown, his landlord's daughter, on April 4, 1810.[13] The couple had a daughter, Minerva, in 1811. Elizabeth died in 1812. He remarried, to Friendly Ashley Summer, on March 7, 1816.[13]
Lucas died in Iowa City and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Iowa.[13]
Lucas' retirement house inIowa City,Plum Grove, is maintained by the state as a monument to Lucas.
"Lucas, Robert" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
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