Essex

LUCAS, James

Vermont Historical Magazine, No. XI, October 1867, pp 1037-1038
(extracted from a section on the history of Maidstone, Essex County, Vermont)

Major James LUCAS, one of the early settlers, who contributed much to the 
settlement and advancement of this town [Maidstone, Essex County, Vermont], 
was born 14 March 1752 in Rochester [Strafford County], New Hampshire, and 
moved to the town in the spring of 1785. He entered the army of the 
Revolution at the age of twenty-four years, as a paymaster of a regiment in 
the New Hampshire line, and acted as lieutenant of infantry at the battle of 
Bennington, under STARK, and was raised to the rank of Major near the close 
of the war. He held many offices of trust. For many years after the 
organization of the town he represented it in the state legislature; was 
judge of probate for the district of Orange previous to the organization of 
Essex County, and judge of the county court. He resided on a farm now 
occupied by Jacob RICH, near the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River from the New 
Hampshire side, and his house was a great resort as a place of traffic for 
the Indians of the Penobscot and St. Francis tribes, in their hunting 
excursions through and upon the waters of the Quebec, Androscoggin, 
Ammonoosuc, Connecticut, and Nulhegan Rivers to the waters of the St. 
Francis, in Canada, when at one time the following occurred:

[James] LUCAS had living with him a youngster by the name of John JORDAN 
[submitter has assumed JORDAN is a surname], who was hoeing corn in the 
absence of LUCAS, opposite the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River which emptied 
into the Connecticut River from the New Hampshire side, where the Indians had 
an encampment; and the young Indians, while the one ones were gone, came down 
on the beach with a gun, and pointing at John across the river, would flash 
powder at him in the pan and perform many insulting antics, until he could 
bear with them no longer, when he went to the house and asked Mrs. LUCAS for 
the "old Queen's arm" and some duck shot, as there were some ducks in the 
river, and it was given to him without suspicion, and he returned to his 
work. Soon the young Indians came down and commenced their former antics 
until John's patience was exhausted and he blazed away at them and wounded 
three of their number, one badly. He soon after returned to the house, where 
he was asked if he had killed any ducks. John answered no, but he had 
wounded some.

Soon he became silent and moody. When asked by Mrs. LUCAS if he was unwell, 
he told what he had done, and she became much alarmed in the absence of her 
husband, as it was coming night. She set herself immediately about secreting 
John in an empty cask in the cellar. Soon Major LUCAS came and learned the 
difficulty, and the Indians came home about the same time on the other side 
of the river. LUCAS and his wife crossed over to the Indians immediately, 
and assisted with lights in finding the one badly wounded, who had drawn 
himself into the tall brakes, and would not answer when called to for fear it 
was John. However, they all got well, and the old ones became pacified after 
a time and John made his way, with help, to Eaton [in "Lower Canada" from 
1791 to 1840/1841; now Province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada] Major LUCAS 
died of cancer at Northumberland [Coos County], New Hampshire, where he had 
previously removed in 1835, aged eighty-three years.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly