Some Specifics About The Wealth Of The Lucas Family

There's an interesting article in the January 4, 1880 edition of the Globe-Democrat that provides a list of people who paid taxes on property valued at over $25, 000. Essentially, it's a list of the wealthiest landowners in St. Louis. On the list are numerous names connected to the history of St. Louis baseball. The Cabanne family, the Carrs, the Turners, and Rufus Lackland all had ties to the Union Club while Samuel Davis was the father of Cyclone Club member Jonathan Davis.

What really stands out is the wealth of the Lucas family. Henry Lucas owned property valued at $257, 580, J. B. C. Lucas $290, 810, and Robert Lucas $289, 920. Six members of the family were among the twenty wealthiest landowners in St. Louis. And those numbers don't include property owned outside of the city or any other investments.

While I'm talking about the Lucas family, I might as well point out something that I don't think I've ever mentioned. The family was involved in St. Louis baseball in one form or another across three decades. Robert Lucas was a player for the first nine of the Union Club for several years in the 1860s, J. B. C. Lucas was the president of the Brown Stockings in the 1870s, and Henry Lucas was the president of the Maroons and the founder of the Union Association in the 1880s.