John Baptiste Charles Lucas

John Baptiste Charles Lucas (born August 14, 1758 in Pont-Audemer , Normandy , France , † August 17, 1842 in St. Louis , Missouri ) was a French- American politician . Between 1803 and 1805 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Lucas grew up in France during the Ancien Régime . He studied law in Paris and Caen until 1782 and then worked in his profession until 1784. That year he emigrated to America, where he settled in Pittsburgh . In his new home he worked in agriculture. He also embarked on a political career. Between 1792 and 1798 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania . In 1794 he also served as an appellate judge. Politically, he became a member of the Democratic Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1790s .

In the 1802 congressional election , Lucas was elected to the Eleventh constituency of Pennsylvania to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he took up his new mandate on March 4, 1803. After being re-elected, he could remain in Congress until his resignation in 1805 . During his tenure as Congressman in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase made by President Jefferson, the United States was significantly expanded. In 1804 the twelfth amendment was ratified.

In 1805, Lucas moved to St. Louis, where he served as a district judge until 1820. Until 1812 he was also land commissioner in the northern part of the Louisiana Territory , which St. Louis belonged to until 1812. After serving as district judge, John Lucas worked in agriculture in St. Louis. He died there on August 17, 1842. He had six sons and one daughter. Five of these sons died a violent death. His son Charles was killed in a duel with US Senator Thomas Hart Benton .

Web links

predecessor	Office	successor
John Smilie	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (11th constituency) March 4, 1803-1805	Samuel Smith

personal data
SURNAME	Lucas, John Baptiste Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French-American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	August 14, 1758
PLACE OF BIRTH	Pont-Audemer , Normandy , France
DATE OF DEATH	August 17, 1842
Place of death	near St. Louis , Missouri