Mary J. Lucas (maiden name: Watts or Watt) was born on October, 1851 in Lincoln County, Missouri. She was a slave of John Coles Carter, and she married Daniel Lucas on October 20, 1870, in Lincoln County. Together they had twelve children: Martha, whose birth date is unknown; James (Jaleo R.), born July 19, 1871; Elizabeth B., born February 27, 1873; William W., born April 20, 1875; Etta M., born October 27, 1877; Matthew (Mattir T.), born March 8, 1880; Edward R., born December 31, 1881; Daniel L., born July 26, 1886; Albert F., born May 22, 1887; George H., born October 17, 1889; Charles A., born March 13, 1892; and Manervia A. Lucas, born December 1, 1894. Her husband died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 84 on May 9, 1928, in Foley. She eventually secured a widow's pension of $40 per month. She died on April 1, 1938, in Louisiana, Missouri, due to complications of a cerebral hemorrhage.