Page News and Courier, Luray, Page County, Virginia, Tuesday, 11 Feb 1930, page 1: J. F. LUCAS LEFT PAGE COUNTY 70 YEARS AGO, NEVER TO RETURN. From Mrs. Maude Bailey, nee Gray, of near Stanley, we have some interesting matter regarding J. F. Lucas, age 86, of Newton, Iowa, who left here seventy years ago with his brother, Charles Lucas, and has never returned. The two Lucas brothers were half brothers of R. C. and Joseph Gray, and Mrs. Fannie Nickles, deceased, of near Stanley, and of Elic, James and Lanzie Gray, living, of the same section. Charles Lucas died a good many years ago, but J. F. is still living at Newton, Iowa, where he is spending the winter with his daughter, Mrs. Nellie Zimmerman. In a letter to Mrs. Bailey, the Iowa cousin encloses a clipping from the Des Moines Tribune-Capital, which contains a picture and write-up of the former, Johnny Reb, J. F. Lucas. The article recites the fact that Mr. Lucas left his home in Page county at the age of sixteen and joined the Confederate army; and three weeks later took part in the battle of First Manassas. He followed the stars and bars for three and a half years being in many of the great conflicts of the war. His company was the Thirty-third Virginia Infantry to which many Page soldiers belonged. Mr. Lucas was married in Morgan county, Ill., in 1874, and his wife is still living. We make the following extracts from Mrs. Zimmerman's letter to Mrs. Bailey, dated Jan. 15, 1930: "Dear Cousin: - Pa and Ma are with me again with winter. It is hard for Ma to write any more though she is lots better this winter than last. She is seriously afflicted with gland trouble, and was under the treatment of a specialist in Des Moines. Now she makes quilts, washes dishes and does her work except her washing. "Pa has been having rheumatism in his shoulder but his worst trouble is with his knees and ankles. He is so weak he can hardly get around, and he has always been so active. Pa and Ma were in Des Moines when a newspaper reporter was out to see him. In a few days Pa's picture came out in the paper. I will send mine to you. So many Lucases wrote or called for matters about relationship afterwards. "We wondered if Pa's half brothers knew any Lucases who lived in or near Luray. One man said his father's name was Thomas Lucas, who lived in or near Luray but died forty or fifty years ago. Maybe you could find about some of them. "We've had a big snow, about nine inches, and it is pretty cold. Pa said tell you he took care of his garden last summer and Ma raised a few chickens. Pa said he surely would like to see his brothers and sisters. They are so much younger than Pa is, why can't they come out to see him? I have a daughter teaching school and a son aged 22, who is a rural carrier. Ma has a brother at Nevada, about forty miels from here. They are going there next week to visit for ten days."