William Lucas was born in Sydenham, Oxfordshire in 1789. He married Sarah Holder in 1811 and spent the rest of his life in and around Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire. He seems to have been involved working as a coach driver, employed by Inns in the town. Colnbrook was on the Bath Road (A4) and his addresses in the censuses after 1841 are next door to a number of Inns.
A significant date is 1835 when the Great Western Railway opened in Slough. Even though he lived until the age of 86, there is much evidence that his life got increasingly tough after 1850. In the 1861 census he is described as a pauper. In the same census three of his grand children are inmates of the nearby Staines Union Workhouse. His other sons seem to have sought employment in London and two of them have a profession of ‘horsekeeper’. In the 1871 census WIlliam Lucas is described as ‘Late Postillion at Hotel’.
William and Sarah’s daughters seem to have fared a little better, although none of them married locally. Charlotte married Thomas Mann a Carpenter, Margaret married Daniel Chiswick a Cooper in Bethnal Green. Caroline married a yeoman farmer twenty years her senior. Whilst William was illiterate each of these daughters signs marriage registers and show some sign of upward mobility.
Family of William LUCAS and Sarah HOLDER
| Husband: | William LUCAS (bap.1788, d.1875) |
| Wife: | Sarah HOLDER (bap.1791, d.1869) |
| Children: | William LUCAS (1812-c. 1895) |
| Sarah LUCAS (1815- ) |
| John LUCAS (1817- ) |
| Ann LUCAS (1819- ) |
| Charlotte LUCAS (c. 1821-c. 1877) |
| James LUCAS (1823- ) |
| Caroline LUCAS (c. 1824-1896) |
| Margaret Holder LUCAS (c. 1826-1870) |
| Louisa LUCAS (1832-1911) |
| Thomas LUCAS (1834-1909) |
| Charles Alfred LUCAS (1835-aft1881) |
| Marriage | 30 Dec 1811 | Wooburn, Buckinghamshire |
Husband: William LUCAS
| Name: | William LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Father: | John LUCAS ( – ) |
| Mother: | Elizabeth ( – ) |
| Birth | | |
| Baptism | 27 Sep 1788 | Sydenham, Oxon |
| Occupation | 1845 | Post Chaise Driver; marriage certificate of daughter Caroline |
| Occupation | 1851 | Labourer |
| Occupation | 1861 | Pauper |
| Occupation | 1871 | Late Postillion at Hotel |
| Death | 1875 | Staines |
Wife: Sarah HOLDER
| Name: | Sarah HOLDER |
| Sex: | Female |
| Father: | William HOLDER ( – ) |
| Mother: | Elizabeth ( – ) |
| Birth | | |
| Baptism | 29 Dec 1791 | Farnham Royal |
| Death | 1869 | Staines |
Child 1: William LUCAS
| Name: | William LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Mary Ann BROWN (1819-c. 1854) |
| Birth | 1812 | Colnbrook |
| Baptism | 26 Jul 1812 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
| Occupation | 1871 (age 58-59) | Coachman; Islington |
| Occupation | 1891 (age 78-79) | Pauper; Islington Work House |
| Death | c. 1895 (age 82-83) | Islington |
Child 2: Sarah LUCAS
| Name: | Sarah LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Birth | 1815 | |
| Baptism | 9 Feb 1815 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
Child 3: John LUCAS
| Name: | John LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Birth | 1817 | |
| Baptism | 14 Dec 1817 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
Child 4: Ann LUCAS
| Name: | Ann LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Birth | 1819 | |
| Baptism | 27 Jun 1819 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
Child 5: Charlotte LUCAS
| Name: | Charlotte LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Thomas MANN (c. 1822- ) |
| Birth | c. 1821 | Colnbrook |
| Baptism | 16 Sep 1821 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
| Death | c. 1877 (age 55-56) | |
Child 6: James LUCAS
| Name: | James LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Ann (1815- ) |
| Birth | 1823 | Colnbrook |
| Baptism | 13 Apr 1823 (age 0) | Colnbrook |
| Occupation | 1861 (age 37-38) | Horsekeeper; Kensington |
Child 7: Caroline LUCAS
| Name: | Caroline LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | John THICK (1799-1877) |
| Birth | c. 1824 | |
| Baptism | 23 Jan 1825 (age 0-1) | Colnbrook |
| Death | 1896 (age 71-72) | Fareham, Hampshire |
Child 8: Margaret Holder LUCAS
| Name: | Margaret Holder LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Spouse: | Daniel CHISWICK (c. 1827-1904) |
| Birth | c. 1826 | Colnbrook, Staines, Middlesex |
| Baptism | 5 Feb 1827 (age 0-1) | Colnbrook |
| Death | Q4 1870 (age 43-44) | Stepney |
Child 9: Louisa LUCAS
| Name: | Louisa LUCAS |
| Sex: | Female |
| Birth | 23 Aug 1832 | Colnbrook, Middlesex |
| Baptism | 23 Sep 1832 (age 0) | Poyle Indepenedent Stanwell |
| Death | 1911 (age 78-79) | Staines |
Child 10: Thomas LUCAS
| Name: | Thomas LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Birth | 3 Mar 1834 | Stanwell |
| Baptism | 6 Apr 1834 (age 0) | Poyle Indepenedent Stanwell |
| Death | 1909 (age 74-75) | Staines |
Child 11: Charles Alfred LUCAS
| Name: | Charles Alfred LUCAS |
| Sex: | Male |
| Spouse: | Harriet (Hannah) WEBB (1827-1878) |
| Birth | 1835 | Colnbrook |
| Baptism | 26 Jan 1836 (age 0-1) | Poyle Indepenedent Stanwell |
| Occupation | 1871 (age 35-36) | Horsekeeper |
| Death | aft 1881 (age 45-46) | |