Stacia Ann, Rachel and Lila Lucas...Daughters of Benedict and Mary Lucas
Benedict Lucas was born about 1740 in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and came to America at an early age. He settled in what was then Mifflin County. During the American Revolution the Indians, who sided with the British, pushed the settlers out of the area and across the Susquehanna River to Fort Augusta in Sunbury. By 1784 it was safe to return again and Benedict and Mary (McKibben) returned with their family in 1786.
Benedict served during the war in Captain Noah Abraham's Company of the Cumberland County Militia. His new farm was adjacent to another veteran of the war, Richard Gunsalus.Benedict and Mary's second child, Stacia Ann or Stachee as she preferred, married Richard Gunsalus in 1785.
In the 1790 Census we find two Lucas families in Mifflin County, Benedict Lucas and Joseph Lucas. Joseph was the first child of Benedict and Mary Lucas and was married to Rebecca Askey. In Benedict's household there were 4 males under 16 and 3 females counting Benedict's wife, Mary.
Benedict and Mary's third child was Charles. He married Nancy McCalmont about 1788. He canbe found in the 1790 census living in nearby Northumberland County.
Benedict and Mary's fourth child was John Baptiste. He married Ann Askey about 1790. He has not be found in the 1790 Census.
The four males under 16 are most likely Benjamin, James, William and John all born between 1774 and 1790. The 2 females are likely Lila and Rachel.
Stacia Ann's husband Richard Gunsalus was the son of Jacobus and Sara (Westbrooke) Gonsalus. Jacobus died in 1787 and five of his six sons moved west. Richard remained in Mifflin County and so did his brother Emanuel for a while. Emanuel moved to Washington County by 1800. James marriedNancy Macklin about 1790 and moved to Beaver County, They relocated to Columbiana County, Ohio by 1805. The two remaining brothers were Benjamin and Samuel.
Samuel Gunsaulis married around 1790. He and his wife moved to Allegheny County sometime before 1800. In researching this family I found a son named James who was born about 1797 and went south to St. Louis where he married Sophia Lami in 1823. The marriage record appears in Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 on Ancestry.com. Careful examination of the image reveals that James "was born in Pennsylvania of Samuel Gunsolis and Rachel Lucas."
Many researchers claim that Rachel Lucas, daughter of Benedict and Mary, marriedJohn Watkins. However, census analysis shows that John Watkins was born about 1794 and his wife Rachel was born about 1805. This is well past the date that the last child of Benedict and Mary was born (1790). I believe that Rachel, the wife of Samuel Gunsaulis, was the daughter of Benedict and Mary Lucas. Rachel died between 1840 and 1850.
Benjamin married in the early 1790s and appears in Allegheny County in 1800. He died before 1820 when his widow Delila appears in the census as the head of household. Delila's identity is further revealed in A Portrait and Biographic Record of Portage and Summit Counties, Ohio (1898, Logansport, Indiana, p.567). A biographic sketch ofNelson W. Fenn gives his wife as Mary L. Gunsaulis, daughter of John H. and Mary Ann (Eichor) Gunsaulis. John H. Gunsaulis was ason of William and Polly (Young) Gunsaulis. William was a son of Samuel and Delilah Gunsaulis. The referenced book states that William Gunsaulis "was a son of William and Delilah (Lucas) Gunsaulis, who were pioneers in Allegheny County, Pa, while the Indians were yet there. Clearly the authors are referring to Benjamin and Delilah Gunsaulis. I believe that Delilah, the wife of Benjamin Gunsaulis was the daughter of Benedict and Mary. Delilah died between 1850 and 1860.
All comments and questions invited.