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LUCAS JOSEPH, a prominent farmer and business man of Branch County, is a leading citizen of Quincy Township, of which he was an early pioneer, settling on section 22 in March, 1839, and he is the only man residing here who owns land in the township which was entered directly from the Government. He was born in Northampton County, near Easton, Pa., Oct. 14, 1817. His parents, Mathias and Mary Joseph, were born near Strasburg, Germany, and came to the United States with their family in June, 1817, landing in Philadelphia. They were also accompanied by Sylvester, a brother of Mr. Joseph, but after their arrival in Pennsylvania, he was lost track of, and nothing is known of his descendants. The father of our subject was a shoemaker by trade, as he was crippled by a fever sore on one of his legs, which disabled him and did not permit him to engage in more active labor. He first settled with his wife and children near Easton, Pa., but later moved to Tompkins County, N. Y., and thence he afterward went to Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y., where he died in June, 1850; his widow subsequently died in Rochester, N. Y., in 1864. Mathias Joseph was an honest man and a good citizen, highly industrious and capable, and although he was crippled, he did more work than many an able-bodied man. He and his wife were devout members of the Catholic Church. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the following is the record: Two of their four eldest children who were born in Germany died on the passage to this country; Rosanna died in Rochester, N. Y., at the age of seventy-two, never having married; in early life she worked for a Quaker family for seventy-five cents a week, living with them six years, and only visiting home once a year; Martha married a man named Goldsmith, and died leaving no children; Mary Ann is unmarried, and lives in Rochester, N. Y.; Elizabeth married George Myers, and they have reared a large family of children, and all are living in Rochester, N. Y.; Lucas is our subject; Lawrence is a prominent farmer of Branch County, residing in Quincy Township; William married, and was a successful farmer and carpenter; he died in Quincy. (For further parental history see sketch of Lawrence Joseph, brother of our subject.)
Lucas Joseph lived with the family until they settled in Monroe County, N. Y., when he went out to work as a farm hand in the employ of various people, his father receiving his wages, but keeping his son well clothed. When he was nineteen years of age his father gave him his time, and he came to Michigan and worked for two years as a farm laborer near Adrian, and when he was twenty-one years of age, he had been so prudent and diligent that he had eighty acres of his present land paid for. He at once settled on the same, and kept bachelor's hall for a time. He was admirably equipped for the pioneer task that lay before him, as he was a stalwart youth, full of energy, enterprise, and manly courage, which enabled him to overcome all the obstacles that lay in the path to success. In 1844 he erected a part of his present commodious residence, which was the first frame house built south of the Chicago road in Quincy Township, and in 1847 he married Phoebe F., daughter of Isaac and Jael (Parker) Coon, to share its comforts with him, and they were united in marriage Oct. 20, 1847. Her parents were natives of New York, and she was also born in that State, in Hamburg, Erie County, Aug. 10, 1831, being the date of her birth. In 1845 her father and mother came to Michigan with their children, and settled in Quincy Township on a farm, where the mother died in 1849, leaving four children, namely: Phoebe F.; Henry, deceased; Emma is the wife of Miller Olmstead, and they live in Nebraska; Ellen is the wife of Converse Pierce, and they live in Richland County, Wis. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph have been born ten children, four of whom died in childhood. The record of those living is as follows: Francis lives in Sherman, Mich.; Eugenia is the wife of Amos Gould, of Cleveland, Tenn.; Duella is the wife of Melvin Segur, of Quincy; Maude, Iva and Clinton are at home with their parents.
For several years Mr. Joseph bought Government land and sold it again at a profit. He has deeded 450 acres of land to "his children, and still owns over 300 acres of very valuable and highly productive land. He has followed mixed husbandry, and has engaged very extensively in the nursery business. In the year 1840 he planted the first grafted orchard in the county; it contained 200 trees of choice varieties of fruit. From that orchard in 1845 he sold 100 bushels of apples at $1 a bushel, and the following year sold 125 bushels at seventy-five cents a bushel, and also had peaches, plums, pears, etc. In 1840, with C. H. Hagerman, formerly of Rochester, N. Y., he planted the first grafted nursery, consisting of 10,000 trees. He has also established nurseries in Indiana, Ohio and Missouri, and has shipped stock to Colorado. He carried on the nursery established in 1840 twenty-one years in various places, meeting with fine success and deriving a good income from the proceeds of his business. Mr. Joseph has also dealt largely in live stock, which he took to New York City. He has been active outside of farming, the nursery business, etc., and at one time dealt in wheat, and built the first warehouse at Quincy.
Mr. Joseph's life record will show that he is a man of more than ordinary ability, enterprise and business talent, and that he has greatly aided in bringing about the material prosperity of Branch County, and has been a most important factor in promoting the growth of Quincy Township. In politics our subject is associated with the Democratic party, and during the war was a stanch Union man, a Douglas Democrat. He is quite popular, and when he has been a candidate for office he has always run ahead of his ticket. He served as Drain Commissioner five years, and as Highway Commissioner for seven years. He occupies the honorable position of Vice President of the Branch County Pioneer Society, and President of the Quincy Pioneer Society. (source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Branch County, Mich., containing Full Page Potraits and Biographical Sketched of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County; 1888; Chapman Brothers; Chicago, IL, p. 606-608)
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