John Charles Lucena (abt. 1752 - 1813)

Born about 1752 in Lisbon, Portugal

Husband of Mary Ann (Lancaster) Lucena — married 11 Jun 1791 in Hampstead, Middlesex, England

Descendants

Died 2 Jun 1813 at about age 61 in England, United Kingdom

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Biography

João Carlos Lucena, was a Portuguese born marrano, a new Christian, born into a family that may have continued being secretly Jewish since the 16th century. If so their religion did not survive the family move from Portugal in 1761 to the then British colonies in North America, initially at Rhode Island where his father was granted a patent for the production of Castile soap. The family eventually settled in Savanah where he married Joanna Lavien (abt.1760-), the daughter of prominent West India merchant, Peter Lavien (abt.1746-1780). Peter left her extensive estates in South Carolina and Georgia in his will but these were confiscated when John Charles, as he was now known, remained loyal to the British crown in the American revolution.

By the 1790s John Charles was in London where he became the Portuguese Consul. In 1791 he married again, in Hampstead, to Mary Ann Lancaster (bef.1771-1840) (he had become a practising Anglican whilst in America) with whom he had four children. He died in 1813^[1] and was buried at St Pancras Old Church.^[2] He died a wealthy man, leaving an estate worth over £100,000. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ "England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZLZ-SP9L : 11 April 2022), John Charles Lucena, 1813.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183332144/john-charles-lucena : accessed 03 May 2022), memorial page for John Charles Lucena Sr. (1752–2 Jun 1813), Find a Grave Memorial ID 183332144, citing St. Pancras Old Churchyard, St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England ; Maintained by Dariel (contributor 48831992) .
3. ↑ The London Dead Blog [1]