The Horry County Museum presents a lecture and book signing by David Henry Lucas on his series The Rice Kings on Saturday, May 4th, at 1:00 PM. The series chronicles the history of the Lucas family over 300 years, starting with Jonathan Lucas in 1754. Books will also be available to purchase after the program.
David Henry Lucas was born in Greensboro, N.C., and grew up in the small farming town of Bishopville, S.C. In the fall of 1965, Mr. Lucas attended the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship. He majored in International Studies and received a B.A. degree in January 1970. After a short period in the United States Marine Corp, he was given a medical discharge and returned to Columbia, South Carolina to pursue a career in business. Mr. Lucas later moved to the Isle of Palms working in development. Having written a book chronicling the history of his US Supreme Court fight to protect private property rights in the 90’s, Mr. Lucas decided to embark on a new profession. In 2012, he began work on a memoir relating the story of his time as a student athlete at the University of South Carolina.
As a follow-up project, he has taken on the challenge of romanticizing the history of his forbears, starting in the year 1754. The first novel is entitled “The Rice Kings, Book One, The Beginning” which chronicles the early life and training of Jonathan Lucas, a fourth great grandfather. “The Rice Kings, Book Two. Charleston,” brings the story to America where Jonathan invented the rice mill. This invention allowed the South Carolina Lowcountry to become incredibly wealthy and produced a golden era for the region. These two books are the first in a series of historical novels that are intended to relate the saga of the rise and fall of the Old South. Time permitting; the series will describe the aftermath of the War Between the States through the eyes of the people who experienced it. Finally, the story of the slow economic recovery of the South, beginning with the life of his grandfather, H. S. Lucas, born in 1888, and expanding the history of the Lucas Family throughout the 20th Century.
Mr. Lucas is married to the former Martha Black from Bamberg, South Carolina. They have three children and six grandchildren. David and his wife reside in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, near Charleston, to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
The program is free to the public and will be held in the Museum’s McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway, SC 29526. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. The view a full list of scheduled programs, visit the museum website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.
