News from our rich agriculture history

John Reynolds Lucas was born at St. John’s River, New Brunswick on May 4, 1800. In 1807, the family moved to a farm on Lake Ontario in Upper Canada near modern-day Burlington. John’s mother Phoebe died when he was young, so his older sister Rebecca took care of the house. John’s older brothers and his father Clement fought in the War of 1812, beginning a military tradition for the Lucas family that John would continue. The war also brought British soldiers to his community, which sometimes caused tension with the locals. One day, a few British soldiers stole some of

William Richard Motherwell was born on January 6, 1860 on a farm in Perth, Lanark County, Ontario. The son of an Irish farmer, William’s childhood was typical of most farm boys in his time. During the winter months he attended the local country school, while for the rest of the year he worked on the family farm. An uncommonly bright boy, Motherwell attended the Ontario Agricultural College on a scholarship and graduated with high-class honours in 1881. It was here that William would study the growing field of agricultural science, for which he would become a lifelong