Lucid History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Lucid arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Lucid family lived in Norfolk. Their name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 of England, Lucy, near Rouen. 1 Luce is in Orne in the bailiwick of le Passeis, near Domfront, Normandy.

Early Origins of the Lucid family

The surname Lucid was first found in Norfolk where the first mention of the family of Lucy was made by Henry I of the lordship of Dice therein to Richard de Lucie, Governor of Falaise who later played a prominent role in the contests of King Stephen's reign. He was more than once Lieutenant of England. 2

"In 1165, Richard de Lucy's barony in Passy ([, Normandy]) consisted of 19 fees. He also held 19 in Devon, besides others in Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk and in 1156 in Northumberland. Geoffry de Lucy held on fee in Devon in 1165." 3

Inglewood Forest in Cumberland was home to another branch of the family. "It was a forest only in the Scottish sense of the word; a wild open chace, 'full of woods, red and fallow deer, wild swine, and all manner of wild beasts.' The wild beasts included many wolves. There is a sad tradition respecting a lady of the Lucy family, who, walking one evening near her father's castle of Egremont, was attacked and torn to pieces by a famished wolf. The place where her mangled body was found is still marked by a cairn of stones, and known as Woeful Bank." 4

The Lucys of Charlecote, Warwickshire descend from Sir William de Charlecote who changed his name to Lucy. This latter claim of a name change is of some dispute but what is certain is that this was the same gentleman that Shakespeare apparently lampooned in the 1580s by mocking his name and suggesting his wife was unfaithful. Again, this claim cannot be verified.

Truro in Cornwall was an ancient home to some of the family. "The manor, in 1161, belonged to Richard de Luci, chief justice of England and lord of Truro, who probably built the castle (the site of which is still called Castle Hill), and who invested the inhabitants with numerous privileges, which were confirmed by Reginald Fitz-Henry, Earl of Cornwall, natural son of Henry I." 5

Another branch of the family was found at Lessness in Kent. It was here that Richard de Luci (1089-1179) of Richard de Lucy was High Sheriff of Essex and later Chief Justiciar of England (1154-1179.) He also founded "an abbey for Black canons, in honour of St. Mary and St. Thomas the Martyr in 1178." 5

Early History of the Lucid family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lucid research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1525, 1551, 1585, 1592, 1594, 1614, 1619, 1640, 1647, 1653, 1658, 1660, 1667 and 1677 are included under the topic Early Lucid History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lucid Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Lucy, Luce, Lucey, Lucie and others.

Early Notables of the Lucid family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Lucy,High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1400; Sir Richard Lucy, 1st Baronet (c.1592-1667), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1647 and 1658; William Lucy (1594-1677), an English clergyman, Bishop of St David's (1660-1677); Sir Thomas Lucy (d.1525); and his son, William Lucy (d.1551)...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lucid Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lucid family to Ireland

Some of the Lucid family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lucid migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Lucid or a variant listed above:

Lucid Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Richard Lucid, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1861 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Lucid (post 1700) +

Shannon W. Lucid PH.D. (b. 1943), NASA Astronaut with 5,354 hours in space

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)