Joseph was born into a Quaker family of solicitors in Hitchin Hertfordshire. Joseph became a geologist, but had a chequered professional life.
He was a classic Victorian and obviously had an interest in and spent much time on subjects such as geology and natural history, dialects and languages, especially from Yorkshire and Scandinavia, gypsy life, genealogy, and poetry. The one photograph of him is almost a stereotype of a Victorian naturalist, wearing a rather worn tweed jacket and sitting in front of a glass fronted bookcase topped by a stuffed bird.
Joseph started out as a geologist, mapping in Yorkshire for the Geological Survey. He spent muct of his professional life as a consultant on underground water supplies and wells. In 1800’s he joined the Geological Survey.
Oxford English Dictionary
Joseph had a long interest in dialects and languages, and there are 21 entries in the OED with examples contributed by him, including a citation referring to him as the first person to use the term hydro-geology in its present sense. All the entries in the OED refer to words used in dialect in Northern England.
Joseph Lucas - Hydro-geologist
