Lucas Johannes Meyer was born on 19 November 1846. He was the grandson of a Voortrekker leader and spent his early life in northern Natal.
At the Battle of Ingogo, during the First Anglo-Boer War he was badly wounded and didn’t take part in the Battle of Majuba. After the war, he served as magistrate of Utrecht District.
Meyer was involved in the initial phase of the South African War (1899-1902), however late in 1899 he was forced to leave the scene of fighting due to illness. He returned to activities at the Battle of Vaal Krantz, however soon thereafter, again due to illness he was forced to return home. He did not take an active part during the latter part of the war but was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Vereeniging.
