Ruth Luce’s memorial plaque in Ogden, Utah Ruth (Grant) Luce was always one of my heroes. She was born in Maine the year before the American Revolution. She came west with the Mormons when she was 72 and lived another 12 years after that. She died at the age of 84, having been a pioneer of Nauvoo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden. That’s some pioneer hardiness. A few weeks ago, I wrote about...
When I moved to Salt Lake City in 1977 one of the first things I did on a day off was walk over to the Pioneer Monument on Main Street and South Temple. I wanted to see if there were any Luces on the list of the pioneers. The list is short, just the very first pioneers. No Luces. I was deeply disappointed. I was sure there was a Luce who should be there. There is a funny thing about this statue...
Stephen Luce must have been in Nauvoo in April 1840. I’m happy to have that piece nailed down. The confusion here is from an index card in the Early Church History Information file. It says Stephen Luce was ordained a Seventy on 9 April 1840 by Wilford Woodruff. That can’t be right. Woodruff was on his English mission. There is no evidence in family tradition or written sources...
Stephen Luce (1801-1872) served on a grand jury in Salt Lake City in 1858. There’s an interesting story there. This was at the end of the Utah War. Stephen had served in the re-activated Nauvoo Legion. He appears on a 20 July 1857 muster roll as Sgt. Stephen Luce, 3rd Platoon, Company B, of the Silver-greys, having on hand one-half pounds of powder and 2 pounds of lead for his rifle. Now, a...
The following is a transcript of a 1910 article about Utah freighters, including Bill Luce. Photos and photo captions are omitted. The year 1868 was known throughout this whole Rocky Mountain region as the big railroad year. The screech of the Union Pacific locomotive was heard upon the plains, and the great road was soon to penetrate the everlasting hills. Prominent Utah men contracted to build...