I knew, vaguely and in the back of my mind, that Utah was a slave territory before the Civil War. It’s one of bits of trivia I trot out from time to time to serve as a reminder that I’m a history nerd. Not that anyone really cares. Not that it matters to Civil War buffs, either. Utah wasn’t part of the Confederacy. The early Mormons were realists. They cooperated with the Union...
My great grandparents Wilford “Bill” Luce (1864-1948) and Essie Wilson (1878-1927) got married October 24, 1898 in Champaign, Illinois. So, where did a Wyoming rancher meet this woman from south central Illinois? I’m afraid I might have been responsible for a bit of erroneous information here. I answered an email off the cuff many years ago, saying I seemed to remember they met...
Great grandpa Will Luce married as his first wife a woman who was daughter of a local rustler and the local madame. Grandpa Will later divorced her for adultery after he came home and caught her in bed with one of his ranch hands. She stayed in Big Piney, never re-married, and continued using her married name Luce. The connection annoyed my very proper grandmother, who used it as as example of...
There is no proven coat of arms for American immigrant Henry Luce (c1640-aft 1689) and his descendants. Henry’s ancestry is unknown, so we cannot connect him to any European family, nor is there any record he himself used a coat of arms. The arms widely attributed to the Luces in America are: Arms: Azure a crescent argent. Crest: An eagle wings displayed reguardant holding in the dexter...
Before the publication of Charles Banks’ History of Martha’s Vineyard in 1911 one of the two leading suggestions for the father of immigrant Henry Luce was Thomas Luce, of Charlestown. The other leading suggestion was Harke Luse. These two men were attractive candidates because their surname matches and they lived in the same general area a generation before Henry Luce. That is...