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…
A Distant Cousin visits Vinalhaven
When our Luce ancestors converted to Mormonism, they were living in Vinalhaven, Maine. Nowadays Vinalhaven means South Fox Island, but in those days it was both the north and south islands. The Luces came from North Fox Island, then part of Vinalhaven, now called North Haven. A few days ago I came across a brief…
Re-baptism in the early days
In the early church members were re-baptized for several reasons. Doing genealogy, one thing I often see is that Mormon pioneers were re-baptized when they arrived in Salt Lake. For example, Stephen Luce and his mother Ruth Luce were re-baptized and confirmed 29 September 1850 by William Hicklenlooper in Salt Lake City, according to the…
Mormon Reformation
According to Wikipedia, the Mormon Reformation was a period of renewed emphasis on spirituality within the LDS Church. It took place in 1856 and 1857 under the direction of Church President Brigham Young. This period of history has an indirect relevance to the Luces, who lived through it. “All pioneers who gathered to Utah Territory…
Jason Luce in Nauvoo
Jason Luce was probably connected with Bill Hickman and the Danites as early as 1844, when he was 13. He seems to have been one of the young boys who operated as a spy network in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith wrote in his journal in June 1844: “Jason R. Luse reported that Ianthus Rolf said, while…