The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 299

LINCOLN D. LUCE.

Lincoln D. Luce has for thirteen years resided in the Yakima valley but his
entire life has been passed on the Pacific coast and he possesses the spirit of
enterprise and progress which has been the dominant factor in the rapid
upbuilding of the northwest. His attention is now given to horticultural
pursuits, his holdings embracing nineteen acres of valuable land devoted to the
raising of apples and pears. Mr. Luce was born in Grant county, Oregon, August
19, 1869, a son of John C. and Anna C. (Hodson) Luce. The paternal grandfather,
Jacob Luce, was a native of Louisville. Kentucky, and on leaving that city went
to Iowa in 1843. A decade later he crossed the plains to Oregon, making the trip
with ox teams and wagons, and after traveling for six months over the long, hot
stretches of sand and through the mountain passes he reached Eugene, Oregon,
which he made the terminus of his trip. Soon afterward he took up government
land and with characteristic energy he began its development and improvement,
continuing thereon to the time of his death. His son, John C. Luce, also became
a ranchman of that state, residing in Oregon until called to his final rest in
1904, when sixty-one years of age. He was very active in political circles,
although not an office seeker. He gave his support to the republican party and
was an earnest and convincing speaker, ever able to hold the close attention of
his auditors. His wife was a daughter of James Hodson, of Ohio, who in 1843
removed westward to Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1854 cast in his lot with the
pioneer settlers of Josephine county, Oregon, having made the overland trip to
the far west by ox team. In 1863 he removed with his family to Canyon City,
Oregon, John C. Luce having in 1861 become a resident of that place. It was
there that the latter met and married Anna C. Hodson, the wedding being
celebrated in 1868. Mrs. Luce departed this life in 1890. She had become the
mother of eight children, of whom Lincoln D. is the eldest.

In the public schools of his native state Lincoln D. Luce pursued his education
and was also at one time a student in the Portland Business College. After his
textbooks were put aside he became actively engaged in the live stock business
and remained a resident of Oregon until 1905, when he removed to the Yakima
valley, settling on a ranch. The previous year he had purchased forty acres of
land three and one-half miles southwest of the city of Yakima and has since
resided upon this place but has sold twenty-one acres. He has remodeled the
home, transforming it into a most attractive and comfortable residence, and he
has planted all of his land to fruit, specializing in the propagation of apples
and pears. He belongs to the Yakima County Horticultural Union and is interested
in everything that has to do with the development and progress of the fruit
raising interests of this section. He is quick to adopt any improved methods in
the case of his trees or in the methods of shipping his product and he is
numbered among the representative business men of the district.
On September 3, 1891, Mr. Luce was united in marriage to Miss Eva M. Officer,
who was born in Dayville, Oregon, a daughter of Casey and Martha Officer, who
were pioneer settlers of that state, the father making his way to the coast from
Missouri in 1849. To Mr. and Mrs. Luce have been born three children: Alta V.,
the wife of E. H. Cornell, a resident of Yakima county, who is now with the
United States army doing motor work; Floyd E., a member of the United States
marines, now in a hospital in Rimancourt, France; and Alma V., at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Luce are members of the First Christian church and are highly
esteemed throughout the community in which they make their home. In politics Mr.
Luce is a republican and in November, 1917, was appointed to the office of
county assessor to fill out the unexpired term of W. D. McNair. He is now a
candidate for the position and the record which he has made indicates that he
will prove a most capable and faithful officer if chosen by popular suffrage.
He is most widely known, being highly esteemed both as a business man and as a
citizen, his sterling qualities being such as make for personal popularity
among all with whom he has been associated.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.