Cyrus Gray Luce (July 2, 1824–March 18, 1905) was the 21st governor of the U.S. state of Michigan.
Luce was born in Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812 from Tolland, Connecticut, settled in the Connecticut Western Reserve after the war. When he was twelve years old, Cyrus moved west with his family to Steuben County, Indiana. After leaving school at age 17, Luce worked from 1841 until 1848 in a woolen mill, c...
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Cyrus Gray Luce (July 2, 1824–March 18, 1905) was the 21st governor of the U.S. state of Michigan.
Luce was born in Windsor, Ashtabula County, Ohio. His father, a veteran of the War of 1812 from Tolland, Connecticut, settled in the Connecticut Western Reserve after the war. When he was twelve years old, Cyrus moved west with his family to Steuben County, Indiana. After leaving school at age 17, Luce worked from 1841 until 1848 in a woolen mill, carding wool and dressing the unfinished cloth for sale.
In 1848, he was a Whig Party candidate for the Indiana House of Representatives for the district including Steuben and DeKalb counties. He lost a close election, and in the same year he purchased 80 acres (320,000 m) of uncultivated land near Gilead, Michigan in Branch County not far from the Indiana state line.
Luce cleared the land for farming and in 1849 married Julia A. Dickinson of Gilead. Over time, he expanded his landholdings with additional purchases. He became an active member...
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