Lukins, Gregory

Born: 1811-05-11 Fleming County, Kentucky

Flourished: Menard County, Illinois

Lukins resided in the county of his birth until September 1831, when he moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, renting a farm with his brother Peter near what would become the town of Petersburg. In 1832, Lukins met Abraham Lincoln in New Salem, Illinois, and a friendship blossomed between the two that continued until Lincoln's death. In 1834, he married Elizabeth (Betsey) Ritter, with whom he had two children. In 1850, Lukins and his family moved from Petersburg to Sugar Grove, Illinois, where Lukins purchased a 270-acre farm. In 1855, Betsey Ritter died, and soon thereafter, Lukins wed Jane Scott, with whom he had three children. In 1860, Lukins owned real estate valued at $7,600 and had a personal estate of $2,000.

Laura Wayland Smith-Hatch, comp., Rectors Remembered: The Descendants of John Jacob Rector (Williamson, NY: Salmon Creek, 2014), 4:2086-87; Election Returns for the New Salem Precinct in Sangamon County, Illinois; Election Returns for the New Salem Precinct in Sangamon County, Illinois; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 4 September 1834, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Menard County, IL, 166.