 Luce was born 14 May 1842 in Payson, Illinois to Christopher Sanborn Luce and Sarah Pottle.Through his father, he is descended from the Luce family of Rhode Island, making him a distant cousin of Adm. Stephen Bleecker Luce (founder of the US Naval War College) and Henry Robinson Luce, (founder of Time Magazine) and former Michigan Gov.Cyrus Gray Luce, who were descendants of Henry Luce of Martha's Vineyard.