DR. CHARLES M. LUKENS.
Charles M. Lukens, dentist, Muscotah, Kan., is a fine type of professional man who is self-made, and has achieved success in his profession, which is gratifying and worthy of mention in a favorable manner. Dr. Lukens was born June 28, 1872, in Harrison county, Ohio, and is a son of William Ellis and Margaret (McLaughlin) Lukens, both of whom were born and reared in Ohio. William Ellis Lukens was born in 1849, and was a son of Moses Lukens, born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and was an uncompromising abolitionist. He was an early settler of Harrison county, Ohio, where he conducted a station on the famous “Underground Railway.” He lived to a great age, and it is a fact that longevity is a characteristic of both the Lukens and the McLaughlin families. The Lukens family was of Quaker origin, and the founder of the family in America was one of the original followers of William Penn. Another characteristic of the Lukens family is the fact that a brother of William Ellis Lukens was a dentist, and Dr. Lukens has five cousins who are practicing dentistry.
William Ellis Lukens migrated to Holt county, Missouri, in 1882, where he resided for four years, and in 1886 he settled in Nemaha county. He was one of the early pioneers in Nemaha county, and first engaged in the live stock business at Corning, Kan., where he conducted a grain elevator, and bought and shipped live stock. He has become well-to-do, and is the owner of two large farms in Nemaha and Jackson counties. Mr. and Mrs. Lukens now make their home on a farm in Jackson county, Kansas, south of Netawaka. Their children are: Dr. C. M. Lukens, of Muscotah; Chester W., a farmer, living south of Netawaka, and Kinney E., a farmer, living in the northwest corner of Jackson county, Kansas. The mother of these children was born in 1850.
Charles M. Lukens received his primary education in the public schools of Corning, Kan., and then decided to work his way through college. His ambition was to become a dentist, and for a period of five years he did all kinds of honest labor in order to pay for his tuition and expenses while attaining his collegiate education. He not only earned his way through college, but saved money in the meantime. He followed farming and railroad bridge work during this time, and eventually graduated from the Western Dental College of Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 1905. He located in Muscotah, June 29, 1905, and has made a signal success in the practice of his profession. Dr. Lukens also maintains an office at Whiting, Kan., and divides his time between the two towns, Whiting and Muscotah.
Dr. Lukens was married April 10, 1901, at Corning, Kan., to Miss Hallie A. Graham, a daughter of Dr. J. W. Graham, of Wetmore, Kan. They have one child, Graham St. Clair Lukens, born June 21, 1902. The Republican party claims the allegiance of Dr. Lukens, and he has always been active in political affairs in Atchison county, being one of the leaders and “wheel-horses” of the party in the county. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Muscotah, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Horton, Kan., and is a member of the Modern Woodmen. Dr. Lukens is possessed of a likable and generous personality, which enables him to make friends easily, and to retain them for all time. He is a good provider for his family, and is fast accumulating a comfortable competence. He is a member in good standing of the Northeast Kansas Dental Association.