Individual Details

Marriage

He married his first cousin Sarah Lukens (b. 1720?) in 1741 and they produced seven children: Charles (d. 1784?), Elizabeth (d. 1793), Jesse (1748-1776), Gaynor (d. 1788), Tacy (d. 1834), Judah (d. infancy), and Edith (n.d.).
Both John and Sarah were descendants of the original German immigrant families who settled Germantown. Jan and Mary Lukens and Rynier and Margaret Tysson left Rotterdam in July 1683 and arrived in Philadelphia in October 1683.

Sarah separated from the church January 25, 1742/1743 in Horsham, PHILADELPHIA, PA. disowned having married being first cousins

Event

John separated from the church January 25, 1742/1743 in Horsham, PHILADELPHIA, PA. disowned having married being first cousins

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In 1755, he was elected director of the Union Library at Hatboro, Pennsylvania
Lukens was involved with many influential men in Philadelphia. He co-founded the Hatsborough Public Library in 1755, and was acquainted with figures such as David Rittenhouse, Benjamin Franklin, and Francis Alison.
Peter and John Lukens were among the founders of the Union Library, at Hatboro', in 1755, and furnished to the same no less then eight members prior to 1776.

Event

We learn from the records that John Lukens was one of the active founders of the Hatboro' Library, July 19, 1755, and November 6,1756, was elected one of its directors and continued for several years;

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Hatboro' Library, July 19, 1755, and November 6,1756, was elected one of its directors and continued for several years; was authorized by them in 1757 to purchase books to the extent of ten pounds.

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Lukens belonged to learned Philadelphia associations such as the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge and the American Philosophical Society. Those types of associations lead to his appointment by Thomas and Richard Penn in 1761 to the position of Surveyor General.
On the death of Nicholas Scull, the surveyor-general, he was commissioned, December 8, 1761, to fill the place, and continued in the position until his death, in the fall of 1789, -the long period of almost twenty-eight years, from the colonial period to the establishment of the State government.

William Penn's early decisions about Pennsylvania land distribution gave the Land Office significant power from the beginning of settlement. The land office was comprised of the secretary for proprietary affairs, the surveyor general, and the receiver general. Over time, the surveyor general became the most powerful position in the land distribution system because his duties were an integral part of that system.

A prospective settler made "an application," that is, a request for land, in a particular place. Barring any problems such as a previous application for the same land, the secretary of proprietary affairs would issue a warrant for a survey of the property. The surveyor general then assigned a deputy in the appropriate district to perform the survey. After its completion, the surveyor general certified the survey's accuracy and returned a report to the secretary who could then formally grant the land.

Lukens remained Surveyor General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until the American Revolution.

Event

At Horsham Preparative Meeting held 26th of Eighth month, 1762, John Lukens requested a certificate to Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. He had been a prominent man in the neighborhood and was one of those instrumental in establishing the Hatboro library in 1755. After his removal to the city he became surveyor general of the province of Pennsylvania. The land on the northwest side of the road leading from the Welsh road to Horsham Meeting-house adjoining the Palmer tract was settled early by the Lukens' family.

Lukens' public position gained him a role in the team which surveyed the tangent line, middle point, and the twelve mile radius from the center of the New Castle Courthouse which formed the northern boundary of Delaware. These measurements, taken in 1762, were used by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in laying out the final Mason-Dixon line.

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David Rittenhouse, 1732-1796.
Autograph letter signed, to John Lukens, 12 December 1763, 1 p.

One of the leading American scientists of his time, David Rittenhouse was an internationally-known astronomer, master craftsman of scientific instruments, surveyor, and patriot. In 1769, Rittenhouse observed and recorded the transit of Venus across the sun using his own precise surveying instrument. His records of those observations were distributed by the American Philosophical Society and brought the Society world-wide scientific recognition. His expertise in astronomical calculations and surveying made him a valuable colleague of Lukens and he helped determine the accuracy of numerous boundaries and surveys. In this very early letter, writing from his family's Norristown farm, Rittenhouse informs Lukens that he has been asked to help settle a boundary dispute through the use of astronomical calculations.
Their work was later completed by their more famous successors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in 1764.

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In 1769, he was also one of the founders of the American Philosophical Society. He was appointed by that organization in June 1769 to assist David Rittenhouse, famous astronomer, in observing the transis of Venus and in November 1776, that of Mercury. In 1784, he discovered the comet subsequently known as Luken's Comet."

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In 1772 appointed to survey the Susquahanna and Leigh rivers to ascertain the best location for a canal to be built. this appointment was with david rittenhouse and william henry

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In 1774 he sold his farm a short distance southwest of Horshamville, to William Lukens, at the gate of which, by the road-side, he planted two white-pine trees when a young man, which grew upwards of three feet in diameter and to an extraordinary height.

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In 1776, he was ordered to close down the land office in Philadelphia and move to Lancaster where he remained until October 1778.

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Francis Alison, 1705-1779.
Autograph letter signed, to John Lukens, 10 April 1776, 1 p.

In this letter, the founder of the New London (Pa.) Academy, to which the University of Delaware traces its origins, asks Lukens for assistance in obtaining some property.

Event

Until 1780, the Pennsylvania land office was essentially shut down. In 1781, the General Assembly elected Lukens to his previous position of Surveyor General for a five year term, since the position was no longer an appointed one. In 1785, he was reelected and continued in the position until his death in 1789.

Two of John Lukens' sons, Charles and Jesse, worked for their father as Deputy Surveyors. Lawrence Keene, who was married to Lukens' daughter Gaynor, also worked for John Lukens. Each of these men had their own district, mostly in the Northeast part of Pennsylvania.

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He was appointed one of the four commissioners to run the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Virginia in 1784-85. Barton, in his "Life of Rittenhouse," calls him "the ingenious astronomical observer, Mr. Lukens."

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Directed,

To Gen'l Armstrong, Seo'y of Council.

John Lukbns, S. G., To V. P. Biddle, 1786.

Sir,

Agreeable to your Order of Wednesday last; I wou'd reccommend Robert Galbraith, Esqr., of the County of Bedford to measure & assertain the boundaries of the several districts between the Canoe place on the west branch of Susquehannah, and the Kittaning on the Allegany River.

I am Sir,

Your H'ble Serv't,

JNO. LUKENS, S. G.t

Death

John Lukens, as a young man, served his time as a chain-carrier and practiced surveying under Nicholas Scull. He was appointed by the governor in 1781 as the first surveyor-general under the State Government, serving until his death in 1789.

Revolutionary War Veteran - Civil Service in Pennsylvania.

Burial: Tennis - Lukens Cemetery, Lansdale, Montgomery co., Pa

After John Lukens' death in 1789 his estate was administered by his grandson Lawrence Keene, Jr., and then by his granddaughter Sarah Lukens Keene. After their deaths John Lukens' great-grandchildren became the administrators of the family estate. Two of his great-grand children (Henry Edgar Keene and Ellen Keene Mitchell) filed a law-suit in 1869 against other members of the family over the liquidation of family lands, which were quite substantial because of John Lukens' many years as surveyor general.

24 Dec 1785 - 28 Oct 1789 Philadelphia Co, PA Will of John LUKENS of City of Phila., Surveyor., mentions wife Sarah, daughters Elizabeth WALLIS, Gainor KEEN, Tacy LENOX, and Edith. Executor: Sarah LUKENS. Son in law Joseph Jacob WALLIS. Elizabeth WALLIS, Tacy LENOX & Gainor KEEN; Grandchildren Jesse, Thomas, George, Anne and John LUKENS (children of son Charles, deceased), John Lukens WALLIS, Lawrence KEEN and Niece Sarah COOMBE. Witness Daniel RENDLE, L. WEISS.

Event

In 1774 he sold his farm a short distance southwest of Horshamville, to William Lukens, at the gate of which, by the road-side, he planted two white-pine trees when a young man, which grew upwards of three feet in diameter and to an extraordinary height. One blew down in a storm about 1850, and the other survived thirty years later. They are yet well remembered by the writer, who could not pass that way without gazing in admiration at their tall and noble trunks, associated as they were with the memories of over a century.
Bean's 1884 History of Montgomery Co, PA