Luther Shook was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, in December of 1817. With his parents, he moved to Hardintown in 1818 and to Versailles in 1828. He was raised on the farm and educated in pubic schools. He was a clerk in his uncle’s store for awhile before moving to Ripley. In 1839 he married Miss Emily Breeden, who then lived two and one-half miles from Versailles. In 1850 he was elected to the House of Representatives, and in 1852 to the Senate, by the Republica party. He was a merchant at Versailles for several years, but was a farmer from 1861 until the time of his death, March, 1877.