John Turner
and
Margaret Jehu-Turner
Introduction My starting point for researching my Turner ancestors had been a cryptic handwritten note written by my mother (Elizabeth Hulburd-Hine-Alderson) probably shortly after her 1942 marriage to my father and when she had likely first met her new mother-in-law Rose Turner-Hine, the granddaughter of John and Margaret Turner. The note provided information primarily regarding John and Margaret's son Edward J. Turner and only a very little about his father (the subject of this biography). Mother recorded regarding John Turner: "Lord Butler Turner - part Scottish - English" "related to Mary Q of Scotts". "His son Edward John Turner born in England. Came to Quebeck" [She probably meant Quebec, Canada]. Then regarding Edward's son: "Edward John Turner, Jr. born in Wisconsin (1of 8)." Mother's note was thus very specific that both father and son were named Edward John Turner. This was all the initial information I had about John and Margaret turner in Wisconsin and it turned out that the first name "Edward" was highly misleading, if not incorrect. Starting only with the quite common name Turner and a possibly incorrect first name somewhere in Wisconsin made it very difficult to identify my ancestors there. However as I researched John and Margaret's son Edward J. Turner in Idaho clues to his Wisconsin home and parents began to emerge (including photos taken in later years near Janesville, WI and vague references to a geographic area called "Rock Prairie" now known to be near Janesville found in E.J. Turners Milton College records). I was slowly able to make a very good circumstantial case that John and Margaret Turner who show up in 1870 and 1880 census in Harmony Township, Rock County, Wisconsin were E.J. Turner's parents. Finally, I was able to confirm this when I found and obtained a copy of E.J. Turner's death certificate which clearly show John and Margaret as his parents. Once I'd confirmed John and Margaret Turner as my ancestors it became much easier to find information about them. A note to future genealogists who might have occasion to attempt to trace John Turner (who, being born in England, apparently immigrated through Canada before settling in Wisconsin) back through Canada to England: In doing the research for this biography I have run into virtually no historical reference anywhere in Wisconsin records to John Turner as having the first name "Edward". Additionally, in researching his son Edward J. Turner in Idaho I have found no evidence that he (the son) was ever referred to as Junior. However, in addition to my mothers note which clearly indicates that both carried the first name Edward, I've come upon an additional reference that supports my mother's note. In researching John's wife Margaret Jehu's ancestors I obtained a Jehu family tree from sources in England, possible based on research by a descendent of the Jehu's who immigrated to Wisconsin, which clearly shows that Margaret Jehu married "Edward John Turner". The exact source of this information isn't entirely clear but, since it apparently didn't come from my branch of the family, tends to confirm my mother's note. Whether John's first name was really Edward or not, I've chosen to use "John" in this biography as that's the way he's referred to everywhere in Wisconsin records and in his obituary and on his tombstone.
John Turner's Early Life
Census records consistently show that John Turner was born in England in about 1802. My mother's notes suggest that his father's name may have been "Lord Butler Turner" but I have no confirmation of this. How and exactly when John came to Wisconsin isn't known but my mother's notes suggest that he came through Quebec, Canada and 3 of his children were born in Canada confirming a Canadian connection. It isn't known whether he came to the New World as a child with his parents or as an adult. His 1885 obituary indicates that "Mr. Turner was one of the oldest settlers of
Rock county, coming here in 1836 with Wm. and Joseph Spaulding".
(Janesville and nearby Harmony Township are located in Rock County, Wisconsin.) In 1836 John
would have been about 34 years old. A book titled "History of Rock
County" (1908) refers to John Turner coming specifically to the town of Harmony in 1840.
Margaret Jehu's Early Life Margaret Jehu was born in Wales according to census records and confirmed by my research. Exactly when she immigrated to Wisconsin and with whom isn't entirely clear. Historical information indicates that several generations of Jehu's came to Wisconsin from Wales in the 1840's. One reference indicates that her uncle Thomas E. Jehu (with wife Elizabeth) and son Thomas D. Jehu (Margaret's 1st cousin) came to Racine, WI in 1842. Another reference indicates that Margaret's parents Hugh and Sarah Jehu "came to America in 1847". The fact that Margaret married John Turner in 1844 suggests that she either possibly immigrated with her uncle in 1842 or that, if she came with her parents, the year indicated as 1847 is a typo which raises the possibility that all the Jehu's could have arrived together in 1842. Marriage Wisconsin marriage records show
that John Turner and Margaret Jehu were married on June 5th 1844 in Racine, WI.
I suspect that John and Margaret probably met in Harmony Township (which would become their home) near Janesville, WI but I can't conclusively prove it. John is known to have been in the area by 1836 and he obtained homestead land there in 1843, a year before the marriage. As mentioned above, at least some and perhaps all Jehu's (including Margaret) immigrated to Racine, WI in 1842 and by the 1850 census (the first since the Jehu's immigrated) Margaret's parents Hugh & Sarah Jehu and her unmarried siblings are shown also living in Harmony Township. In addition, the 1850 census shows Margaret's sister Sarah Jehu married to Enos C. Dickenson and they were also living in Harmony Township. All this leads me to suspect that Margaret's parents might very well have settled in Harmony Township shortly after immigrating in 1842 and the two oldest daughters met their husbands there. John and Margaret may have traveled to Racine, WI for their wedding as there is a historical record that she had an uncle and aunt (Thomas E. and Elizabeth Jehu) who stayed in Racine after other Jehu's moved westward in Wisconsin. Another theory could be that John and Margaret met elsewhere and were married in Racine where Margaret's family perhaps still lived in 1844. Then once the newlyweds settled into their farm in Harmony Township, Margaret's parents and siblings subsequently moved there also. Children and the Canadian Connection John and Margaret Turner would have 8 children between 1846 and 1863 and the locations of their births creates some unexplained confusion. The children were (in birth order):
While there is some conflicting data, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the eldest child, Edward J. Turner (my great-grandfather who is covered in detail in another biography), was born in Canada. Census records consistently show that the next 2 children in birth order (Emily and Sarah) were also born in Canada and that the remaining 5 younger children were all born in Wisconsin. This suggests that John and Margaret may have lived in Canada from 1846 (or before) to up to about 1854. Interestingly, I could find no census record for the Turner family in Wisconsin in the 1850 census which perhaps suggests that they were not there and could thus have been in Canada but could also simply mean they were missed by the census takers, not an uncommon event. The confusion results from the fact that John had purchased homestead land in 1843 in Harmony Township which is known to have been the location of his farm for decades to come and Margaret's parent's and numerous siblings were living in Harmony Township in 1850. Additionally, it was typical that new owners of homesteaded land obtained from the government were required to live on and improve the land for some period of years. Also, historical records consistently refer to John as an early settler in Harmony Township in the late 1830's and 1840's. Of course, these factors don't preclude the fact that John and Margaret may have lived in Canada for a time, perhaps on and off. My mother's note indicating that John came to Wisconsin through Quebec provides a Canadian connection. I suppose it possible that John may have had business interests and/or farms in both Wisconsin and Canada. Another possibility could be that John had relatives (parents? a sister or brother?) just north of Wisconsin in Canada and, for whatever reason, it made sense for Margaret to temporarily live with them while giving birth. About Harmony Township, Wisconsin
The geographic boundaries of Harmony Township derive from the way land in the 1800's was divided for homesteading purposes by the U.S. government. A "Township" was, by definition, a square piece of land 6 miles long by 6 miles wide containing 36 "Sections" each one mile by one mile in size. A section contained 640 acres and was further subdivided and cryptically described for distribution to individual settlers, usually in 80 acre square or rectangular parcels. The 36 square mile Harmony Township was defined in what became Rock County, Wisconsin (when it became a state in 1848). It's located immediately north east of the town of Janesville, WI. I've seen historical references to a "town" named Harmony but have been unable to find a town as such on old or current maps of Harmony Township which suggests that the use of term town may have been synonymous with the Township. Harmony Township was (and still is) pretty much a geographic area comprised almost entirely of small farms and not a "town" as we know them today. The general area was also sometimes known for geologic characteristics including Rock Prairie (self explanatory) and Mt. Zion (for the highest Harmony Township promontory.) Today, as in the 1800's, the nearest population center is Janesville which is just a few miles away. The Turner Farm In the 1870 census John Turner is shown as being a "farmer". As mentioned above, he obtained the first of his homesteaded land from the government in 1843. It consisted of two 80 acre parcels in Harmony Township, one in Section 25 and the other in Section 13 and they were nearby each other but not contiguous at the time. In 1948 he acquired another 80 acres in the nearby section 19 of the adjacent Johnstown Township just to the east of his 1843 acquisitions. By 1858 however, and probably through exchanges and/or purchases and sales involving others, John is shown owning about 400 contiguous acres oriented in a narrow north-south rectangle in sections 13, 24, and 25. This larger farm included the two original acquisitions made in 1843. (See 1858 map below). By 1873 the Turner farm had grown smaller and included only about 100 acres in Section 24. (See 1873 map below.) In 1873 John would have been about 71 years old and I thus think it likely that he was moving into retirement and downsizing accordingly. I note that in 1873 the farm is shown and being owned by "Mrs. J. Turner" as opposed to John. I can't be sure but perhaps John had transferred ownership to Margaret as a means of estate planning since he was about 25 years older than she. In the 1880 census there is no occupation listed next to John's name suggesting that he had likely retired by age 78 however his two sons still living at home, Frederick and Walter are shown as "farmers" suggesting that they had probably taken over day to day operations. Also still living at home in 1880 were daughters Emily, Sarah, and Arabella as well as a 38 year old "servant - farm laborer".
In October of 2008 I visited the Janesville area and Harmony Township just to it's east and located the land which in the 1800's belonged to the Turner's. Harmony Township is today still very rural in character and dotted with small farms much as it was in the 1800's. The following photos of the former Turner farm were taken from along today's E. County Road-A which runs east/west along the line which divides Sections 24 and 25 (in the above maps from the 1800's) and at, and just east of today's N. Milton Shopiere Rd. which runs north/south between Sections 23 and 24. The photos are looking generally north from the south over the property owned by "Mrs. J. Turner" on the 1873 map. The house in the photo is likely located at the same spot as the Turner's home as it's where the 1873 map shows structures (small square dot) on the Turner property.
Farming In Harmony Township I've haven't run into any information regarding what sort of farm the Turner's ran. Wisconsin is today known for it's large institutional dairy farms but when I visited Harmony Township in 2008 I don't recall seeing herds of dairy cows in the area. If the Turners weren't dairy farmers it's likely that they grew whatever "cash crop" was most economically viable in any given year for sale on the open market. The railroad came to the area in the early 1850's which would have been a huge benefit to the local economy and and given local farmers access to national crop markets. Certainly however, and for their own consumption, they would have grown a variety of vegetables, probably had a small orchard of fruit trees, had a few dairy cows for milk, raised chickens for the eggs and pigs for meat, and done all the thing farmers have always done to make themselves as self sufficient as possible. I'm sure all the Turner children grew up having specifically assigned morning and evening chores such as milking the cows or feeding the chickens and collecting eggs, etc. just to keep food on the table for their family. Having visited my mother frequently at her retirement home of 23 years in the rural farming community of Hermann, MO I gained some perspective and understanding of small farm communities which suggests how things might have been in Harmony Township in the 1800's. The farmers would not have view themselves as competing with each other since the market price for their crops was set by the regional or national markets and they could likely sell all the their crops at that price that they had no control over. This non-competition creates a situation where the incentive is to help other farmers in your area as exchanging information and strategies served to hurt no one and help everyone. Everyone in the are would have known everyone else (at least by reputation) so information and rumors would have spread like wildfire. And everyone would have been available to help others in need. I suspect that neighbors would have jointly owned expensive farming equipment which a single farmer couldn't afford. There would have been barn raising parties where friends and neighbors would show up all at once to construct a barn for someone almost in a single day. Everyone would chat at church on Sunday's, or at the local feed store. Neighbor would always be available to help neighbors in times of need. I suspect that all in all, John and Margaret Turner lived the American Dream they and/or their parents had been looking for when they immigrated to Wisconsin. Educating The Children
When first researching John and Margaret's son E.J. Turner I had followed up on an indication in my mother's note that he'd attended Milton College in Wisconsin. As I researched this and eventually identified John and Margaret as his parents it became clear that a number of their children attended Milton. It was located in Milton Township only about 5 or 6 miles north of the Turner farm which made it a very convenient place to educate their children. (Milton Township is immediately north of Harmony Township. See the 1873 Rock County map above.) Milton Academy was founded in 1844 and became Milton College in 1867. While it closed it's doors 1982 and not a lot of mid 1800's records have survived, I was able to obtain confirmation which shows that the 4 oldest Turner children (Edward, Emily, Sarah, and Charles) attended Milton at overlapping times from 1865 to 1869. Based on this I suspect that these 4 children as well as their younger siblings very likely attended before and after these dates. During this time period 2 of the siblings would have been only about 13 years old when first shown as attending indicating, I believe, that Milton provided both a high school and college education. I suspect that the eldest child, Edward J. Turner probably attended for 8 years and graduated in 1866 or 1867 with a college degree but the evidence is circumstantial and I can't prove this conclusively. Exactly how long the other children attended I don't know. By the mid to late 1860's Milton was a substantial institution having an enrollment of 420 students in 1866 and offering a varied classical and practical education. Due to it's close proximity to the Turner farm it's possible that the children commuted daily to Milton via horse, horse and carriage, or perhaps even by foot. It's also possible that they boarded at Milton during the week and came home on weekends to help with the farm. The fact that John and Margaret could afford to send multiple children at the same time to a private educational institution suggests that the Turners were successful farmers.
Later Years As shown on the Harmony Township maps, by 1873 the Turner's had downsized their farm from the 400 acres show in 1858 to closer to 100 acres likely because by then John would have been about 71 years old and probably thinking about retirement. In the 1880 census John's occupation is not specified suggesting that he was perhaps fully retired at about age 78 though the Turners still lived on the farm where his sons Walter and Frederick are show as "farmers" apparently having taken over day to day operations from their father. Also in 1880 daughters Emily, Sarah, and Arabella were also still living at home. (John had kids still living at home at his advanced age due to the fact that he was about 25 years older than his wife.) John's Passing John passed away at about age 84 on May 20, 1885 at the farm he had acquired 43 years earlier. His obituary reads: "Mr. John Turner died
suddenly yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock at his home in the town of Harmony,
aged 84 years. Mr. Turner, a few moments before his death, appeared to be
in his usual health, and had gone to his bed to take a short sleep previous to
supper. One of the family went to his room to call him to supper and
found that he was dead. Heart disease is said to be the cause of his
sudden death. Mr. Turner was one of the oldest settlers of Rock county,
coming here in 1836 with Wm. and Joseph Spaulding. He was well know and
highly respected by a large circle of friends. He leaves a wife and seven
children, four boys and 3 daughters - two sons and two daughters are in Idaho,
one son in Dakota, and one son and a daughter reside at home. The funeral
will be held at his late home on the Johnstown road, near the home of Hon. James
Menzies, on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock."
Margaret was about age 58 when John passed away. I believe that Walter was the son still living at home and Emily or Arabella the daughter. John was buried a few hundred yards down the road from his farm in the northeast part of Section 25 in what today is referred to at the Mt. Zion/Clarke cemetery. Margaret's Passing Not quite a year after John's death Walter, the only son still living at home when his father died, suddenly passed away at the age of about 23 on April 2, 1886 from diphtheria and was buried with his father in the Mt. Zion/Clarke cemetery. With all the men in her life now dead or
living elsewhere it would seem logical that Margaret would have trouble
maintaining the farm so I wasn't supprised when I found her shown in a city directory as living
in 1889 in a
house at 110 4th Ave. in Janesville, about 5 miles west of the farm which she
would have presumably sold by then.
With all members of her immediate family now having moved out of state or having passed away except for one daughter, I have to wonder if life would have become somewhat lonely and whether Margaret might have considered moving to Idaho where most of her children were by then living with their families (though in different parts of the state). On the other hand Margaret would have had many friends in the Harmony Township/Janesville area. Additionally, her sister Sarah Jehu-Dickenson (who for decades lived on a farm just down the road from the Turners) was still around along with various Dickenson nieces and nephews. Margaret had had another sister in the area who likely had passed away by this time. Sister Susan Jehu had married James Menzies and moved to the farm immediately east of the Turner farm in the 1870's when James' father had passed away. While it's likely that Susan passed away prior to 1878 (when James Menzies remarried), her children were still in the area. Additionally, Margaret still had a brother and two sisters along with various nieces and nephews living about 25 miles away in Rutland Township, Dane County, WI where her parents had moved after briefly living in Harmony Township around 1850. The evidence suggests that Margaret's daughter Emily stayed with and cared for her in the Janesville house during her final years. Margaret passed away on January 20, 1992 at the age of about 65. There is no information indicating the cause of death or whether it was the result of a prolonged illness. One of her obituaries indicates that she was living at 161 South Main St. in Janesville at the time of her death so she had apparently moved within the city between 1889 when she lived at 110 4th Ave. and 1992. Her daughter Emily was her only child present when she passed away. Margaret was buried with her husband John in the rural Mt. Hope/Clarke cemetery only a few hundred yards from the Turner farm. The most detailed of Margaret's obituaries reads: "Eyes Sealed Forever.
Funeral of Mrs. Margaret Turner. The remains of Mrs. Margaret J. Turner
were buried in Rock Prairie Sunday afternoon, the funeral services being
conducted at the home on South Main street at 1:30 o'clock by Dr. W. F. Brown,
assisted by Dr. E. L. Eaton. The song service was rendered by a quartette
consisting of Mrs. C. C. Bennett, Miss Calkins, Millard Calkins and O. O.
Bennett. The pall bearers were Robert Clark, William Menzies, David Clark,
Andrew Barlass, Thomas Clark, James Mouat. There was a large attendance at
the service, and many accompanied the funeral party to the grave. Mrs.
Turner was the daughter of Hugh and Sarah Jehu, and was born in Newton, Wales in
1826. In 1848 she married John Turner and settled in Rock county at an
early day. The fruits of this marriage were eight children - five sons and
three daughters. Her husband and two sons have preceded her to the better
land. Only one of her children, Miss Emily Turner, was with her at the
time of her death."
I note that the date of her marriage in the obituary is wrong. Also that most of the pall bearers including David Clark, William Menzies, Andrew Barlass, and James Mouat were longtime nearby neighbors of the Turner farm and are shown on the 1873 map almost 20 years before. I believe that William Menzies was Margaret's nephew, the son of her sister Susan Jehu-Menzies. More Regarding Margaret Margaret apparently also used the name
Martha which may have been a nick name or perhaps her middle name. Two of
the 3 obituaries I obtained refer to her as "Martha J. Turner" and the third as
"Margaret J. Turner". This had me confused for awhile till the Rock County
Genealogical society sent me copies pages from two Janesville city
directories from around 1889. One lists her as Margaret and the other
Martha, both at the same address and both as the widow of John.
Margaret was apparently literate as evidenced by her handwritten will which is included in her probate file (see below). And a note regarding the failures and unexpected chance successes of genealogical research. When I was researching their son Edward John Turner in Idaho I came to suspect that John and Margaret Turner were his parents and his childhood home was near Janesville, WI but I had no conclusive proof. When I finally uncovered E.J. Turner's death certificated it absolutely confirmed who his parents were and the location but it also provided some miss information and thus a genealogical dead end regarding Margaret's maiden name. E.J. Turner's death certificate clearly shows that his mother's maiden name was "John" which I now know to be either a transcription error by whoever typed it or a typographic error. Also, the only one of Margaret's obituaries that show's her parent's indicates that they were Hugh and Sarah "John" confirming the death certificate misinformation. This made it impossible to identify and trace Margaret's parents. The breakthrough came when I first saw John and Margaret's tombstone (in photos taken and sent by a volunteer in the area a year before I visited the cemetery) on which is clearly inscribed "Margaret Jehu Turner". Knowing her maiden name was Jehu and not John enabled me to easily find and research her parents and eventually her ancestors in Wales. I'd like to thank which ever of my long ago relatives (I'm guessing Emily A. Turner) who specified Margaret's inscription on the Turner tombstone and included her maiden name (not a common occurrence in the 1800's). Final Resting Place John and Margaret Turner along with their
youngest son Walter are buried in the Mt. Zion/Clarke Cemetery in Harmony
Township. It's located a few hundred yards south of the intersection of
today's County Road A and N. Milton Shopiere Rd. on the east side of the road
(see satellite image above) and is quite near the old Turner farm.
It's a small cemetery containing in the range of perhaps 75 headstones.
When I visited in Oct. of 2008 it appeared that all the headstone were old
suggesting the cemetery hasn't been actively used for many, many decades. The grass was mowed
however a number of the headstones were in various states of disrepair.
I'm thus guessing the cemetery is today minimally maintained, perhaps by volunteers.
A 1931 article in the Janesville Daily Gazette indicates that the cemetery had
just undergone a major restoration. The article opens: "Grandchildren of
town of Harmony pioneers have restored Mount Zion cemetery, abandoned 30 years
ago."
Margaret Turner's sister Sarah Jehu married Enos C. Dickinson and for decades had a farm about 2 miles west of the Turner farm. The Dickinson's are also buried here quite near the Turners. Enos Dickinson had two wives, both named Sarah. Sarah Jehu was the second having married Enos after his first wife had passed away. Several of the Dickenson children are also interred here.
Margaret's Probate File and Will The Rock County Genealogical Society was able to provide me with a copy of Margaret's probate file which includes a copy of her will as well as the locations of her children around the time of her death. Margaret's handwritten will was signed and dated February 12, 1887 (and witnessed by John Menzies who may have been her brother in-law, the possible husband of her sister Susan). The will was then slightly amended 4 years later in March of 1891. The original 1887 will called for her 3 daughters to receive $1,000 cash each from the estate and in addition the daughters were to "share and share alike all my household goods, furniture, table ware, and wearing apparel". A special bequest was made that Arabella was to get her sewing machine. She then directs that each of her 3 surviving sons would share equally in the remainder of the estate. Her son Charles was named the executor of her estate. The 1891 amendment modifies the will by specifically and additionally bequeathing to daughter Emily "my present home and house and lot" in Janesville along with "all household furniture and bed and bedding and household goods of every nature therein". I suspect that Emily was given special treatment because, in addition to being the only unmarried daughter and thus perhaps having a need for a home that the others didn't, she lived with and cared for her mother in Margaret's final years and after all the other children had left the area. A few months after Margaret's death in April of 1892 a detailed accounting of the estates assets was prepared which showed a value total value of $10,782 which included real estate in Janesville of $1,300, personal property of $1,410 and, interestingly, notes due from Margaret's 3 sons totaling $8,072 in principle and interest. Son Edward owed his mother $2,274, Charles owed $612, and Frederick owed $5,175. I suspect that when Margaret had sold the farm after John's death she had "invested" the excess funds she didn't immediately need in her sons who provided her money to live on in the form of interest payments. The estate was apparently wrapped up by May of 1893 and the probate file contains signed statements from the 3 daughters acknowledging receipt of the $1,000 each specified in the will and a statement signed by sons Edward and Frederick indicating that they agreed with Charles' accounting. I don't find a copy of anything from Emily acknowledging ownership of the Janesville house. The final estate paperwork dated May 10th 1893 shows the heirs to the estate as: Edward J. Turner, Gentile Valley, Idaho -
age 47
About The Children By the time John died in 1885, 1 of his 8 children had already passed away (George) and another 5 were living in other states (4 in Idaho and 1 in South Dakota). Walter, one of the two children still living at home when John died, would pass away a year later. Only daughter Emily was still living in Wisconsin when Margaret passed away in 1892 and Emily would go to Idaho shortly after her mother's death. Consequently, none of the Turner children stayed in Harmony Township, or even Wisconsin, to carry on their parents legacy. I can only speculate as to why this might have been. Certainly the Turner children would have grown up hearing stories of their parent's adventures as immigrants and of settling and building their lives on the "frontier" of what was initially the Wisconsin Territory. This could have instilled a sense of adventure and the pioneer spirit in the children. Additionally, by the time the children were grown, Rock County and probably most areas in nearby Wisconsin were mostly settled and I suspect the opportunity to acquire inexpensive homestead land was pretty much gone. I thus think it probably that the children simply followed the example set by their parents and moved on to the next "frontier" where the opportunities were better to build their own lives. Of the 6 surviving children 1 would end up in South Dakota (Charles) and 5 in 3 separate areas of Idaho. Edward would settle in the Gem Valley in southeast Idaho, Frederick and Arabella ended up about 70 miles to the north of the Gem Valley in or near Idaho Falls, and Sarah and Emily would settle another 150 to 200 miles farther northwest in Salmon, ID near the Montana boarder and in a very isolated part of the state. I suspect that Edward, being the oldest, probably came to Idaho first and that his younger siblings followed over time after hearing about Idaho from Edward and subsequently because other family members were already there. Here's what I've learned about the Turner children: Edward John Turner (1845-1916) E.J. Turner settled in the Gem Valley of southeast Idaho in 1877 where he became a successful cattle rancher and helped develop the water recourses of the area. I've written a detailed biography of his life which appears elsewhere so I won't repeat it here. Emily A. Turner-Morgan (Abt. 1850 - ?) Emily, like some of her other siblings, attended Milton Academy in the late 1860's. She apparently didn't marry till later in life and apparently lived at home longer than her siblings as she was the only one of the children still living in Wisconsin (I believe with Margaret) when her mother died in 1892. At the time of her mother's death Emily would have been about 42 years old. Her mother's probate file show's Emily was a resident of Janesville immediately after her mother's s1992 death. Later the same year however an entry she made in my grandmother's (Rose Bell Turner-Hine's) "autograph book" made on August 24, 1892 shows that she was either visiting or living with her brother E.J. Turner in Idaho's Gentile Valley. And another part of her mother's probate file indicates that by May of 1893 she was living in Idaho Falls, ID (with mailings care of her brother Frederick who is known to have been living there for sometime). All references to Emily in this 1892-1893 period show her last name is still Turner suggesting that she had not yet married. The next time I find Emily is 7 years later in the 1900 census where she is shown living with her sister Sarah Turner-Brown's family in Salmon, Lemhi County, Idaho. The census record suggests that her last name is still Turner though one source misspells it "Troiner" because it's hard to read (but it's clearly Emily as her birth date and location are correct as is here relationship as "sister" of one of the head's of the household). The census record indicates that Emily was "divorced" which could be an error but if it is correct I suspect that the divorced marriage didn't amount to much since she was still using the Turner surname. I note that Emily didn't appear with her parents and siblings in the Harmony Township 1870 census when she would have been about 20 years old but does show up 10 years later in 1880 living at home. Perhaps Emily had married prior to 1870 but had soon divorced and again adopted the Turner surname. The 1900 census record showing Emily with her sister in Salmon, ID was taken on June 11, and, interestingly, Idaho marriage records show that 7 days later on June 18, 1900 "Emily A. Turner" married widower John L. Morgan in Salmon, ID, the same location as the census record. Emily would have been about 50 years old at the time of the marriage. A decade later the 1910 census shows Emily and John Morgan still living in Salmon, ID. No children are shown in 1910 probably confirming the obvious assumption that Emily had married to late in life to give birth. Sarah Louise Turner-Brown (Abt. 1852-?) Sarah is also known to have attended Milton College in the mid to late 1860's. In the 1880 census she is shown as still living at home with her family in Harmony Township at age 28 and her occupation is show as "milliner". A little over a year later however Idaho marriage records show that she married Joshua Brown In Salmon, Lemhi County, Idaho on Nov. 13, 1881. (Salmon, ID is about 15 miles from Shoup, ID which is shown as the Brown's home in some references.) Salmon, ID is a long way from Wisconsin and 1881 was only 4 years after her brother Edward had settled much farther south in Idaho so I have no idea how she came to make the move to Idaho and marry so quickly after having been still living at home the year before. Joshua Brown is shown to have been born in Canada in 1838 (he being about 14 years older that Sarah) but perhaps he had grown up in Rock County and the couple had known each other there previously. The Brown's would remain in Salmon, ID and are shown there in the 1900 census 19 years after they were married. While I can't find Sarah in the 1910 census, a published wedding announcement from when brother Edward was re-married in 1911 in Pocatello, ID indicates that Sarah attended and was still living in Salmon at the time. The 1900 census shows that Sarah and Joshua Brown had a 26 year old child living at home named Floyd Brown who was born in Idaho in 1874. This was 7 years before Sarah and Joshua were married suggesting that his birth year is in error or he was the child of a previous marriage. 1890 census records were lost in a warehouse fire which leaves a 19 year gap between Sarah's marriage and the 1900 census. During this period it's certainly possible that Sarah and Joshua could have had other children who had left home as teenagers before the 1900 census. Charles Turner (Abt. 1854 -?) Like his 3 older siblings Charles is known to have attended Milton College in the mid to late 1860's. He is not shown living with his Harmony Township family in the 1880 census suggesting that he had left home before he was about 26 years old. In 1892 and 1893, when he was executor of his mother's estate, Charles was living with his wife and children in Leola, South Dakota. The 1900 census shows Charles and wife Delphia still living in Leola along with 5 children (Worth, Leslie, George, Lyle, and Madge). Frederick Hugh Turner (Oct. 1855 -?) While I have no proof, I suspect that Frederick also attended Milton College. His middle name "Hugh" was very likely passed on from his maternal grandfather Hugh Jehu. Like his sister Sarah, he is shown still living with his parents in Harmony Township in 1880 at age 25 and, like Sarah, Idaho marriage records show that Frederick was married in Idaho a little over a year later in 1881. He married Harriet ("Hattie") Sanderson on October 31, 1881 in the Gentile Valley, the home of his brother Edward. He then apparently settled in Idaho Falls, ID. about 70 miles north of where he was married. He is shown in Idaho Falls in the 1900 census with wife Hattie and 4 children (Dottie, Rex, Walter, and Adelbert) ranging in age from 9 to 17 and all born in Idaho except the second from the youngest who was born in South Dakota, I suspect when visiting brother Charles Turner there. A year later in 1911 Frederick attended and witnessed the second wedding of his brother Edward in Pocatello, ID and is shown as still living in Idaho Falls at the time. George Turner (Abt. 1858 - Before 1885) George is a mystery and probably died fairly young. He appears in the 1870 Harmony Township census with his parents at age 12 but isn't shown in 1880 when he would have been 22. He thus could have died before 1880 or perhaps had moved away from home by then. In either case, he had passed away sometime before his father's 1885 death when John's obituary indicated John had 7 children (not the known 8) with the only one missing in subsequent years being George. George is apparently not buried with his parents and brother Walter in the Mt. Zion/Clarke cemetery near the Turner farm likely because the family plot there probably didn't exist till John's death and internment there in 1885. Arabella M. Turner-Shane (Abt. 1860 -?) Arabella is shown in the 1880 Harmony Township census living at home with her parents and siblings at about age 20. Her occupation is listed as "school teacher", a profession which suggest that she, like her older siblings, probably attended nearby Milton Academy. 12 years later her mother's probate case file shows that Arabella married name was Shane and that she was living in Wyoming in January of 1892. A little over a year later the probate file indicates that in May of 1893 Arabella was in Idaho Falls, ID (with, like her sister Emily, mailing care of her brother Frederick). The 1900 census for Idaho Falls shows "Bell" M. Shane married to Alvin T. Shane who was born in Wisconsin. There are no children indicated. I've run into no record of their marriage but I suppose that they could have married in Wisconsin and then moved to Idaho near Arabella's brother. The 1910 census again shows Alvin and Bell living in Idaho Falls, this time with a 9 year old son named Raymond T. Shane. Raymond was thus born after the Shane's had been married for at least about 10 years and when "Bell" would have been about 41 years old. In the 1920 census Alvin T. Shane (with the correct birth year and location) shows up in Washington, ID about 200 miles west of Idaho Falls living alone and is shown as "widowed" suggesting that Bell had passed away before 1920. By the 1930 census Alvin was again living in Idaho Falls and was married to a woman named Leonora. Walter B. Turner (Abt. 1863-1886) Walter was the youngest of the Turner children. He is shown in the 1880 census living at home with his parents and siblings at age 17 with an occupation of "farmer". Everything else I know about him and his untimely death at the age of about age 23 on April 2, 1886 comes from his Janesville obituary. "This morning at half past
two Walter Turner, a young man well known in this city, breathed his last after
an illness of one week. A short time ago he started for Missouri with his
cousin Ansel Dickenson to look up a location for a lumber yard and when he
reached Kansas City on his way home he took a severe cold. This developed
into diphtheria so that when he reached Janesville last Saturday, he was in a
critical state. His death, however, came unexpectedly and was the result
of paralysis of the heart, something seen quite frequently in severe cases of
diphtheria. Mr. Turner was very popular among his associates and was
esteemed by all for his many sterling qualities. The death will be a
severe blow to his mother and she will receive the heartiest sympathy from every
one, although no one can realize the great sorrow but those who themselves have
been made to endure it. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon
at two o'clock from the home of Mrs. Turner in the second ward and the interment
will be in the Mount Zion cemetery."
My Turner Descendants List Here's list of Turner descendants as I
currently show them in my genealogical database.
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