The Will of James Turner

Will of James Turner of Anson County, dated April of 1843. NC Archives.

Going on two hint, or pieces of information, in my search for the origins of my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Washington Turner, I found a possible link to a James Turner, who was alive in 1840, living near the Rev. Uriah Staton, and not alive in 1850.

I knew the Rev. Staton was a very important clue in my search, as he had deep ties to Rocky River Baptist Church, and was credited with having founded Red Hill Baptist Church. Red Hill Baptist Church is the church that George Washington Turner attended and was buried, and served as a delegate to and deacon of, as well as many other roles, according to the old records of the church.

Rev. Staton was also closely tied to the Rev. Samuel P. Morton, sort of an anchor to his kayak, the father-in-law of G. W. Turner, and my ancestor, then, as well.

My cellphone photo from May 2019 of Red Hill Baptist Church

My other clue was the 1880 census, when the mother of G. W. Turner had come to live with him, and her name was Mary.  I found Mary and Washington in the 1850 census. Also in the home was a Martha, not far in age from Mary.

Name:	Mary Turner
Age:	34
Birth Year:	abt 1816
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Cedar Hill, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Gender:	Female
Family Number:	666
Household Members:	Name Age Martha Turner 32 Mary Turner 34 Washington Turner 16

Right below Martha and Mary Turner, in the very next homestead, is a young couple, Thomas and Chloa Martin Turner. Chloa is the daughter of John Martin, whose name keeps popping up as a neighbor of the Turners, as a witness on the will of James Turner (d 1843) and in land records.

James Turner in the 1840 census, family make up is below.

Name:	James Turner
Home in 1840 (City, County, State):	Anson, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:	1 George Washington Turner
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39:	2 Mary and Martha
Free White Persons - Females - 70 thru 79:	1 Probably mistake, has to be James, male
Slaves - Males - Under 10:	1
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23:	2
Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23:	1
Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54:	1
Persons Employed in Agriculture:	5
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write:	3
Free White Persons - Under 20:	1
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	2
Total Free White Persons:	4
Total Slaves:	5
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves:	9

In the 1840 census, right next to Uriah Staton, who was the minister that George Washington Turner purchased land from in 1872. There's a Richmond Turner nearby, and other familiar names.

The dash in the transcript is an error. This is James, who was alive, his wife obviously long since passed, and his two single daughters and grandson, Washington living near him.

The Will of a James Turner, who died in 1843, gave me more clues. It's a bit hard to read, but below is my attempt to transcribe:

"State of N. Carolina 

Anson County

I make my true will in my perfect senses, 

1) I give my daughter Mary and my daughter Martha one hundred and sixty acres of land being my own property to be equally divided between Mary & Martha. After the decease of Mary, I want my Grandson Washington Turner to have the land I give to Mary my daughter. 

2) Also the great house and kitchen furniture to Mary and Martha.

3) Also eight head of cattle, twenty head of hogs and my black horse to be divided between Mary & Martha also ten head of sheep to be divided between the rest of my children Axum & Nancy & Mary & Susan & Sary & Martha & James & Lazarus. This is my true Will. April 18,  1843

James (X) Turner

his mark

Test

Reddick Drew

John (X) Martin

his mark

July Term 1843

Then the execution of the Will was duly proven in open court by John Martin, one of the transcribing witnesses and ordered to by registered. N. D. Boggan clk.

So, there again, is the name of John Martin, and a new name has been brought into the fold, and I will find, he is an important and interesting clue to follow as well, Reddick Drew. Knowing a tad bit about the history of Anson County, I knew that the clerk, N. D. Boggan, was none other than Norfleet Drew Boggan. As names usually were left like a trail of cookie crumbs to be followed if you were quick and 'fleet' enough, I wondered if there was a family connection between Reddick Drew and Norfleet Drew Boggan.

So now I am two more generations back. Mary, daughter of James, was the daughter of G. W. Turner, and James was his grandfather. James also had 7 other children: Axum, Nancy, Susan, 'Sary' (probably Sarah), Martha, James and Lazarus.

I'd found Martha, at least, living with Mary, in 1850. The other names were so common, I may not be able to find them. Were Nancy, Susan and Sary married? He didn't say. And James? Needle in a haystack. But Axum and Lazarus? I could possibly have some luck there.

Ok, Grandpa, I'm one step closer to 'finding your roots'.

The Dove in the Red Bud Tree

Stock Photo-Dove in a Red Bird Tree

One cool and aromotised May morning, I was enjoying an early sunrise and pondering the next move in the search for George Washington Turner's origins. In a brightly purple Red Bud tree, a native weed of North Carolina, sat a plump, obtuse dove. She seemed to beckon in the dawn and even, the season. Not a needle in a haystack, but a pitchfork, with its long handle high in the air. He's easy to see, she seemed to hint, all you have to do is look.

"George" had never brought up anything but George Lilly Turner, son of Wilson P. Turner, who was a contemporary, and younger and NOT my George. Being born in 1835, my George would have been about 15 in the 1850 census, or close to it, as ages were never exact, but more approximate, in those days. And in his mid-twenties in 1860. He signed up for the Civil War in 1862 in Wadesboro, born in Anson County, so his most likely location would be in Anson County where he lived his later years from the end of the War onward.

Name:Mary Turner
Age:82
Birth Date:Abt 1798
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1880:Ansonville, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:67
Race:White
Gender:Female
Relation to Head of House:Mother
Marital status:Widowed
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Cannot Read:Yes
Cannot Write:Yes
Household Members:

Name	Age
G.W. Turner	45
E. Winey Turner	41
James S. Turner	21
Robert J. Turner	20
Joseph A. Turner	15
Mary E. Turner	13
Wm. A. Turner	11
Susan V. Turner	9
Ellison M. Turner	7
Sarah C. Turner	5
Louis A. Turner	3
Winey H. Turner	1
Mary Turner	82

From working with the census records for years, I knew ages, especially for women and especially for the elderly, were often incorrect, so I knew that Mary may not have been born in 1798. All she needed to be was old enough to be George's mother. The census tells us both she and her parents were born in North Carolina and that her marital status was widow.

Name:	Mary Turner
Age:	34
Birth Year:	abt 1816
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Cedar Hill, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Gender:	Female
Family Number:	666
Household Members:	Name Age Martha Turner 32 Mary Turner 34 Washington Turner 16

In 1850, I found a Mary Turner, 34, living with a Martha Turner, 32, and a 16 year old boy named Washington. Washington? Could George have went by his middle name in his younger years? The age was right. If Mary was widowed, she looks like she was widowed by 1850. Neighbors were John Martin, patriarch in another important family in the Red Hill Church and area. And Elijah Sibley, they were certainly living in the right location. Living right next to Martha, Mary and Washington, was a young couple, Thomas and Chloe Turner. Could they have some connection?

Name:	Thomas Turner
Age:	26
Birth Year:	abt 1824
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Cedar Hill, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	667
Household Members:	Name Age Thomas Turner 26 Cloa Turner 24

I discovered that Thomas and Chloe had been counted twice in 1850. As some people were missed, sometimes two different census takers came close to the border of two different areas and in such, enumerated the same family twice. The couple may not have known to correct them. It seems one found them on one side of their property, next to Mary, Martha and Washington and John Martin, and the other found them living next to John Martin and wife Penelope, both 50 and the family of my Third Great-Uncle, Peter Howell and the son of my Fourth Great-Uncle, John Winfield. They were apparently living on what was once the Winfield plantation, as Peter lived on what was his father, Richard Howell and mother, Sarah Winfield Howell Davis's share. The area of the Winfield division would 50 years later become known as "Wharf".





Anson County Post Office Map Circa 1900 showing the community of Wharf. Freepages, Rootsweb.com

Other near neighbors included Robert N. Allen, John Ballard, a 24 year old Carolina Turner with an infant son named Terry A. (or Ferry A.). A 48 year old Milla Turner, with a 4 year old Alexander, and an 82 year old Treasy Turner, in one household, with Edmund Turner 25, Jane 24 and Martha 2, right next door.

I decided to look into these Turners a little bit, and will more so later. While people in different parts of a county with the same surname may have come from an entirely different area at an entirely different time, and be no relation at all, when people of the same name live close, on adjoining properties, more often than not, they are related somehow. There may have been a division of property of an older ancestor. It could lead to something, or it may not. But always worth looking into.

The young couple, Thomas and Chloe Turner, would migrate to Mississippi before the next census. They had 4 children: Martha Penelope Turner Bennett, John Martin Turner, William F. Turner and Sarah Elizabeth Turner Smith. A very quick look at the family information online from the Wiki's and Rootsweb appears to show Chloe Martin Turner as the daugther of John Martin and wife, Penelope Parker Martin, whom they lived next door to in 1850, with John being the son of Kinchen Martin and wife Chloe Hough, who migrated to Anson from Northhampton County, NC in the early part of the century. There were multiple marriages between the Martins and Parkers. As the 1860 census shows Thomas working as an overseer beneath the farm of a Peter A. Parker, there could possibly be some connection between this Parker family and the Anson County Parkers.

The Martin family did play a significant part in the life of George Washington Turner, being neighbors and church family and intermarriage occured later, between the families. As Thomas Turner also lived next to Martha, Mary and George Washington Turner in 1850, there may be some relation there.

Tombstone of John Martin at Red Hill Baptist Church. Cellphone photo May 2019

The other Turners living nearby may also deserve further investigation. Treasy Turner was advanced in age, especially for the times, and did not linger long past the 1850 census. She left a will, and in the will, she mentions her two sons, William and Jesse, her daughter, Sarah Ballard, obviously wife of a William Ballard, also mentioned, and her daughter Milly Braswell, wife of Burwell Braswell, named as the spouse in the will, her grandson, Alexander Turner, son of Milly and her "brother by law, Isham Ingram." She did not mention Edmund Turner, who lived next to her. He may have been a grandson, child of one of her living children. Her daughter, Milly, obviously married Burwell Braswell between the 1850 census and Treasy's demise two years later. Many folks have Treasey as an Ingram, due to her mention of Isham, however, while researching the Isham Ingrams, I discovered this one had married a Mary Turner, so "brother by law", probably meant what we refer to as a brother-in-law. Mary Turner Ingram may have been the sister of Treasy's deceased husband.

The father of Alexander Turner, in turn, is no section. In the Anson county land records, Book 14, Page 470 is the following deed, "Sept 29 1855 Jackson Chavers of Anson County, to his niece Laura Chavers & his son, Alexander Turner of the same, for natural love and affection and for $2 sold 12.5 acres on the north side of Wadesboro, border begins at Elijah Covington's old beginning corner white oak stump, joins Salibury Road, William Hammond, John Jeans & Mrs. Cameilla Smith's Road."

It was signed with an "X" by Jackson Chavers and witnesses by J P Jones.

If only finding the parentage of Washington Turner was so easy. No such luck.



Going back to the only land record involving George Washinton Turner, it was between him and Uriah Staton and bordered a field already owned by G. W.. But this was in 1880, 30 years later. I knew that the two most prominent men he was tied to was S. P. Morton and Uriah Staton. Find them, and I might find George's roots.

So I decided to look back at the 1840 census for clues.



Bingo. There, right beside Uriah Staton was a James Turner. Also nearby were Alexander Beard, and William Ballard, Treasy Turner's son-in-law, followed by Joseph Ingram and a Richmond Turner next to him. Richmond Turner was a younger man, and I will look into him later. I see no immediate link, but there could be, dating back to a further reaching Turner.

James Turner living next to, or near Uriah Staton, in and of itself does not mean anything. It just gives one a spot to dig in. Interestingly enough, the census takers name was James S. Turner.

Excerpt from the 1840 census of Anson County, NC. NC Archives via ancestry.com


The 1880 census had given me a big hint with the inclusion of Mary, his mother, having moved in with him in her latter years. A story on his father-in-law, Rev. Samuel P. Morton, stated he had also lived with G. W. and Wincy in his last days.  So knowing a James Turner was living near Uriah Staton in 1840, who was no where to be found in 1850, and that Uriah Staton later sold George Washington Turner a tract of land adjoining a plot he already owned or had possession of, I now had something to go on. Add that to knowing his mother was Mary and that he was possibly called Washington in his younger days, I had something to go on. Now to look more closely at James.

The problem is, there were more than one.....

George Washington Turner

It is with no doubt that I am descended from George Washington Turner. What I recently discovered is that Washington was not descended from George Lilly Turner, son of James Melchor Turner. So my current genealogical journey is to find out where he did, indeed, come from.

To discover my true Turner roots, I will start at beginning of them in my family tree and go backwards. My Turner roots began with my Great Grandmother, Penny Wayne Turner Davis. Penny was the mother of my maternal Grandfather.

                                                    Will and Penny Davis- Family photo

There really is no doubt as to who her father was, although he died when she was about 9 years old. She lived into my own lifetime, her children and grandchildren, for the most part, all knew, and were told, who her father was. Her marriage certificate to William H. Davis and her death certificate name her parents as Will Turner and Fanny Falkner, expanded, William Alexander Turner and Sarah Frances Falkner or Faulkner.

Name:	Wm A Turner
Age:	31
Birth Date:	Mar 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
House Number:	21
Sheet Number:	14
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	181
Family Number:	208
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	Fannie Turner
Marriage Year:	1887
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Cotton Mill, Drawer
Months Not Employed:	0
Can Read:	No
Can Write:	No
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	R
Farm or House:	H
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Wm A Turner 31 Fannie Turner 31 Annie M Turner 11 Penny W Turner 8 Ella Smith 33 Virgie M Smith 1

The 1900 cenus is the only census that Penny shows up in with her father. Her sister Bessie, was born later this year, so Fannie was likely pregnant during this census. Ella Smith was the sister of Fannie, and Virgie, her child. The family had lost several children already at ages from 5 to less than a year old. Between Will's tombstone in the Red Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, near Ansonville, and that of Sarah Frances "Fanny" Falkner Turner are the graves of 5 small children. Three are marked, Viola, Willie, and Luanna. The other two are not. One must be the grave of Mary, who was remembered by her sisters who made it to adulthood, and the other, an unknown daughter who was born after the death of Will Turner

                                     Tombstone of William Alexander Turner - taken with my cellphone.


Will died January 3, 1902. I am unsure from what disease or disaster, as I have not found an obituary for him. He was only 35 years old. His widow, Fanny, would remarry to Brantley M. Thompson and have a son, Bennett. She would not live a very long life, either, dying at age 51. Her youngest daughter to make it to adulthood, Bessie, would also die very young, at 18, which you can hardly call adulthood, but she was married, and left behind a son. Her second child, born a year later after her son, died the same day he was born, and Bessie died 3 days later.


Fanny, although having remarried and becoming a Thompson, was buried in the Turner section of the Red Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, and whomever erected the marker omitted the "Thompson" part of her name.

                                My cellphone photo of Sarah Frances Turner



So from where did William Alexander Turner come?

Name:	William Turner
Age in 1870:	1
Birth Year:	abt 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	274
Home in 1870:	Ansonville, Anson, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Occupation:	At Home
Inferred Father:	Geo N Turner
Inferred Mother:	Elizabeth Turner
Household Members:	Name Age Geo N Turner 35 Elizabeth Turner 31 George S Turner 14 James S Turner 10 Robert J Turner 9 Joe A Turner 5 Mary E Turner 3 William Turner

William Alexander Turner was born on February 18, 1866, the year following the close of the Civil War. He first shows up in the home of his parents, George Washington and Wincy Elizabeth Morton Turner in the 1870 census. The "N" in George's name is a transcription error. They were living in Ansonville Township. Will was the sixth child in large family.

Name:	Wm. A. Turner
Age:	11
Birth Date:	Abt 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Ansonville, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	67
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Marital status:	Single
Father's name:	G.W. Turner
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	E. Winey Turner
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Attended School:	Yes
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age G.W. Turner 45 E. Winey Turner 41 James S. Turner 21 Robert J. Turner 20 Joseph A. Turner 15 Mary E. Turner 13 Wm. A. Turner 11 Susan V. Turner 9 Ellison M. Turner 7 Sarah C. Turner 5 Louis A. Turner 3 Winey H. Turner 1 Mary Turner 82

By 1880, the family had expanded to 11, with the oldest son, George Samuel Turner, already out on his own. This time around, the family also included 82 year old Mary Turner, whose relationship to the head of household, George W. Turner, was given as "Mother".

Name:	William A Turner
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	20
Birth Year:	abt 1867
Marriage Date:	26 Jan 1887
Marriage Place:	Anson, North Carolina, USA
Father:	George F Turner
Mother:	Winey Turner
Spouse:	Fannie Falkner
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	19
Spouse Mother:	Susan Falkner
Event Type:	Marriage

Will and Fannie were married on January 26, 1887. He was 20 and she was 19. These ages were typical for the times. His parents were George and Winey. Hers was given only as Susan Falkner, as her father had passed away. The Faulkners have proven to be even more elusive than the Turners, if that is possible.

William Alexander Turner - family photo

But we had some very definate clues. One true and certain thing that had been passed down was that Wincey Elizabeth or Elizabeth Wincey Morton, wife of George Washington Turner, was the daughter of Samuel Parsons "Crying Sammy" Morton.

Sammy was a gifted minister, whose sermons were colorful and joyous events. Sammy was given to joyous and spirted outbursts of emotion. Tears were a result of his fervor, thus the moniker, "Crying Sammy".


"Deacon Uriah Staton, a large land owner of the Rocky River section and a leader in both the first church there, and a later one at Red Hill, usually went to sleep when Uncle Sammy preached. When asked about this, he is said to have replied, "I know I can trust Uncle Sammy, but the stranger I have to watch". Morton was born in Stanly County in 1805 and lived near Badin. He was an earnest, good man,  filled with the spirit, and lived a meager life bordering on poverty. He requested that the words on his tombstone be, "S. P. Morton, A sinner saved by Grace."

History of Anson County, North Carolina, 1750-1976 – Mary Louise Medley

Samuel P. Morton deserves his own post. He was not merely a minister. He served as clerk, registrar, and Justice of the Peace in Stanly County. He was born in the eastern part of Stanly County, near the current town of Badin, but lived far before the town was even considered. He probably grew up attending the old church called Ebenezer, that became Badin Baptist, but was in existence long before the town grew around it. He may have listened to sermons of the "Old Scotch Preacher", another of my ancestors, Rev. William McGregor, or his son-in-law, Bennett Solomon, at the "Mouth of Uwharrie Baptist Church", whose congregation became Stony Hill. He was tied in with the Callaways, and his first wife, Vashti, was a daughter of Isaac Calloway and sister of Job Calloway.

Sammy was a minister and an evangelist and served at several churches in multiple counties. He taught at Kendall's,  in Stanly County, and became a schoolmaster at Rocky River Baptist in Anson. The below ancedote comes from "The History of Rocky River Baptist Church", by E. M. Brooks, circa 1928

Once when Elder Samuel P. Morton was in charge, a big boy needed the rod of correction, and as was the custom with teachers, sent the boy out with his knife to get the switch. While out the boy pealed the loose bark off a pine log and lined the inside of 'his shirt, thus forming an armor against the impending switching by the teacher. The boy deliberately walked and handed the switches to the teacher, turning around and bending over apparently in perfect submission and humility to receive his just desert. Uncle Sammy was in the right mood to proceed and began letting the rod fall fast and heavy. But what a noise? Was he killing the (boy or not? Nobody understood; not even the teacher. Too much thunder for the lightning he thought. A careful examination revealed the facts. Uncle Sammy was outwitted. The boy went free. But again the same boy offended. He was given to fun. It was his main purpose in going to school. He was good hearted; the teacher River Baptist Church 11 loved him. But he must be punished; he might ruin others. This time Uncle Sammy gave orders for quiet and this time went out after the switch himself. On returning "Snole" couldn't be found. None would explain. The teacher finally thought of the big old chimney as a possible hiding place He was sure enough up there. He was given or- ders to slide down. This he did to the amusement of teacher as well as pupils. Again he had out- witted Uncle Sammy. He went home none the worse save the mark of Ham upon his features. He was as black as any slave on his father's farm. Yet 'tis said the boys and girls were better, then."



Samuel P. Morton.

 Samuel P. Morton was born November 23rd, 1805. He was most likely born in Stanly County, but this is not positively known. He lived near the present town of Badin, where a part of the chimney at the west end of the house still re- mains. From here he moved to Anson, but this alone does not establish the place of his birth. He took his letter from Ebenezer near by on December 23rd, 1848. The letter was signed without a moderator, but with: "Daniel McLester, Clk. by William Solomon, Clk. protem." Elder Morton had very likely already moved to Anson as he had been pastor continuously for several years. His first marriage was to Miss Vashti Calloway, daughter of Isaac Calloway, probably of Montgomery County, as 'he belonged to the church at the mouth of Uwharrie and was a delegate to the Sandy Creek in 1805 and again in 1811. His wife was a sister to Job Calloway, who for years held his membership at Rocky River. This Job Calloway lived at what is now the Davidson Talbert place, three miles north east of Albemarle. This put him just twenty miles from the church. But he attended and kept in good standing. He it was, who rode these twenty miles in 1830 to ask the mother church to send a presbytery to constitute Kendalls into a regular church. The presbytery consisting of "Elder Ralf Freeman, Thomas Allen, Amon Yarborough and Wyatt Nance." This was Saturday before the fifth Lord's Day in May, 1830. From this first marriage of Bro. Morton, there were several daughters and one son. One of the daughters married G. W. Turner of Anson, who raised a large and creditable family of sons and daughters. With this daughter Bro. Morton 56 History of The Rocky spent his last days. Another daughter married brother Thomas Hall, of Stanly, who also raised a large family. The one son, George Morton, having lost his own mother, tired of home, went to Texas and never returned. Uncle Sammie was often called the "Crying Preacher." He was unusually tender hearted and seldom ever preached without shedding tears. It is thought he had the best education of any pastor up to this time. He first planned to study and practice medicine but abandoned this for the ministry. He was the first preacher remembered by the writer of this little history. From now on most that is written will be from personal knowledge. Uncle Sammie, while not specially gifted as a revivalist, had the pleasure of baptizing hundreds, both white and slaves. He was also popular as a marrying parson. He would often after supper play a few innocent games with the young people and then slip off to bed early. He knew the young people wanted a Scotch-Ramble Cotillion or at least a "Steal-Partner." He usually fell asleep at once and never knew anything more that night, so the young people thought. A better man then or now would be hard to find. Once in his latter days he was spending a cold Saturday night with a family near Norwood. To protect his head from the cold he had kept on his hat till they went to prayer. In kneeling he placed his hat too near the fire, on arising he and his friends discovered that his hat had burned to ashes. Pie said, "What shall I do, I have an appointment for tomorrow?" The hoys said, "Never mind, Uncle Sammie, the Lord will provide." Early next morning without his knowledge they rode out to Norwood and a kind merchant walked down to his store and selected a nice hat for him. But for his teaching a few months each year he never could have lived wihile serving the churches. When his age prevented his teaching anymore, some of (his churches never paid more than fifteen dollars a year and didn't pay a cent of that till the last meeting before the association. This is neither hearsay nor guess work, there were no poundings in those days either. He was largely to blame for this as he was too humble and tender hearted to tell his people their duty. There are two ex- tremes. He was at one end; some of us today are at the other. Where is the "happy mean?" Uncle Sammie used chaste and correct English. He was logical in the arrangement of his sermons. He was neither a fluent speaker nor an orator. His first year at Rocky River was in 1841. Elder Culpeper had served through 1840. Owing to the river being in the way Uncle Sammie was unable to meet several of his appointments that year, for this probably he dropped out and was followed by Elder William A. Morris, who lived only six miles away on the Anson side and had no streams to hinder him. He served three years and was followed by Elder Dwight Hayes for 1845. Then Uncle Sammie takes charge again through 1846-1875, twenty-nine years in all. His second wife preceded him to the grave by five years. As said before, he spent his last days with his daughter or near her, apart of the time possibly in his little humble home almost in sight. He died very poor in this world's goods, but rich in grace. He had requested that this line be engraved on his headstone: "S. P. Morton, a sinner saved by grace." After some years the Anson Association placed 58 History of The Rocky a monument to his grave and put the words he requested on as a part of the inscription. He was buried at Red Hill Church, which was near his ihome, two or three miles West of Ansonville. 
"The History of Rocky River Baptist Church", by E. M. Brooks, circa 1928




There is no doubt that Samuel P. Morton was my ancestor by way of his daughter, Wincie Elizabeth Morton Turner. Her husband, G. W. Turner, is mentioned in the Rocky River book, but not his ancestry.

George Washington Turner, being born in 1835, was the age to serve in the Civil War. He did, and he was injured. Unlike his contemporaty, John W. Turner, son of old George Turner, he survived.

CLIPPED FROM
North Carolina Argus 
Wadesboro, North Carolina02 Jun 1864, Thu  •  Page 1
George W Turner enlisted in Company A, 4th North Carolina Calvary on May 10, 1862 in Wadesboro, by L. A. Johnson 'for the war.' 'Traveling to place to rendevous' was 160 miles. Valuation in dollars of - A Horse $275 and horse equipment $35.He's present on musters until May of 1863, when it is noted that he was absent, and 'home on detail'.The October muster notes that on October 11, 1863, at Brandy Station, that he was wounded "severely in head."Stock photo: Civil War photo collection, Brandy Station, Culpepper County, Virginia
Brandy Station, located in Culpepper County, Virginia, is noted as the largest Calvary Battle of the Civil War.In George's paperwork, it states that he was at home wounded through April of 1864. In May of 1864, he is at the hospital at Raleigh, NC. In the July and August muster, he is present, and back in service. Also included in the packet is a receipt roll for clothing from Camp Winder, Virginia. He appears on a list of casualties in Brigadere General James B. Gordon's Brigade for Oct 9, 1863 at the Bristoe, Virginia campaign, as wounded, severely. He is then taken to Winder Hospital. He is given a receipt for the loss of his horse, killed during an engagement at Jack's Shops, Virginia, valued at $650. He recieved the reimbursement by W. D. Holliman at Madison's Mills, Virginia. A collection of signed reciepts show that George W. Turner was educated. He wrote clearly and legibly and had a lovely signature. He lost his horse, but G. W. Turner made it home. 

Land: The only deed in the Anson County files that George W. Turner is listed as a Grantee for in one dated November 4, 1880, Book 26 Page 439. For $42. 75 Uriah Staton sells to George Washington Turner a tract of land in Anson County that begins in a stake in G. W's own field and contains 14 and one quarter acres. Witnesses were R. J. Turner, J.S. Turner and R. J. Mills, the first two being George's own sons. This only informs us of two things, G. W. owned property already, but where did it come from and secondly, he was a neighbor to Rev. Uriah Staton. 


Although mentioned as a son-in-law of Rev. S. P. Morton in the anuls of Rocky River Baptist Church, it is at Red Hill, east of Ansonville, that George Washington Turner, his descendants, and his in-laws, are buried. In a book on the history of this little country church called "Peace and Harmony, a history of Red HIll Baptist Church 183-1990 by The History Committe and Walter Woodson, Jr. ",  I find that George Washington Turner was very involved in this church, as well as his father-in-law. The church began under the guidance of the much older, Rocky River Baptist and they credit Rev. Uriah Staton, who sold G. W. Turner the tract of land, as being the founder.  Page One of the Red Hill Sunday School book is dated May 19, 1861.

Cellphone picture of Red Hill Baptist Church, May 2019

Tombstone of George Washitngon Turner

The War had a devastating effect on the church and there seems to be no recorded minutes or notes during that period. Rocky River aided in its reorganzation and in 1869, the first minutes record the names of G. W. Turner, E. W. Turner, his wife, and H. H. Davis (Hampton), a son of Henry Davis and grandson of Job Davis. Hampton's nephew would marry G. W. Turner's granddaughter. In August of 1869, the following 'brethren' were appointed to attend and represent the church at the meeting of the Pee Dee Association, a gathering of representatives from all of the Baptist Churches in the Pee Dee region, which included several counties: A. E. Bennett, G. W. Turner and James Martin. Rev. S. P. Morton was Pastor in 1870 and G. W. Turner was appointed a deacon for life in 1869.In May of 1869, J. P. Morton, James Martin and G. W. Turner were selected to draw up the "Rules of Decorum" for the church. George W. Turner was no doubt a very active and founding member of this congregation. 
The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina11 Dec 1890, Thu  •  Page 3
There is, of course, no 1890 census, but I discovered a few snippets from the old Anson County newspapers that mention my 3rd Great Grandfather, G. W. Turner. He's among a list of old pensioners for his service in the war in 1890.
The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina04 Aug 1892, Thu  •  Page 3He was elected to represent Ansonville in the County Convention in 1892.





Also in 1892, he was selected as a delegate to represent the Ansonville Democratic Club. 

The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina05 Oct 1893, Thu  •  Page 2

He was making sorgum in 1893.


George W Turner was mentioned in this memory of the Civil War, in his calvary post as being "shot to pieces". It makes me cringe. The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina14 Nov 1895, Thu  •  Page 1 On January 29, 1895, the old soldier went home. This same year, the house of his son Joseph Atlas Turner, located on the Smith plantation burned. Then George W. Turner, at 65, was working for the Smiths, when his coat was caught in the machinery of a corn mill. 

The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina31 Jan 1895, Thu  •  Page 3

George was buried in the graveyard of his church home, Red Hill Baptist. He joined his wife, Wincy, who passed away 10 years prior. His son, William A. Turner, my 2nd Great Grandfather, would join him in just 7 short years. 
George Washington Turner and Wincy Elizabeth Morton Turner were the parents of 13 children. All born near Ansonville, North Carolina :1) George Samuel Turner ( 1856-1920) Died in Abbeville, South Carolina. Married Margaret Jane Crawford. 2) James Stevens Turner ( 1858-1895) Died in Anson County, of pneumonia. Married Ella E. Falkner, sister of Sarah Frances Falkner. One son, named George Washington Turner b 1891. 3) Robert Johnson Turner (1859-1934) Died in Wadesboro, Anson County, NC. Married Minnie Alethia Briley.4) Joseph Atlas Turner (1864-1922) Died in Anson County. Married Charlotte "Lottie" Rebecca Wheless. His widow moved the family to China Grove in Rowan County after his death. 5) Mary Elizabeth "Bettie" Turner ( 1865-1929) Died in Anson. Married Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Threadgill, later in life. No children for her. 6) William Alexander Turner (1866-1902) Stanly County. Married Sarah Frances "Fanny" Falkner.7) Susan Vashtie Turner (1872-1926) Died in Anson County. Married Leonard L. Martin.8) Ellerson Mallory Turner ( 1873-1958) Died in Concord, NC. Returned to NC after years of living in California. Married Mary Susan Solomon. 9) Sarah Chanise Turner (1875-1943) Died in Pinehurst, Moore County, NC. Married Dock T. Covington.10) Louis Arnold Turner (1876-1971) Died in Lake County, California. Married several times while living in San Francisco working as a merchant. Had a house on Haight Street. Last wife, Martha, was from Ireland. 11) Wincy Hannah "Dollie" Turner (1878-1957) Died in Anson County. Married 3 times, John Calvin Scarboro, Evander Maness, and James Resden Thompson. 12) Lillie Virginia Turner (1880-1929) Died in Tampa, Florida. Married John Edgar Faris, Sr. 13) Thomas Jefferson Turner ( 1882-1967) Died in Lake County, California, along with older brother, Louis. Married Emma Adele Shattuck.  In the 1900 census, after the deaths of their parents, several of the younger, unmarried Turners lived together in Ansonville, with Robert as the Head of Household. They appeared to be renters on the Smith Plantation. The family story was that my Great Grandmother Penny grew up there. She must have moved there at age 8 after her father died in 1902. The Division of Property of George Washington Turner took place in 1905. George Samuel, Ellerson Mallory, Louis Arnold, Thomas Jefferson and Lillie Turner, had all apparently left the area by then. The brothers, by way of the military for the most part. 
Tombstone of G. W. Turner. I've learned that my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Washington Turner was a good father and provider, a brave soldier, a quiet farmer, a devout Baptist, a community servant. He served his family, his church and his community, in various capacities. He was a hard worker and died hard at work at the age of 65. I hold to heart all I have learned about him as an adult. Now I desire to know from where he came. I know he was not a son or grandson of George Turner of Arnett's branch. I do know, from his miltiary records that he was born in Anson County, NC. I know from the 1880 census that his mother's name was Mary and she was born in North Carolina. I know she was not Mary Turner, sister of George, who died in 1878. Where was she before 1880? Where was George before he enlisted for the War in 1862?It's time to find some answers. 
The Smith Plantation in Ansonville. Stock photo, Anson County History Center

William Alexander Smith, for whom George Washington Turner named his fifth son, my 2nd Great Grandfather, William Alexander Turner. Stock photo, Anson County History Center.
The Biblical Recorder 
Raleigh, North Carolina22 Jun 1887, Wed  •  Page 2