In researching my Turner roots, I discovered that my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Washington Turner, had achieved his surname through his mother's line, not his fathers. As of this moment, we have no idea who his father was, so I have been researching his mothers roots. We are, after all, still Turners, just not down the paternal line.
George Washington Turner, my 3rd Great Grandfather
After blogging about my Turner research, I was contacted by another who had been researching the same branch of Turners, a distant cousin of mine. She got me in contact with some other distant cousins I had never met, who actually still lived on property that had been in the family for quite some time. She told me there was an old homeplace down the road, and in the homeplace, portraits of George W. Turner, his wife Wincy Elizabeth Morton Turner, and a Family Bible. I made contact with my unknown family, who are now treasured family, and wrote about this discovery in The Treasure Chest.
And if only to make this adventure more of a blessing, my cousin who lived on the old family lands, and who co-owns the original lands of G. W. Turner near the church where G. W. is buried, with his siblings, agreed to take a Y-DNA test for me through Family Tree DNA. He is a direct male line to George W. Turner. This test goes from father to son for generations. While it will most likely not nail down the exact father of George W. Turner, we hope that it will give us a clue as to the family line of his father by identifying a predominance of a certain surname in the pool of closest genetic matches.
The reason for this post is that I recently recieved an email from Family Tree DNA stating that they had recieved the test. Now is the waiting game until it is processed, which should take a number of weeks. It all depends on how many people recieved the tests for Christmas and sent them off at once to be processed.
So there, but that is not all. I have a prediction.
George Washington Turner, was by all accounts, a good man. He was loved by his maternal grandfather, James Turner, who died in 1843, and made accommodations for the boy in his will. So he inherited his mothers share of his grandfather's farm when his mother, Mary, passed away. He married well, to the daughter of a well-respected minister, Rev. Sammy Parsons Morton, who had helped establish several Baptist Churches within a multi-county area. George W. Turner, himself, was instrumental in establishing Red Hill Church, near where he lived, and served in several capacities there. He and Wincy raised a large family, and amongst them was one of his younger sons, William Alexander Turner, whose daughter, Penny, became my Great Grandmother, living into my own lifetime. I remember her.
One of George's Uncles's, the oldest, Axom Turner, had served in the War of 1812. As a result, he recieved an alottment of land in Alabama, and with what I've discovered was a large flow of young settlers from Anson and surrounding counties to Alabama in the 1820's, he relocated there. A descendant of Axom Turner has participated in a Turner DNA study. And this study can tell us the origins of our ancestor, James Turner. I will get into that test later, but one thing to note is that it follows the path of the family that I believe is the family of Jame's wife Susannah. In fact, I had suspected who she was from my research, before I discovered in the family bible that James's wife was indeed named Susannah. The individual whom I suspected she might be, was named Susannah.
But the one thing I do NOT expect to find is the surname of George Washington Turner to be Turner.
But I do have a possibility in mind. This post is to put my suspicions out there, before the test results arrive, to test my theory.
While researching the Alabama Turners, I discovered the family of a neighbor, Hull Threadgill, was quite involved with the Alabama Turners, and had migrated to Alabama as well. His son, William Hull Threadgill married the youngest daughter of Axom Turner, Charlotte. Molly, the daughter of Hull Threadgills daughter Jane Threadgill Creps, became the second wife of Axom's son, William P. Turner. So, you see there was some intermarriage, after the fact, of moving to Alabama.
After the Civil War, all of the remnants of these two families packed up and moved to Porter Springs, Texas, and settled there. While I was looking into all of this, I discovered the name of a Charles Frederick Threadgill, who also had Anson County roots, and who lived among the children of Axom Turner and migrated when they did.
While exploring the family trees in which he dwelled to find his exact origins, I made an interesting discovery. I was related to these folks. The first one I opened stated that the person to whom the tree belonged was not a genetic match to me, but I matched with 3 of the trees she managed. The person who managed the tree had married into the family, but I matched actual descendants of C. F. Threadgill. I had to explore more of the family trees. Now, not everyone who has a family tree has taken a dna test, of course. And among those who have, at this distance, is not going to match all distant relatives. But some will. I found a significant number of matches among the descendants of Charles F. Threadgill. The amount of dna shared is not much, and it ranges from 4th to 8th cousins in distance.
For months now, I have been exploring how I could have a common ancestry with these folks who left the area I live in nearly 200 years ago!!!
The only common link I can find is that their ancestor, Joshua Hull Threadgill, owned property that joined that of my ancestor, James Turner. Most of the intermarriage between these Threadgill folks who left Anson, were with people who were not from Anson. Unlike the Turners, who seemed to write home for brides. But there are missing links in my family tree. The father of G. W. Turner is one of those unknowns.
And now for my prediction. I am going to predict that he was a Threadgill. And I will go one step further. After much research, I am going to predict that his first name was Thomas, the son of one of Hull Threadgills sons who died young, and his two sons were raised in Alabama with their Uncle.
The most wonderful thing about blogging, in fact, THE most wonderful thing about blogging, is that it allows people to find you.
Since I've began, I've been contacted by multiple distant cousins, whom I never knew personally, who've discovered we have common kinship.
From these contacts, I've made wonderful lifelong friends, and tremendous discoveries.
Robert James Turner, brother of of Great Great Grandfather, William A. Turner
Sometimes, I knew things they didn't know, and they are excited to find out. And they know things I didn't know, and am extactic to find out.
I've been contacted by descendants of those siblings of my ancestors who had migrated away, taking information from them.
I've been contacted by a descendant of my Grandmother's grandmother from her legitimate children who knew the identity of the father of her firstborn son, who was born out of wedlock when she was very young. This was a fact I don't believe my grandmother ever knew.
I've been contacted by individuals who had or had seen documents, journals, family bibles and such, that cleared up a few mysteries, or gave extra information.
George Samuel Turner and wife, Maggie Crawford Turner
Recently, I recieved the blessing of being contacted by another one of these distant cousins. She had came across posts concerning my research and digging on my Turner family line, the family of my maternal Great Grandmother, Penny Wayne Turner Davis.
Penny's father had died young, and I never knew a great deal about him or his family. Several people had already "done" the Turner tree, and I had found some excellent information (or so I thought), at the Anson County Historical Association. By my little addendum, it was accurate for actual descendants of "Wrong George", but not for me, or my line of Turners.
The above page says:
James Turner (illegible word) on the 12th day of August 1843.
Susan Turner wife death occured on 3 (could be an 8) of May 1843.
The next two lines are the same thing, lighter, like before it faded all the way out, someone had written in darker, just above. Thank you unknown Turner family member.
George W Turner son of G. W. Turner died the 15th of August 1862. (This was a son who died as an infant that I did not know about. In the cemetery, between the stone of G. W. Turner - Sr- is a small unmarked grave, with three childrens graves out to the side. This may be the grave of tiny George.
Mary Turner died May the 21 1881
aged about 84.
This made perfect sense as the last census record Mary appeared in was in the 1880 census.
The biggest treasure, to me personally, in this page, is the naming of the wife of James Turner as Susan. I have been tracing a neighboring family of James Turner around in my research, as they lived on the same little creek at the same time, and he named his firstborn son the last name of this family. Also, children of this surname end up being raised in the home of Reddick Drew, who married his daughter, Martha. So many ties to this name. I chased them back to their origins in Edgecomb County, and their father to Isle of Wight County, Virginia before that. In this grouping, a sister of these neighbors, named Susannah or Susan for short, married a James Turner. Of course, there were dozens of James Turners in NC, even in that day and time. But due to all of the connections, I thought that this might be our James. Knowing his wife's name was Susan, just corroborates my suspicions.
The above page from the Turner Family Bible says"
W. A. Turner son of G. W and E. W. Turner was bornd March the 21 1869. (This is my line)
Sus. V. Turner daughter of G. W. and E. W. Turner was bornd March 31 1871. (This was Susan Vashti Turner)
E. M. Turner son of G W and E W Turner was (arrow up) born October 31 1872 (Ellerson Mallory or Maldred Turner)
Sarah Chancey Turner daughter of G. W. and E. W. Turner was bornd January 12 1875 ( Also seen as Sallie Chonsie).
Lillie Virginia Turner daughter of G. W. and E. W. Turner was bornd August 21 1880.
This were in the younger group of children of George Washington Turner and wife, Elizabeth Wincy Morton Turner, excluding the very last, Thomas Jefferson Turner.
The back of the Tombstone of Elizabeth Wincy Morton Turner
There is a short poem etched into the back of the tombstone of Elizabeth Wincy Morton Turner, my 3rd Great Grandmother. I can't make out but a few words. One day, I'm going to have to go down with some shaving cream and a sqeegie and see if I can render it more legible. What I can make out is " ? ? are past her war? done.
And she is fully? blest
She's fought the fight the
victory won
? entered into rest"
Anyone else have any ideas about what it may say?
The above tombstone is that of William A. Turner, my 2nd Great Grandfather. He lived to be 36, nearly 37. I have yet to find his cause of death.
One day, I decided to look again at my Turner line. This happened after I gave a tour of Davis lands and burial places to some distant Davis cousins who had came in to research. We were looking for the John Lee cemetery where our ancestor, Henry Davis was buried. Henry Davis was the grandfather of William Hampton Davis, my Great Grandfather, who had married Penny Wayne Turner.
During this search, what we found instead, was the old George Turner cemetery, which was, by description, not far from the John Lee cemetery. George Turner is not far removed from the Davis family, because there are Davis's buried in his cemetery, his daughter Elizabeth Turner Davis, and her toddler daughter, Rebeth Davis. Elizabeth Turner, daughter of George, had married Marriott (sometimes seen as Merritt) Freeman Davis, a brother of Henry Davis.
I'd always heard that Penny Wayne Turner Davis was a niece of this Elizabeth and that this George was our ancestor. That is when I decided to take a closer look at my Turner line.
This is the tombstone of Robert James Turner and his wife, Hyla Pope Turner.
Robert James Turner was the brother of my William A. Turner. He lived in the Turner Homestead I had the pleasure and opportunity to tour.
Penny Wayne Turner was clearly the daughter of William A. (taken as Alexander) Turner. William A. Turner was clearly the son of one George Washington Turner.
The problem was, I could not connect George Washington Turner to the George Turner family in anyway. I researched the George Turner family up one side and down the other. What I determined was that all the Turners descended from George in this area were descended from his son Wilson Pinkney Turner. He had another son who migrated west and left only one son, and that grandson has descendants in Tennessee. George Turner did have a daughter named Mary, but that Mary never married and never had children. She owned property and left a will. She died some time before our Mary. George Turner himself was the son of a Jaspar Turner.
Other descendants of my George Washington Turner, in their quest to hook our G. W. to George's family wagon, had somehow blended two Mary's into one, and since they knew we came from a James, had even renamed Jaspar Turner, "James Jaspar Turner", when I have NEVER seen a document or anything to suggest Jaspar was a James. His correct name was "Jaspar Melchor Turner", and we are not descended from him. Only the Davis descendants of Marriott Freeman Davis and Elizabeth Turner Davis's only son, Millard Filmore Davis, are descended from this Turner line.
Tombstone of Joseph Atlas Turner, another son of G. W. and E. W. Turner.
What I found, as told in other posts, was that George Washington Turner, my accurate ancestor, was the son of a Mary Turner, and she was the daughter of a James Turner who had died and left a will in 1843 in Anson County.
Tombstone of George Washington Turner
The distant cousin who contacted me via this blog, was an actual researcher who had traced her lineage systematically, with documentation. Not like so many who had just copied someone else's tree off of ancestry, someone who had made the jump from George Washington to George without a bridge. She had discovered the same facts that I had, that George Washington was the son of a Mary Turner, who was the daughter of a James Turner.
But she knew things that I did not. She had toured the old homeplace. She had seen portraits of several family members, including George W. Turner and his wife Wincy. She had seen.....The Family Bible.
A painting of the Old Red Hill Baptist Church which sat to the left of the current one, by Hyla Pope Tuner.
Treasure. A Family Bible is one of those rare documents that are hard to find and can help a great deal with family trees. Anyone who holds these treasures should copy them and give copies to hold on file in county history rooms, libraries or museums, so other descendants can share in this treasure. This inheritance belongs to us all.
George Washington Turner was one of the founding members of Red Hill Baptist Church. His father-in-law, Samuel Parsons Morton, who was once a cleric in Stanly County, and was a roving minister to several local churches in both Stanly and Anson counties, was integral in its conception.
Hyla Pope Turner, wife of Robert James Turner, was a very talented artist. She painted the above picture of the original Red Hill Church. Her art hangs in the homes of her descendants.
The above portrait was drawn, and not a camera portrait. It's very old. We believe it was possibly the portrait of Mary Turner, mother of George Washington Turner.
The cousin who contacted me got me in touch with the Anson County Turner cousins, whom have access to the homestead and to the genealogical treasure.
I made arangements to meet up with them. What a wonderful day! We toured the homestead, the lands where George Washington Turner farmed, which were right at Red Hill. We toured the Red Hill cemetery and two other cemeteries where Turner relatives were buried, Union and Brown Creek.
I was in genealogical heaven!
Robert James Turner. I can say, he favored the Morton side of the family greatly.
The beautiful and talented Hyla Pope Turner, wife of Robert James Turner.
Elizabeth Wincy Morton Turner
Wincy was the wife of George Washington Turner, and my Third Great Grandmother.
She was the daughter of Rev. Samuel P Morton and his first wife, Vashti Calloway Morton.
Samuel P. Morton is also buried at Red Hill Baptist Church. He lived with George and Wincy in his last days.
George Washington Turner
The above is my 3rd Great Grandfather, George Washington Turner. He appears to me to be wearing his uniform, as he was a Confederate soldier and injured multiple times. He was very handsome as a young man, in my opinion.
William A. Turner
The above is my Second Great Grandfather, Will, son of G. W. and Wincy. This portrait is not with the others, I just added it for comparison. I believe he looks more like his father than some of his brothers, but he definately had his mother's dark, deep-set eyes.
The Turner Homestead I toured was not the original homestead. It was the home of Robert James and Hyla, not George and Wincy. Theirs was located on the land that George farmed near Red Hill, which is still in the Turner family. The cousin who gave me the tour stated that recently some deer hunters they leased the property to had came across an old chimney. The chimney probably belonged to the original homeplace.
A painting of the Turner Homestead in its Hey Day by the talented Hyla.
The Mill as painted by Hyla Pope Turner.
I didn't know Wadesboro was on a hill until I drove down to meet my Turner cousins. But it obvious is.
The above is remaining outbuildings from the Homestead.
Hyla Pope Turner in her older days. Fashion changed a great deal in her lifetime.
Upon arriving I met some of the nicest and warmest distant cousins I have ever met. I intend to stay in touch with them. They are wonderful people with a wonderful family.
A different painting of the same Turner place.
Portrait of one of the Turner Children. We don't know who she was, exactly, but possibly one of the ones who passed as a child.
Another page from the Turner Bible
The above document says:
G. W. Turner the son of Mary Turner was Bornd in the year of our Lorde March the 29 1835. E. W. Turner was bornde in the year of our Lord January the 22 1839.
Then it repeats the line about G. W. Turner.
It also repeats the line about E. W. Turner, but adds that she was the daughter of Samuel P Morton and J. Q. V. Morton. I know that she was Vashita "Vashti" Calloway Morton, but I do not know what the J and Q stand for. That's something to look into.
The left side, which is cut off on this shot, is written:
"G. S. Turner son fo G. W. and E. W. Turner was bornd in the year of out Lord April 6 1856.
James Stevenson Turner son of G. W. and E. W. Turner was bornd in the year of our Lorde August 10 1858. Robert J Turner was born Decr 7 1859.
George W Turner son of G W and Wincy Turner was born the 19th of June 1862.
Jos A Turner son of G. W and E. W. Turner was born the 4 of November 1864.
Mary Elizabeth Turner the daughter of G W and E W Turner was born the 15 of October 1866."
The above is the written copy of the Will of James Turner, grandfather of George Washington Turner. He mentions his grandson, Washington Turner, son of his daughter Mary, in his will.
The above is one page of the pension application of George W. Turner for benefits, from his injuries he recieved in the Civil War. It states, "Gunshot Wound of the Head, the ball entered behind the right ear, came out beneath right eye, partial blindage and discharge from nasal cavity. "
Wow, are we lucky to exist. I'm amazed he survived this.
Making contact with other descendants and being able to share information is vital in our researched. I am blessed that this blog has allowed me to do this, and I'm triply blessed to have met my distant Turner cousins in the process.
Will of James Turner of Anson County, dated April of 1843. NC Archives.
Going on two hints, 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,and 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 buriedat. He had served as a delegate from the church at conventions, and also served as a deacon of the Red Hill, 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, who was 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.
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, James Turner is listed 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 must be 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 mother 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'.
