Why the move? And did all of the family also make this move?
 |
| 1859 Houston County, Texas Map submitted to Rootsweb by Drew Beeson |
| Name: | William T. Turner |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Spouse: | Mary C. Proctor |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Marriage Date: | 27 Aug 1853 |
| Marriage Place: | Sumter |
| Performed By: | J. P. |
| Surety/Perf. Name: | J. J. Shield |
| OSPage: | 204 |
By 1860, he was living in Texas, in "Beat 8" Houston County. There were only 12 pages for Beat 8 and the Turner family was only one page over from the family of James McIntosh Porter, who was the Postmaster and namesake for the town of Porter Springs. This tells me that the Turners were living in Porter Springs. As all of the children were seen as being born in Texas, they had probably been there over 4 years (Rebecca's age), so they arrived between the date of the 1853 wedding and Rebecca's 1866 birth.
| ame: | Wm Turner | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 30 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1830 | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Tennessee | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1860: | Beat 8, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Alabama | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 675 | ||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 633 | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Real Estate Value: | 320 | ||||||||||||
| Personal Estate Value: | 630 | ||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
I am not sure why William P Turner chose Porter Springs, Texas, but he seems to have been drafted into the Civil War back in Alabama. Perhaps he went there to visit family and help move his unmarried and widowed sisters to Texas with him. His two brothers, James and Doctor Lewis Turner, were both deceased by 1860. D. L. Turner was single, but James left a widow and four children.
William P Turner's Calvary enlistment in Crocket, Houston County, Texas
William shows up as absent without leave in Alabama, but he was serving with the calvary in Texas. He provided his own horse and at the end of the war, had to be reimbursed for the horse, who became a casualty of the war.
The surving members of the Turner family, in 1860, remained in Sumter County, Alabama.
The above excerpt from the 1860 census of Sumter County, Alabama shows W. H. Threadgill in No. 149, with his wife Charlotte and oldest two daughters. This is William Hull Threadgill, whose father was Joshua Hull Threadgill from Anson County, NC and whose landed adjoined that of James Turner, father of Axom Turner. He had migrated to Alabama and married the youngest Turner daughter, Charlotte, on March 24, 1857 in Sumter County.
William H. Threadgill was in Anson County, N C, living with his parents in the 1850 census. He wasn't the only Threadgill to migrate to Sumter County, Alabama. Several of his cousins migrated to Sumter, Marengo, and surrounding counties in Alabama as well.
Allen Threadgill, who was born in Anson County, NC in 1812, moved to Marengo County, Alabama around or before 1834. He married Alice Hildreth, the daughter of Lewis Hildreth, and granddaughter of Reuben Hildreth, whom I hold as key in this whole mess of a puzzle. In 1840, Allen Threadgill and family were found in Sumter County, 10 years later, in 1850, they were in the bordering county of Choctaw, Alabama and by 1860, they too, had moved to Texas, but are found in Angeline County.
Allen was the older brother of William Hull Threadgill.
In the deeds of Sumter County, Alabama, Book T, Page 49, William and Charlotte sell a tract of land to a lady named Nancy Lockhart on January 1, 1870. I believe this is when they set off for Porter Springs.
The oldest known daughter in this family of Turners, whom I believe to be the children of Axom and Patience Turner of Anson County, NC, was named Rebecca. I say oldest known, because comparing the 1830 census in Anson, NC headed by Axom and the 1840 census in Sumter, AL headed by Patience, there appears to be a daughter older than Rebecca, born about 1818. Whether she married of died before 1850 is unknown.
Rebecca, however, did marry before 1818 to a much older widower, Marshall Minor, or Myner. They married on November 17, 1848 in Choctaw County, Alabama.
Marshall Minor was orginally from Granville County, North Carolina. He had previously been married to a Susan Brewer and they had had 9 children together over a course of 20 years, beginning with Clarissa in 1811 and ending with George Washington Minor in 1831. Susan had died in 1840.
Rebecca Turner gave Marshall Minor two more children, Amanda in 1855 and D. Seals Minor in 1862. It is interesting to note that there was an age gap of 51 years between his oldest and youngest child. The older children had grandchildren older than their youngest half-sibling. Amand and Seals are named in their father's (and mothers) estate records which were not settled until April of 1891, after the death of Rebecca. Until the death of Rebecca, she held title to all of the Choctaw and Butler County, Alabama lands, despite living in Porter Springs, Texas with her family.
Amanda L. Minor and D. Seals Minor are named as living in Houston County, Texas in 1891. The above clipping, from the 1860 census of Choctaw County, Alabama, show Marshall as 74, Rebecca as 39 and 'Manda" as 6. They are living next to his 8th child, John Minor.
 |
| John Minor as an old man |
The persons remaining in probably what was the Turner Homestead in 1860 Sumter County were the unmarried daughtes, Penelope, Susan and Polly. Eliza, or Elizabeth was the widow of James Turner, who had passed away sometime between 1855 and 1860. He is shown in the 1855 State census of Alabama as having dependents. His brother D. L. whose estate was settled in 1858, had no heirs or dependants. The 4 children shown, W. A. , John M., Mary and James, were the children of Elizabeth and James A. Turner.
1870 - I believe the census takers skipped the entire community of Porter Springs, Texas. Not one of the Turners family is to be found in 1870, and neither is the family of James McIntosh Porter, the preeminate family of Porter Springs.
So we have to skip 20 years ahead.
1880
The below grouping of the Turner family is from Houston County, Texas.
It begins with William Threadgill, 47 , wife Charlotte, 46, daughter Beckee (Rebecca), daughter S. J. (Sarah) 16, son William 14, and daughter Lizzie (Elizabeth) 12 in Household 142.
In 143 is J. F. H. Turner, 23. His mother, Elizabeth 50, and his Aunt Penny 65.
In 144 is Rebecca Minor, 60, daughter M. S. (Amanda L or S), 25, and son, D. S. (Seals) 18.
In 145 is W. A. Turner, 25 oldest son of Elizabeth in # 143, his wife M. J 23 and their oldest daughter, Rebecca E, age 1.
The other Turner sisters, Susan and Mary (Polly), either married right after 1860 and we do not know to whom, or they died before 1880. I can't find record of either.
| Name: | W.P. Turner | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1828 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Houston, Texas, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Widower | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The other block of Turners entails only two households. In 116 is W. P. Turner, age 52. He is now a widower.
In the Porter Springs Cemetery, Houston County, Texas is a double Tombstone. One side is for Mary C. Turner, no date of birth, died December 27, 1878. Blowing it up, its legible stating:
Mary C Wife of W P Turner Died Dec 27 1876 Aged 40 years
The other side is for Mary Turner, daughter of W P and Mary C Turner. After that it says:
Born Feb. 13 1862 Died Dec 16, 1876
The inscription across the bottom is:
Wife and daughter sleep sweetly here.
There must have been an illness that took both 40 year old mother and 14 year old daughter. What a sad year 1876 was for the family.
| Name: | Beckie Turner | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 24 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1856 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Houston, Texas, USA | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's name: | John Turner | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In household 117, right next to the family of W. P. Turner, was his oldest daughter, Francis Rebecca Turner. She had married John Wesley Turner, son of his brother James, and his wife Elizabeth. Their oldest daughter, Mary Caroline, had been born. She was most likely named for Becky's mother, Mary Caroline Proctor Turner. She was not the firstborn child. In the Porter Springs Cemetery is the stone for Albert L. Turner, born December 23, 1877 and died April 15, 1878, 7 months old.
In the next generations of Turners, there were so many duplications of names, especially John, James and Mary, it's like trying to pull apart a spider's web.
So far in 1880, every living person has been accounted for, except for the only daughter of James and Elizabeth.
| Name: | M.A. Cook | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 23 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1857 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Houston, Texas, USA | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's name: | D.R. Cook | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Mary Louise Turner had married Dock R. Cook about 1878 and in the 1880 census, they were living right next door to her husband's family, who was living right next door to the Porter Springs postmaster, James M Porter. Their firstborn son, named James Franklin Cook, had been born.
D. R. and Mary Louise were living next to two other families of Cooks, which turned out to be, predictably, his family. They also lived in Porter Springs. The Porter Springs cemetery is as full of Cooks as it is Turners.
1900
Jumping ahead another 20 years, this is the last stop for this whistle-train in tracking the Turner family from Sumter County to Porter Springs. After that, they spread out far and wide, a few remaining local, and submerse in the general diaspora of modern America.
Beginning with the oldest child:
1) Daughter b about 1818. It is not known yet if she died before 1850, or married an unknown individual, more research to do.
2) Rebecca Turner Minor born about 1820, died about 1885 according to the estate papers of her husband, Marshall Minor. 2 children:
A) Amanda L. Minor - Fate unknown. Was alive in April of 1891. Is mentioned in the estate papers of her father, which wasn't fully settled until after the death of her mother, and probated in 1891, where it was mentioned that she lived in Houston County, Texas. She was young enough to have married to a yet unknown individual, or otherwise passed away before 1900.
B. D. Seals Minor - His father Marshall Minor is seening living near a B. F. Seals family, so his name could have come from a family connection to that Seals family. D. Seals Minor married Mertie J. Estill on February 16, 1896 in Houston County, Texas. Remember that name, Estill or Estelle, as it is seen multiple times in the Turner family tree.
| Name: | Mirtie Minor [Mirtie Aminor] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 23 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Jan 1877 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | Texas | ||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 4, Nacogdoches, Texas | ||||||||
| House Number: | 1 | ||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 11 | ||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 194 | ||||||||
| Family Number: | 196 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Sister | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Widowed | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | Texas | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Texas | ||||||||
| Mother: Number of Living Children: | 1 | ||||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 1 | ||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In 1900, Mertie is shown as widowed, and living with her brother George, with her 3 year old daughter, Ida Minor. Ida would be the only known grandchild of Rebecca Turner, unless we find that Amanda married.
In 1901, Mertie Estill Minor would marry William C. Wiggins. They would have 4 children and Ida Minor is a 13 year old in their househole in 1910. We can safely assume Seals Minor passed away before 1900. His gravesite is unknown.
3) James Turner born about 1825, died between 1855 and 1860.
Married Elizabeth. The death record of a son lists Elizabeth as a Threadgill. The death certificate of their daughter, Mary Louise Turner Cook lists her as a Proctor. Still researching this. 4 children.
A) William Axom Turner born about 1851, died prior to 1910.
| Name: | William A Turner [William Turner] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 49 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Jan 1851 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 6, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Street: | F | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Mary E Turner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1875 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In 1900, William and his family are living in Porter Springs with a Joseph Proctor, listed as a cousin, staying with them. This gives creedence to the theory that his mother was a Proctor. William and his wife, Mary Jane Elizabeth Corder, would have 6 children, with twins Nannie and Fannie being the youngest, and oldest daughter, Rebecca Elizabeth, dying as a child. The descendants of William have his middle name in their records as "Azom". I believe it was meant to be "Axom" after his grandfather. They also have his father, James, with the same middle name.
B) John Wesley Turner born March 3, 1852, died January 21, 1919. John would marry his first cousin, Frances Rebecca Turner, the daughter of William P. Turner.
| Name: | John W Turner [Johnson Turner] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 48 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Mar 1852 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 6, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Street: | F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| House Number: | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 268 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 269 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Francis Turner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1875 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | O | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Free or Mortgaged: | F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In 1900, their large family was also living in Porter Springs. Next to them are his brother James and his first cousin, James T. F. Turner. Living with John Wesley and Francis Rebecca are the 9 youngest of their 11 children. Mary Caroline had married a Murray in 1898 and their firstborn, Albert, died as an infant and is buried in the Porter Springs Cemetery.
C) Mary Louise Cook Turner, born December 18, 1854 and died Jan. 3 1944, married Dock R. Cook.
| Name: | Mary L Cook | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 46 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Dec 1854 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 6, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Dock R Cook | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1879 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother: Number of Living Children: | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In 1900, they are still living in Porter Springs with 5 of their 7 children. The census states that she was the mother of 7 children with 5 living, so the other 2, Wilson and Nora, were already deceased.
D) James F (Franklin?) Turner was born Feb. 18, 1856 and died Jan. 13, 1917.
He married Florence Vann Murray in 1894.
| Name: | James F Turner [James Turner] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 44 | ||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Feb 1856 | ||||||||||
| Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 6, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||
| Street: | F | ||||||||||
| House Number: | 1 | ||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 15 | ||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 269 | ||||||||||
| Family Number: | 270 | ||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Florence V Turner | ||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1894 | ||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Mother's name: | Elizabeth Turner | ||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Alabama | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | O | ||||||||||
| Home Free or Mortgaged: | F | ||||||||||
| Farm or House: | F | ||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In 1900, he was living in Porter Springs with his wife and firstborn son, Alton. His mother Elizabeth was also living with him. The census notes that Elizabeth was the mother of 5 children with 4 living, so James Sr. and Elizabeth had an unknown child who passed away before 1860. Florence had also lost a child, as she is noted as being the mother of 2 children, with 1 living.
4) Mary "Polly" Turner b abt 1826. Not seen past 1860. May have married an unknown person. May have passed away before 1880, as none of the family are found in the 1870 census. No other information.
5) William P. Turner b about 1827 Died after 1900, before 1910, most likely in Porter Springs, Texas. Stone in cemetery not found. W. P. Turner was the most prolific of the Turner children. His first wife, Mary Caroline Proctor Turner, died in 1875, and oddly, her stone is found in the Porter Springs Cemetery. Why there would not be a stone there for William, who lived past the turn of the century, I don't know. There should be. In 1883, William married Mollie P Creps. Mollie was the niece of his brother-in-law, William Hull Threadgill. Her mother was his sister, Eliza Jane Threadgill Creps. William Hull Threadgill and Eliza Jane Threadgill had grew up on the farm next door to the Turner family of James and Susan Turner, and their oldest son, Axom, who had migrated to Sumter County, Alabama in the 1830's, speculative father of William P. Turner, based ont he preponderance of circumstantial evidence and land records.
| Name: | William P Turner [William Turner] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 73 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | May 1827 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Justice Precinct 6, Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||
| Street: | F | ||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 96 | ||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 96 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Mollie Turner | ||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1883 | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Can Read: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Write: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | No | ||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | O | ||||||||||||
| Home Free or Mortgaged: | F | ||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | F | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The 1900 census would be the last for William P. Turner. At this point, he was 73 and Mollie was a much younger 44. They had been married 17 years and had 3 children, Joseph A. Turner, Willie E. Turner and Lizzie. Mollie is shown as having had 3 children with 3 living. I am still searching for what happened to these children. Mollie is seen in the 1910 census living with one of her stepchildren.
6) Susan Turner b 1828 Not seen past 1860.
7) Doctor Lewis Turner b 1830 d - Estate settled in 1858. Single.
8) Penelope Turner b 1832 Not seen past 1880.
9) Charlotte Turner b 1832 Died before 1900 in Porter Springs, Texas.
The next genreations of the Turner family spread out, as families do, with a few remaining in Houston County, Texas.
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