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TURNER

Robert Turner of Turnerstowne, Northumberland, England, born about 1590, married Deborah.

Thomas Turner of Turnerstowne, born about 1618, married about 1652 Ann Greer (b.c1633) daughter of James and Mary Greer "of the rock near Annick, Cumberland."  In early April, 1658, they moved to Ireland.  In 1664, he paid a hearth tax in Shankill and Seagoe Parishes, County Armaugh. Thomas and his sons John, Thomas, and Jacob were contributors to the building of the Lurgan Meeting House in 1697.

1. Deborah Turner (c.18 Feb 1653/4)
2. Robert Turner (c.18 Feb 1655/6)
3. Mabell Turner (April, 1657) in England
4. John Turner (1 Apr 1660) in Magherlin, County Downe
5. Thomas Turner (25 Aug 1662) in Drumnescally, Seagoe, Armaugh
6. James Turner (May, 1664) in Drumnescally
7. Jacob Turner (26 May 1665) in Drumnescally
8. Bethia Turner (20 Mar 1667/8) in Tearsoge, Shankill, Armagh
9. Mary Turner (1 May, 1669) in Lurgan, Armaugh
0. Nathanniell Turner (18 Feb 1673/4) in Lurgan
Thomas Turner (1662-1744) married Susanna Anthony.  Quakers were leaders in the linen industry in Lurgan.  According to A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers, by Richard Harrison, 1997, "He spent most of his life around Lurgan and for much of that time was employed as an 'itinerant hemp and flax man' by the 'Board of Trustees of the Linen and Hempen Manufacturers of Ireland' set up in 1711.  He was a constant innovator in the improvement of flax production and 'devised a scrutch mill, reproduced foreign methods of weaving and contrived improved bleaching techniques.'  In 1715 he published the pamphlet New Methods of Improving Flax and Flax Seed and bleaching cloth.  The Linen Board paid him to visit and instruct bleachers from Antrim to Cootehill and Monaghan.  In 1721 and again in 1729 he was sent to study Dutch, Flemish, and French practice in linen production.  In 1728 he had received an award for devising a new bleaching method."  

Thomas, at age 68, apparently followed his grown sons to America, but information on them is lacking.  And there is some evidence that Thomas Turner was in America as early as 1688, when his name appears as witness to a marriage in New Castle, PA (now Delaware).  And in 1699,William Penn referred to him as having arrived in the colony "some tyme since."   However it happened, Thomas Turner arrived in Shepherdstown, in present day Jefferson County, West Virginia, about 1730/31, when it was still Orange County, Virginia, and he established a business account with Simon Miller.  He also owned a house in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, which he rented out 10 Apr 1734.  Thomas' business, in addition to general merchandise, appears to have been loaning of money for various enterprises.  Repayment was rarely on time, so he spent a lot of time in court trying to settle.  Each court appearance meant a 110-mile trip to the courthouse in Orange, and frequently the sheriff had been unable to locate the debtor, so the case had to be continued.  This included a suit against the property of his son John Turner, which was joined by his son Anthony and two other members of the community.  Thomas' will was proved 8 June 1744.
1. Robert Turner (1683-1763) When Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania County in January
. . 1734, Robert Turner was sworn to serve as attorney before the court.
2. Ann Turner (1685) married a Sullen or Sutten
3. Anthony Turner (1687-before 1740)
. . 31. Anthony Turner (1705-1762) married Mary Chapline, moved to Berkeley Co, Virginia in 1740.
4. Roger Turner (1689-1778) married Elizabeth, moved to North Carolina.
5. John Turner (1691-1763) m.1716 Sarah Williams; m.1734 Elizabeth
6. Sarah Turner (1693) married a Pickren
John Turner (1691-1764) m.1716 Sarah Williams; m.1734 Elizabeth.  John Turner was a general merchant like his father, and lived on Goose Creek, now Berkeley Co, West Virginia, probably from the time his father moved there about 1730 until after 1747, when he paid 70 pounds of tobacco in taxes.  By the time rumblings of the French and Indian War started in 1753, and the Indian attacks began in 1754, John had moved to Halifax County in Southern Virginia, and his will was filed there.  His will, dated 1 Nov 1762, and probated 21 Jun 1764, mentions his "land at Pertomuck on Goos Crick," and five other parcels of land along Smith River in Halifax County, now at the junction of Patrick, Franklin, and Henry Counties, that he purchased starting in 1746, when it was Lunenburg County.  His will mentions, but does not name "my six children by my first wife.".  [William, Thomas, and John Williams were also contributors to the building of the Lurgan Meeting House in 1697, relation to Sarah unknown.]
1. Nathan Turner (1717)
2. Henry Turner (1720)
3. Frances Turner (1723)
4. Joseph Turner (1726)
5. William Turner (1729)
6. James Turner (1730 - 22 Jul 1773) married Karenhappuch Norman (d.1781) Halifax Co, VA
X. Robert Turner (1733) [NO document has been found to suggest that John and Sarah had a son Robert]

7. Elizabeth Turner (1737-1800) married David Chadwell, Lee Co, VA
8. Mary Turner (1739) [died 1839 at Clover Fork, Harland Co, KY]
9. Jemima Turner (1741) [died 1830, Lee Co, VA]
0. Josefy Turner (1743)
1. John Turner (1745-1811)  Ruth (d.1815) [died 1825 Claiborne Co, TN]
2. Israel Turner (1747?-1777)
OOPS - The Family Tree DNA Turner Family website www.familytreedna.com/turnerdnaproject  lists one descendant of Robert Turner (Mary Thornborough)  and two descendants of Thomas Turner (Susannah Anthony), but shows that their yDNA matches only 16 out of 37 markers.  Those descendants are not related to each other.  We need another documented male-line descendant of Robert Turner to take the 37-marker test, to rule out "non-paternal events" that might have occurred in the lineage of the Robert Turner already tested.  If the second person tested matches the other Robert Turner, then all of the above is interesting, but  NOT OUR FAMILY.
-- And especially interesting because Thomas Turner (above) and Edward Thornborough (grandfather of Mary Thornburg below) both subscribed to the Lurgan Meeting House in 1697.
Robert Turner (c1733-after1781) married before 23 Feb 1765 Mary Thornburg (c1742-after1820)
 An old family tradition relates that Robert Turner was born William Hand in Liverpool, England, in 1735. A Colonel in the British Army in the French and Indian wars, he deserted, changed his name, and took the occupation of a tailor.  A descendant of Robert Turner turned out to be a close DNA match with a descendant of a Henry Hand (1734-1811), originally from Long Island, was in Cape May, New Jersey, in 1764; then Surry Co. North Carolina, in 1766; and ended up in Columbia County, Georgia.  No direct connection between Henry and the New England Hand family has been found.  

We have found a record of a private William Hand, mustered in Capt. Abraham Deforeest's Company of the New York City Colonial Militia on 8 May 1760, age 27, a tailor, born in England, 5 ft 6 in tall, blue eyes, brown hair, fair complection(sic).  At this time, it is unknown what became of this unit and this William Hand. 
New York Colonial Muster Rolls, 1664-1775, Report of the State Historian of the State of New York, 1898, Reprinted 2000, Volume 2, page 590.

Researcher Turner Wiley estimated that Robert Turner may have "appeared" in Bethania, at the intersection of the Great Wagon Road to Squire Boone's and the trail from the Shenandoah Valley, as early as 1756.  This was during the more intense fighting of the French and Indian War in the area.  It is unclear how he separated from his military unit, or whether he continued fighting.   He then moved a little farther southeast to Brushy Fork, where he became an acquaintance of Mathias Sappenfield in Rowan (now Davidson) County.  In January 1757, Walter Thornburg purchased 437 acres ten miles east on Richland Creek, Guilford County (now most of the south section of High Point).  In August 1762, Walter was granted 660 acres on Abbotts Creek, about a mile east of the Sappenfield plantation in Rowan County.  And Mary Thornburg, Walter's daughter, was expelled from the Quaker church 23 Feb 1765 for marrying Robert Turner "out of unity" with the church. Their son Walter was born in April, 1765.

Robert was loyalist in the Revolution, his land was judged confiscated in 1779 and granted to someone else. But Robert was off fighting against the Revolutionaries, and Mary could not be put off the land because Robert had not acquired proper title to it. This land was on Muddy Creek, just south of the Guilford-Randolph County line, and about one mile south of Walter Thornburg's plantation.

Revolutionary sentiment surprised this largely Loyalist community.  When the Governor called for volunteers to fight the Rebels, Captains Robert Turner and Mathias Sappenfield assembled, with about 1600 others north of Wilmington, NC, on 23 Feb 1776.  The Rebels were waiting for them 27 Feb at Widow Moore's Creek Bridge, 18 miles north of Wilmington.  The battle didn't last long, and the Patriots pursued the Loyalists, capturing 850, including Robert and Mathias, the next morning.  Most of the soldiers were released after signing a loyalty oath.  But Robert and Mathias, being officers, were taken prisoner.  They were first taken to the gaol at Halifax, NC, where they steadfastly refused to take the Loyalty Oath, and so remained prisoners.  Mary Turner, and eight other wives of Guilford County, petitioned the Council of Safety at Halifax 12 Oct 1776, to release their husbands.  But Robert had been transferred about April 28, probably to Sharpsburg, MD.  And from there, in September, he escaped into Pennsylvania, and eventually joined the Loyalists in New York.  His final pay there was on 27 Oct 1778, for 995 days of service.  

He apparently joined the British and Loyalist forces sent by Gen. Henry Clinton in December 1778, to capture Savannah.  They then fought fairly evenly until Clinton himself arrived in February, 1780. Col. Patrick Ferguson now assumed command of the Loyalist forces in Savannah, and moved them to assist in the siege of Charleston.  The city fell 12 May, 1780, and with it the Carolinas fell under British control.  Ferguson marched to Fort 96 in June, leaving Robert Turner to assist the Royal Fusiliers in recovering at Congaree Stores.  In July, Turner rejoined Ferguson, who had orders from Cornwallis to march north, scouting, increasing his army, and occupying land.  At Cedar Spring, 18 July 1780, the Loyalists suffered heavy losses, and Captain Robert Turner and his small contingency accompanied the wounded to Musgrove Mill.

While he was there, the Loyalists suffered another defeat, but Capt. Turner was so impressed with the performance of Col. David Fanning that he attached himself to Fanning's forces, a smaller party recruiting and gathering supplies for Ferguson.  While they were thus occupied, they missed the Battle of Kings Mountain, 7 Oct 1780, where Ferguson and most of his men were killed.  They then rode north and joined the civil war under way in North Carolina, mostly both sides burning their neighbors' plantations by night.  One such encounter was only 6 miles from the Turner Plantation on Muddy Creek, where Mary and the children were living.  This portion of the mayhem was called the Scourge of Randolph County, and persuaded many of the peaceful German and Quaker families in the area to migrate northwest into what later became Tennessee.  Robert Turner was listed as a Captain from Randolph County NC in July, 1781, in the Narrative of Colonel David Fanning (page 20) and thought (by Fanning) to be living in North Carolina in 1790.  Fanning signed a truce in May, 1782, and headed for Florida, then Nova Scotia. Robert probably returned to his family only to find them packed and ready to join the Mills migration west.  He did not accompany his family to Tennessee.  And no record of him has been found thereafter.  It has been suggested that he received his final pay 25 Aug 1784.  But the document referenced is a pay voucher from the State of North Carolina, which did not pay Loyalist claims, and must have been paid to one of the other Robert Turners, who served in the Revolutionary forces.  (This narrative is from the final letter written by Turner N Wiley, 10 May 2008, now on file with the rest of his correspondence (34 two-inch 3-ring binders) on the Turner Family, 1967-2008, in the Special Collections Department at Rowan Public Library, Salisbury, North Carolina.)

Mary Turner was certified from Springfield Monthly Meeting to Westfield MM, Surry Co NC, 1791, and to Lost Creek MM, New Market TN, 1797. She was among the representatives sent to New Garden MM to authorize New Hope MM in 1795. Shortly after 1800, Quaker sentiment against slavery increased, and another migration occurred, from North Carolina and Tennessee to Ohio and Indiana.  On 28 Feb 1807 Mary Turner was certified to Miami MM in Ohio, but joined Center MM in Clinton Co, 3 miles NE of Wilmington, on 6 June 1807. She is listed in the Census of 1820, next door to James Hickman, and with one male, age between 26 and 45, living with her.

Robert and Mary (Thornborough) Turner in North Carolina 1756-1783, 1998, and
Mary (Thornborough) Turner and Family in Tennessee 1783-1805, 2000, by Turner N. Wiley
Correspondence to and from Turner Wiley, through May, 2008, now in Special Collections at Rowan Public Library, Salisbury, North Carolina

1. Walter Turner (Apr1765-17Aug 1834) m.1790 Lydia Ballinger (1771-1845) died at Mt. Pulaski, IL
. . .   Hannah Turner (c1791) m.1809 Peter Price
. . . . .    Catherine Ann "Katie" Price (1809-1866) married Laban Hickman
2. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Turner (26 Jul 1766-5 Jan 1835) m.5 Aug 1797 James Hickman, Greene Co, OH
. . .   William Hickman (1798-1850) married Mary Lowe
. . .   Laban Hickman (1806-1878) married Catherine Ann "Katie" Price
3. John Turner (8 Aug 1768-22 Nov 1856) m.1787 Hannah Ballinger (1767-1857), in 1825 to Athens, IL
. . .   Allen Turner (c1790-1846) married Margaret Low
4. Abigail Turner (1770) apparently died young
5. Joseph Turner (17 Aug 1771-17 May 1847) m.1793 Dinah Small (1774-1864)  Greene Co, Ohio
6. George Turner (1772-before1840) m.3 Aug 1808 Hannah "Fanny" Oaks (c1788-after1870) and lived
. . .in Delaware/Randolph counties, IN
7. Jonathan Turner (1774) married (1799?) Abigail
8. Robert Turner (1775/8) m.4 Mar 1797 Leah Davis
9. Dorothy "Dolly" Turner (1776/80-before 1804) m.14 Nov 1797 Moses Ballinger, Jr. (1780) TN

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Turner (26Jul1766-5Jan1835) m.5 Aug 1797 James Hickman (1766-1841)
Lived in Jefferson Co, TN, then moved to Greene Co, Ohio, in 1807.

William Hickman (8 June 1798 - 25 Apr 1850) married Mary Lowe (1798-1868)

John Hickman (1821-1875) married 1 Dec 1842 Maria Kochel (1822-1898)

Angeline Hickman (3 Dec 1848 - 22 Feb 1923) m.6 Sep 1868 George B Liptrap (1843-1909)

John Liptrap (1872-1935) m.1904 Bertha Stonecypher (1876-1950)

Virgil Raymond Liptrap (1907-1977) m.1949 Frances Mary Tate Matthews (1917-2010)

James Matthews Liptrap (1951)


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