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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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James
K. Turner For
various reasons James K. Turner, of Newton, Jasper County, is deemed eligible
for specific mention in this volume, not the least of which is the fact that he
was one of the brave "boys in blue" who offered his service in defense
of his country during the dark days of the early sixties.
His life has been one of honest endeavor and certainly not devoid of good
to his fellow men, as many of them will freely attest.
He has always been a hard worker and has never permitted obstacles to
turn him from his course when once he knew that he was right.
He was born in July 1845, in Henry County Indiana, the son of James and
Priscilla (Ferrow) Turner, the father born in Guilford County, North Carolina,
and the mother in Virginia, the latter's people at one time being very prominent
in their locality and owning a large plantation along the Blue river.
Her father was a slave holder, owning about one hundred slaves, and at
his death these and his estate fell to the subject's mother and her brother,
John C. Ferrow, later a general in the Confederate Army.
After Priscilla Ferrow married Mr. Turner, most of the slaves were set
free, largely in view of the fact that James Turner, father of the subject, was
a Quaker minister and opposed to holding slaves.
In an early day the Turners moved to Indiana, but did not remain there
long, having returned to High Point, Guilford County. North Carolina.
In 1856 he again took his family to Indiana and lived there until his
death, which occurred a few years later at the age of sixty-eight; the death of
the mother of the subject occurred there two years after the family located
there, at the age of fifty-eight years. James
Turner followed farming, and also engaged in the distillery business for some
time, which in those days was universally regarded as a respectable vocation.
His family consisted of ten children, of whom James K., of this review,
was the youngest; four of the sons were soldiers in the Civil War, John, the
eldest, having been with Morgan; he died at Eddyville, Iowa.
The other children were named as follows: Elizabeth, who married a Mr.
Smuck, is now deceased; Jane married Mace Beetle and lives in Jay County,
Indiana; Mary A. is the wife of Philip Oxley; George lives in Gas City, Indiana;
he was a soldier in Company C, Eighty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Lewis,
who was a soldier in the Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, is now living
in Texas; Priscilla, who married Thomas Tadlock, also lives in Texas; Nancy, who
married Thomas Mann, lives in Michigan; Malinda died in Indiana. James
K. Turner, of this sketch, attended school for a time at Buck Creek, Indiana,
also at Fairmont. When less than
seventeen years of age he enlisted in the Union army, in April 1862, and served
until the close of the war with honor and distinction, seeing much hard service,
having taken part in over thirty of the most sanginuary battles of the war,
besides a number of smaller engagements. He
was shot through the body at Jackson, Mississippi, February 6, 1864, and was
there taken prisoner, and it was some time before he recovered.
As a private in Company C, Eighty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, he
fought in the following engagements, among others: Green River Bridge, where he
heard his first cannon, although he had been in previous engagements;
Murfreesboro, Lafayette, Guntown, Tupalo, Coldwater.
The two months that he was in prison he subsisted, mostly, on pea bread
and water and during that time his wound was dressed only once; however, in the
house where he was confined, which was guarded by the Confederates, was a bright
young girl, who, feeling sorry for the wounded Northern lad, sometimes secretly
gave him substantial food and brought him water. After he was exchanged he was
sent home. As soon as he was able to be upon his feet again he reported for duty
at Indianapolis, but was told that he was unable to return to the front and was
ordered to the hospital, but he begged so hard to be permitted to rejoin his
regiment that they allowed him to do so, and he was sent to Memphis, later going
with Gen. A. J. Smith's command on the Red River expedition.
Later in the war Mr. Turner took part in the battles of Sabine Cross
Roads, Yellow Build, Fort Duruso, and in the hand-to-hand engagement at Pleasant
Hill, in which one big fellow came near choking him to death, but a comrade
saved his life by knocking his assailant in the head. They followed General
Price from De Soto to Lexington and to Santa Fe, Kansas, and had several small
engagements; then fought at Blue River, Sedalia, Lone Jack, and was in the
two-days battle of Nashville, then went to New Orleans, and he witnessed the
bombardment of Fort Pike, Fort Morgan and Fort Gains.
He was on the sand battery and battery U. G. in the charge on the
pontoons. He participated in the
siege of Fort Blakely throughout. Later he was with Sherman in his march to
Meridian, Mississippi, and was wounded at Queen's Hill.
He was mustered out at Mobile, Alabama, and received an honorable
discharge at Indianapolis, Indiana, in August 1865. After
returning from the war, Mr. Turner bought and sold cattle for a while, then went
to Illinois and worked at the carpenter's trade and house moving.
He came to Iowa in 1870, locating first at Oskaloosa, but later moved to
New Sharon and there he was married to Ellen Shadley, who was born in Greene
County, Ohio, the daughter of William and Malinda (Pendulum) Shadley; the
father, a farmer, was born in Virginia and the mother in Ohio.
They were the parents of ten children, those living besides Mrs. Turner
being: William, of Newton, Iowa;
Mrs. James Mitcheltree, of New Sharon; Mrs. Hester Hilderbran, of near New
Sharon; Mrs. Abbie Stanford, of Montezuma. The Shadley family came to Iowa
before the war. Six
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Turner, namely:
Minnie, who married Edward Lynn, lives in Des Moines, and they have seven
children; Wesley, who lives in Newton, is married and has two children; Clyde
also lives in Newton; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Pugh, lives in Des Moines and
has three children; Allison is at home; Elsie, who married Bonner Benedict, died
leaving four children. After
living in New Sharon three years, Mr. Turner moved to Marshall County, but later
went back to New Sharon. Five years ago he came to Newton, Jasper County, and
here he and his sons are successfully engaged in the house moving business,
having built up a large patronage. Mr. Turner is a Republican and a member of
Lighten Post, Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Turner is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 610. |
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