Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/210

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186
TURNER
TURNER

TURNER, Douglas Kellogg, clergyman, b. in Stockbridge, Mass., 17 Dec, 1823. He was gradu- ated at Yale in 1843 and studied theology in An- dover theological seminary and Yale divinity- school. In 1846-'8 he taught in Neshaminy, Pa., and he was ordained on 18 April, 1848, as pastor of the Presbyterian church in Hartsville, Pa. He remained connected with this parish until his res- ignation in 1873. In 1873 he became correspond- ing secretary and librarian of the Presbyterian historical society. He has published "The His- tory of the Neshaminy Church from 1726 to 1876 " (Philadelphia, 1876) and historical papers.


TURNER, Edward, jurist, b. in Fairfax coun- ty, Va., 25 Nov., 1778 ; d. in Natchez, Miss., 23 May, 1860. He was educated at Transylvania uni- versity and studied law. In 1802 he emigrated to Mississippi and settled in Natchez, where he began the practice of his profession. The governor of the territory appointed Turner his aide-de-camp, and soon afterward he became clerk of the terri- torial house of representatives, also acting as the governor's private secretary. In 1803 he was ap- pointed register of the land-office, and in 1811 he was elected to the legislature from Warren county. He was chosen city magistrate of Natchez and president of the board of select-men in 1813, and after 1815 was sent for several terms to the legis- lature as a representative from Adams county. In 1818 he was elected to the first legislature that as- sembled under the state government, and, except for one year, when he was attorney-general of the state, he continued a member of the house until 1822, during which time he was twice elected speaker. He was appointed judge of the criminal court of Adams county in 1822, in 1824 judge of the supreme court of Mississippi, and in 1829 chief justice, which place he held until he was super- seded by the amended constitution of 1832. He was chancellor of the state from 1834 till 1839, in 1840 was again elected judge of the supreme court, and at the expiration of his term in 1843 was chosen to the state senate. Judge Turner was ap- pointed in 1815 by the legislature to prepare a di- gest of the statute laws of the territory, which was completed and adopted in 1816. This digest con- tains all the statutes in force at that period, and is entitled " Statutes of the Mississippi Territory " (Natchez, 1816).


TURNER, Henry McNeal, A. M. E. bishop, b. in Newberry Court-House, S. C, 1 Feb., 1833. He is of African descent. After he was licensed to preach in 1853 his native eloquence created quite a sensation, and in 1858 he was admitted into the Missouri conference of the African Methodist Epis- copal church, and transferred to the Baltimore conference. He studied four years as a non-ma- triculated student in Trinity college, and was sta- tioned at Israel church, Washington, D. C, in 1863. He greatly assisted in the organization of the 1st colored regiment, U. S. infantry, of which Presi- dent Lincoln commissioned him the chaplain. At the close of the civil war President Johnson com- missioned him to a chaplaincy in the regular army, but he declined. He was sent into Georgia to as- sist in the work of reconstruction, called the first Republican state contention, and was elected twice to the Georgia legislature. In 1869 he was ap- pointed postmaster of Macon, but resigned, and in the same year was made coast inspector of customs. In 1876 he was elected book agent of his denomi- nation, and in 1880 he became bishop. His chief work is " Methodist Polity."


TURNER, James, senator, b. in Southampton county, Va., 20 Dec, 1766; d. in Bloomsbury, Warren co., N. C, 15 Jan., 1824. He early re- moved with his parents to Bute (now Warren) county, N. C, and there received such education as the common schools of that district afforded. Dur- ing the Revolutionary war he served with Na- thaniel Bacon in a company of North Carolina vol- unteers commanded by Col. John Macon. His public career began by his election to the legisla- ture in 1798, with re-election in 1799 and 1800, and was continued by his service in the upper house in 1801-'2. He was then chosen governor of North Carolina, which place he held until 1805. Gov. Turner was then elected as a Democrat to the U. S. senate, and served from 4 March, 1805, till 1816, when he retired on account of failing health. — His son, Daniel, soldier, b. in Warren county, N. C, 21 Sept., 1796; d. at Mare island, Cal., 21 July, 1860, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1814, and entered the army as 2d lieu- tenant in the corps of artillery. He served during the second war with England as acting assistant engineer in erecting temporary defences for New York city, after which he was ordered to Platts- burg. On the reduction of the army, he resigned on 17 May, 1815, and then spent two years at Will- iam and Mary college. He was elected to the lower branch of the North Carolina legislature, serving from 1819 till 1823. Mr. Turner was elected to congress, and served from 3 Dec, 1827, till 3 March, 1829, after which, in 1847-54, he was principal of the Warrenton, N. C, female seminary. His last office was that of superintending engineer of the construction of the public works at Mare island navy-yard, San Francisco harbor, which he held from the establishment of that navy-yard in 1854 till the time of his death.


TURNER, John Wesley, soldier, b. in Saratoga county, N. Y., 19 July, 1833. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1855, and assigned to the 1st artillery. He took part with his battery in the war against the Seminoles in 1857-'8, and served in garrisons till 1861, when he was promoted 1st lieutenant, and then captain and commissary of subsistence, in which capacity and in command of a breaching battery in the reduction of Fort Pulaski he rendered valuable service. He was appointed colonel and chief of staff of the Department of the South, was active in the operations against Fort Wagner and Fort Sumter, and in September, 1863, was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers. Gen. Turner assumed command of a division of the 10th corps, Army of the James, participating in the campaigns in front of Richmond till August, 1864. Subsequently he served as chief of staff in the Department of North Carolina and Virginia till March, 1865, when, in command of an independent division of the 24th corps, he was present in the closing incidents of the war, terminating in the surrender at Appomattox. He was brevetted major "for gallant and meritorious services" at Fort Wagner, lieutenant-colonel for similar services "in action at the explosion of the Petersburg mine," colonel for the capture of Fort Gregg, major-general of volunteers "for gallant and meritorious service on several occasions before the enemy," and brigadier-general and major-general, U. S. army, for services "in the field during the rebellion." Gen. Turner was mustered out of the volunteer service in September, 1866, was depot commissary at St. Louis till 1871, and on duty in the Indian Department till 4 Sept. of that year, when he resigned from the army. Since that time he has been engaged as a civil engineer, and since 1877 he has been a street commissioner and mem- ber of the board of public works of St. Louis, Mo.