The Turner Family
Part 2
The Journey West with a Stop in Pennsylvania
Around May or June 1800, most members of the Turner and Beltz families moved to Pennsylvania. We can precisely date this move because Turner family members appeared on the 1800 List of Tithables in Loudoun Co., Va. and the 1800 census records in Pennsylvania.
| Date | Persons Chargeable | Male Tithables 16+ | Blacks | Horses | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1 | Michael Turner | Michael Turner | - | 2 | .24 |
| May 1 | Michael Turner, Jr. | Michael Turner | - | 1 | .12 |
| May 2 | Ludwick Turner | Ludwick Turner | - | 2 | .24 |
The above List of Tithables for Loudoun Co., Va. shows Michael, Sr., Michael, Jr. and Ludwick (Lewis) living there on May 1, 1800.
A short time later, Michael Turner, Sr., Lewis Turner and Andrew Beltz appeared in the census records for Greene Co. and Bedford Co., Penn. Michael Turner, Jr. and family appear to have moved to Pennsylvania after the birth of their son John in early 1802. Here are the 1800 census records for Michael Turner, Sr., Lewis Turner and Andrew Beltz.
| Name | M(-10) | M(10-16) | M(16-26) | M(26-45) | M(45+) | F(-10) | F(10-16) | F(16-26) | F(26-45) | F(45+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Turner | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Name | M(-10) | M(10-16) | M(16-26) | M(26-45) | M(45+) | F(-10) | F(10-16) | F(16-26) | F(26-45) | F(45+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Turner | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Name | M(-10) | M(10-16) | M(16-26) | M(26-45) | M(45+) | F(-10) | F(10-16) | F(16-26) | F(26-45) | F(45+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Beltz | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
On Jan. 13, 1806, Michael Turner, Sr. purchased 380 acres in Greene Co., Penn. On June 18, 1807 Michael and his wife Margaret (Peggy) sold 100 1/2 acres in Greene County to John Spencer. The records were signed with an X for Michael and Margaret Turner with Isaac Turner as a witness. In an invoice linked to the probate of the last will of Martin Heckathorn who died in early 1808 (will signed on Dec. 23, 1807 and recorded in Greene Co., Pa. on March 3, 1808), it is stated that on "May 13th, 1808 then received of Cateren [Catherine] Hekkethorn [Heckathorn] two Dollars and fifty Cents for the use of Michel Turner it being the full Price of a coffin that I made for him.... received by me Elias [Darby?] Conger." It appears this transaction marks the approximate date that Margaret (Peggy) Turner died. It's not clear, however, how this transaction got tied up in the accounting of the Heckathorn estate. Carpentry proved to be an avocation of the Conger family, particularly in later generations, but it's not known how Catherine Heckathorn got involved in this transaction. In the 1810 Census for Greene County, Michael Turner, Sr. appears to be living with his son Isaac, Isaac's wife Sarah Jane and their three children. On Oct. 20, 1815 Michael Turner sold 97 1/2 acres in Greene County to Michael Conley and on Oct. 24, 1815, he sold 97 1/2 acres to Richard James. On Oct. 16, 1818 Michael Turner sold 84 3/4 acres in Greene County to John Spencer. As we'll see below, both Michael Turner, Sr. and Isaac Turner moved to Ohio around this time.
On to Southwestern Ohio by Flatboat
In 1808, Michael Turner, Jr., Elizabeth (Beltz) Turner and their four children left Pennsylvania and headed to Ohio. In a history of Clermont Co. and Brown Co., Ohio, there is a biographical sketch of their son Daniel Turner which says the Turners "left Pennsylvania in the year of 1808 and came down the Ohio river in a flat boat to Columbia, then the most noted place for eastern emigrants to disembark."
Michael Turner's land purchases and sales (see below) paint a clear picture of his movements after he came to southwestern Ohio. We can be sure his main residence was in Hamilton Co., Ohio until 1817 when he purchased the farm of Rev. Moses Frazee who lived in Clermont Co., Ohio. At that time and in earlier land purchases and sales, he had been described as a resident of Hamilton County. The purchase price of the Frazee land and its premises and appurtenances suggest it had a farmhouse large and comfortable enough to accommodate Michael and Elizabeth Turner's growing family. All of the properties that Michael Turner bought and sold over the years were located just south of Milford, Ohio, and south and east of the East Fork of the Little Miami River in Union Township.
| Date | Grantor/Seller | Grantee/Buyer | Acres | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 17, 1811 | Christian Biggal [Bickle] and Mary, his wife, of | Michael Turner of | 106+ | $371 | Part of tract bought from Henry Massie |
| Hamilton Co., Ohio | Hamilton Co., Ohio | ||||
| April 1, 1813 | Thomas Skinner and Hannah, his wife, of | Michael Turner of | 100 | $550 | Skinner bought from Christian Bickle, Dec. 9, 1802 |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Hamilton Co., Ohio | ||||
| April 1, 1813 | Michael Turner and Elizabeth, his wife of | John Heltman | 29 | $145 | Part of tract bought from Christian Bickle |
| Hamilton Co., Ohio | Clermont Co., Ohio | ||||
| April 16, 1817 | Moses Frazee and Priscilla, his wife, of | Michael Turner of | 217 | $4,000 | |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Hamilton Co., Ohio | ||||
| Sept. 2, 1822 | Michael Turner and Elizabeth, his wife, of | John Heltman of | 29+ | $145 | Part of tract bought from Christian Bickle |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Clermont Co., Ohio | ||||
| Dec. 8, 1823 | Michael Turner and Elizabeth, his wife, of | Shadrack Lane of | 182 | $1260 | Original survey of Francis Peyton conveyed by |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Clermont Co., Ohio | Christian Bickle and Thomas Skinner | |||
| April 2, 1830 | Michael Turner and Nancy, his wife, of | Daniel Turner | 16+ | $132 | |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Clermont Co., Ohio | ||||
| Jan. 15, 1833 | Daniel Turner and Susan, his wife, of | Michael Turner of | 16+ | $132 | |
| Clermont Co., Ohio | Clermont Co., Ohio |
Michael Turner, Jr. and Elizabeth Beltz had the following children:
- Sarah (Sally) Turner, b. Feb. 25, 1800 in Loudoun Co., Va., m1. Uriah Baldwin ~1817, m2. Henry Leaf on Sept. 9, 1850 in Clermont Co., Ohio, d. Feb. 12, 1877.
- John Turner, b. March 16, 1802 in Loudoun Co., Va., m. Jane (Leaf) Hawthorne on March 27, 1827 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record), d. May 16, 1876 in Hamilton Co., Ohio.
- Elizabeth (Betsy) Turner, b. ~1804 in Greene Co., Pa., m. William Dumford ~1825, d. before 1857.
- Daniel Turner, b. March 25, 1806 in Greene Co., Pa., m. Susan Malott on Nov. 7, 1827 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record), d. Oct. 26, 1880.
- Mary (Polly) Turner, b. Jan. 20, 1808 in Greene Co., Pa., m. Henry Leaf on July 24, 1823 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record), d. June 3, 1850 in Hamilton Co., Ohio.
- Mary Anna Turner, b. ~1809 in Hamilton Co., Ohio, m. Samuel Perry on Sept. 6, 1827 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record), d. before 1857.
- Lewis Turner, b. ~1811 in Hamilton Co., Ohio, d. ~1819 in Clermont Co., Ohio.
- Julia Ann Turner, b. Jan. 12, 1813 in Hamilton Co., Ohio, d. ~1830.
- Isaac Turner, b. ~1816 in Hamilton Co., Ohio, m. Rachel ~1840, d. in Illinois
- Andrew Jackson Turner, b. March 28, 1818 in Clermont Co., Ohio, m. Sarah Scammahorn on Feb. 18, 1839 in Highland Co., Ohio, d. May 10, 1897 in Clermont Co., Ohio.
- Lucinda Turner, b. ~1819 in Clermont Co., Ohio, m. Dennison Brunson on May 19, 1842 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record; they were divorced on Dec. 19, 1868), d. Jan. 8, 1891 in Clermont Co., Ohio.
- William H. Turner, b. Jan. 7, 1820 in Clermont Co., Ohio, m1. Elizabeth Scammahorn on Dec. 10, 1841 in Highland Co., Ohio, m2. Susan A. Snyder on Sept. 19, 1857, d. May 5, 1895 in Clinton Co., Ohio.
- Amanda Turner, b. March 16, 1822 in Clermont Co., Ohio, m. David Harrison Carpenter on Nov. 26, 1840 in Clermont Co., Ohio (see marriage record), d. Sept. 29, 1895 in Brown Co., Ohio (see death record).
This is how the Michael Turner, Jr. household looked in the 1820 census in Clermont Co., Ohio, at least according to the enumerator who showed up at their farm that year.
| Name | M(-10) | M(10-16) | M(16-26) | M(26-45) | M(45+) | F(-10) | F(10-16) | F(16-26) | F(26-45) | F(45+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Turner | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
The male, age 45+, was likely Michael Turner, Sr. who had migrated to Ohio around 1816 with his son Isaac who settled in nearby Hamilton Co., Ohio. Comparing the list of children of Michael and Elizabeth Turner above with the 1820 census, we see that the overall number of living children lines up well. The ages of the male children are distributed correctly across the census age ranges; however, the female children are off slightly. This may be just a mistake by the enumerator in placing the children in the correct range, or it could be that we do not have the correct birth dates for Julia Ann, Mary Anna and/or Mary (Polly). The important takeaway is that all of the children listed above, with the possible exception of Amanda who had not been born before the census was taken, were likely the children of Michael and Elizabeth. We'll discuss this further in Turner, Part 3.
Elizabeth (Beltz) Turner died on Sept. 1, 1824 in Clermont Co., Ohio. We're not sure where she was buried, but her headstone was found in the Vault House at Greenlawn Cemetery in Milford, Ohio. At the time she died, the Greenlawn Cemetery did not exist, but there was a Gatch family burial ground on that site. Elizabeth Turner's headstone indicates she was "Aged 43 years, 2 months and 24 days" at the time of her death. If accurate, this would mean she was born on June 8, 1781.
