Johnson County KS Archives Biographies.....Turner, W. T. 1851 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 March 6, 2009, 3:52 am Author: Ed Blair (1915) W. T. Turner, former treasurer of Johnson county and a Kansas pioneer, has been a prominent factor in the affairs of this county for nearly a half century. Mr. Turner is a native of North Carolina, having been born in Guilford county, in 1851. His parents, E. and Susan (Hendrix) Turner, were natives of North Carolina and of Scotch-Irish descent. The Turner family left their North Carolina home in 1856 and went to Iowa, remaining but a very short time in that State; they came on to Kansas the same year. They made the entire trip from North Carolina with ox and horse teams. After coming to Kansas they located in Franklin county but were not satisfied with that locality and went from there to Jackson county, Missouri, where they remained one winter and in the spring returned to Kansas and located in Gardner township, Johnson county, where they made their permanent home. They endured the many hardships which fell to the lot of the average Kansas pioneer. They not only had to battle with the elements and face the early day crop failures and inconveniences and hardships of pioneer life but this section of the country was rent by the factional conflict known as the border war, when neighbor was pitted against neighbor and no one knew when an enemy was lying in wait for him. The senior Turner, although a native of the Southland, was a strong Union man. During these troublesome days he served in the local militia and was frequently away from home for weeks at a time in the service of the State and the Union. E. Turner, the father, spent his life in Johnson county and followed farming. He became one of the substantial men of the county and at the time of his death owned 240 acres of land. He died in 1903. His wife preceded him in death about five years. W. T. Turner, the subject of this sketch, is one of a family of ten children. He was about five years old when the family came to Kansas and he has a vivid recollection of the early days of pioneer life on the plains, and the exciting times of the border war. He experienced these many incidents in the history making epoch of the Nation at a time when they left an indelible impression on his young mind. He attended such schools as the primitive conditions of the times afforded and remained at home until he reached his majority when he acquired land for himself. He first owned 160 acres which he sold after twenty years, and bought a quarter section where his son, Oliver, now resides. He was extensively engaged in stock raising and feeding as well as general farming and prospered. He bought additional land until he owns 425 acres, which is one of the finest farms in eastern Kansas. It is well improved with a fine residence and two large barns. Mr. Turner's stock raising and feeding have not been confined to cattle alone, as he has also been one of the most entensive hog feeders in that section of the country, frequently buying a carload of hogs at a time for feeding purposes. Mr. Turner was united in marriage in 1875 to Miss Maria Gay, a native of Illinois. Mrs. Turner was a daughter of Sidney and Jane (Dodson) Gay. They were early settlers in Johnson county, coming to this State from Illinois. To W. T. Turner and wife were born five children as follows: Edward N., hardware merchant, Gardner, Kan., married Minnie Mitchell, and they have one child, Marcelia; Nettie, wife of John Meng, a Johnson county farmer, and they have three children, Bertha, Leona and Dora; Cora, wife of Eugene Rees, farmer, Miami county, Kansas, and they have one child, Minnie; Olliver, a Johnson county farmer, has three children, Orville, Howard and Lucile; and Roy, also a farmer in Johnson county. W. T. Turner has been active in the affairs of Johnson county since boyhood and has taken a prominent part in politics. He was reared in a Republican atmosphere and cast his first vote for General Grant for President and since that time has been a Democrat and taken a prominent part in the councils of the Democratic party in Johnson county and Kansas. He was elected treasurer of Johnson county in 1905 and at the expiration of that time was reelected, serving two terms. The normal Republican majority of Johnson county at that time was about 700, but Mr. Turner carried the county by a majority of 458 at his first election and at his second election he was given a majority of 460, a gain of a vote a year, which shows at least that he was not losing ground. He carried his own township at his first election by a majority of 101 and the second time by a majority of 150. Mr. Turner is a member of the Grange and he and his wife are members of the Church of Christ. Mr. Turner is one of Johnson county's most substantial citizens and has built up a reputation for honesty and straightforward methods which extends beyond the boundaries of Johnson county. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF Johnson County Kansas BY ED BLAIR AUTHOR OF Kansas Zephyrs, Sunflower Sittings and Other Poems and Sketches IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY LAWRENCE, KANSAS 1915 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/johnson/bios/turner289nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ksfiles/ File size: 5.6 Kb