| John B. Turner is a son of Richard A. and Martha A. (Gleaves) Turner, and was born in Davidson County, Tenn., in 1836. He is one of seven children (six living), and is of English descent. His grandfather, John Turner, was a nephew of Daniel Boone, by whom he was reared. He was twice married (Richard A. being a son of his last wife), and died about 1840. Richard A. acquired a good education, mostly through self application and observation. He was married about 1832 or 1833, and was a teacher and farmer by occupation. His death occurred in July, 1850. His wife was born in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1813, and died in March, 1885. Their son, John B., was educated at home under his father’s instruction, and through life has been engaged in farming and milling. In April, 1861, he joined the Confederate Army, enlisting in Company B, First Tennessee Infantry, Rock City battalion, but in the fall of 1861 was discharged on account of ill health. After recovering he, in 1863, joined Col. Ward’s cavalry under Gen. Morgan, and in the fall of that year was captured in Smith County, Tenn., and taken to Rock Island, Ill., where he was held until February, 1865. He was then exchanged and furloughed for ninety days, but did not return home until the final surrender, when he followed teaching and farming for several years. In 1868 he removed to Brownsville, and for two years was a teacher in the Brownsville Male Academy. The following four years he kept books for a cotton warehouse, and in 1873 was elected superintendent of the Haywood County schools and served two years. In 1876 he came to Crockett County, and now owns 300 acres of valuable land. In December, 1857, he married Ellen Wilkinson, of Davidson County, who died in March, 1861, having borne one child, Wilton. In June, 1873, Mr. Turner married Jennie McLemore, born in Madison County in 1843, daughter of Sugars and Elizabeth McLemore, of Haywood County. Mr. And Mrs. Turner have four children: John B., Jr., Virgie, Irving and Richard. In politics our subject is a Democrat. He is also a Mason and a member of the Presbyterian Church. William Gleaves, Mr. Turner’s maternal grandfather, was a Virginian, and settled in Davidson County when Tennessee was a part of North Carolina. Junius Turner, brother of our subject, is residing in a part of the house, ten miles northeast of Nashville, that his great-grandfather, Michael Gleaves, built. |
