........................IN MEMORY OF........................
........................OUR FOREBEAR........................
...................ELDER ELKANAH B. TURNER..................

.........Written and compiled by:
.........Rebecca A. Prillaman, great, great granddaughter
.........(great granddaughter of Elkanah's son, Zachary
.........Taylor Turner, granddaughter of Zachary's daughter
.........Beulah Turner Dillard Prillaman)
.........February 17, 2014 (Copyright)

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............ELKANAH SERVED HIS COMMUNITY AND COUNTY.........
......................AS FOLLOWS:

...............MEMBER OF THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE...........
.....................RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.....................

..................SESSIONS: 1846, 1847......................

............REPRESENTING: HENRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA............

.............JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, twenty years, appointed ..................by the Court of Henry County
.............School Commissioner, Henry County
.............Assessor of the lands of Henry County
.............Trustee of the school, serving 4-5 years
.............Board of Supervisors, serving three successive
.............terms (six years), Henry County

.....Along with his official duties, Elkanah was devoted to his ministry, serving several churches at different times.
His church membership was at Town Creek Church, Franklin County, until 1850, at which time he moved his membership to Reed Creek Church to be closer to his home in Henry County. At his death in 1887, he had been a member at Reed Creek for 37 years.

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.....Elkanah Turner was born August 14, 1801 in Franklin County, Virginia, the fourteenth child of William Turner (1753-1845) and Jane Hunter Turner (1759-1851). William and Jane had a farm located about two miles from the present day community of Henry in Franklin County, along the Henry County line. William Turner was a veteran of the Revolutionary War (DAR Ancestor #A117311). He and Jane were married seventy two years....William died at the age of 93 and Jane was age 92, just 17 days away from her 93rd birthday. They had many descendants, even during their lifetime. Elkanah was one of the executors of his father's will.

.....Elkanah was bequested in his father William's will as follows:

13thly I give and bequeath unto my youngest Son Elkanah B. Turner one thirteenth part of my estate. And I also desire that he shall be paid by my Executors, out of my general Estate, a reasonable compensation for his trouble in receiving and disburseing the portion allotted to my Daughter Jane Stone. And lastly, I do hereby constitute and appoint my faithful and beloved sons George Turner and Elkanah B. Turner Executors of this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all other former Wills and Testaments, heretofore made. In witness whereof I have set my hand and affixed my seal this 29th day of October, A.D. 1842
his
William X Turner
mark
(proved 5 January 1846, Court..Franklin Co., Va.)

.............
.....Elkanah was 44 years old, when his father William Turner died in 1845.
.....Elkanah was 50 years old, when his mother Jane Hunter Turner died in 1851. Jane was 42 years old, when Elkanah was born in 1801.

......Elkanah married his first wife Margaret Heard (Herd) on April 8, 1824. They had five children...three died in infancy, a daughter died at age 18, a son Dr. Jesse Heard Turner survived. Margaret, his wife, died of consumption at age 39.

......Elkanah married his second wife, Elizabeth C. ("Betsy") Wingfield on October 27, 1840. They had seven children, six sons and one daughter.

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............ELKANAH'S PATERNAL GRANDFATHER WAS.............
....................SHADRACH TURNER........................

.....Elkanah's grandfather and William's father, was Shadrach Turner (1720-1784), early settler in southwest Virginia's Henry County (earlier, Henry was part of Lunenburg County, then Halifax County, then Pittsylvania County ). Shadrack settled near the historic "Great Wagon Road" (or the Carolina Road), taking settlers to lands in the south in the 18th century. It ran down the valley of Virginia into North Carolina and beyond. He was born in Caroline Co. and moved farther west in Virginia. Shadrack was a Revolutionary War Patriot (DAR Ancestor #A117212) contributing food to the troops. Shadrack married Ann Pollard. His home in Henry County, just along the Franklin County line near the community of Henry, has been restored by a descendant, Dr. Harry Lee King, and is on The National Register, known as "King's Grant" or the "Old Turner Place". It is a private residence today, owned by Shadrack's descendants.
Shadrack's home is located about six miles from Elkanah's land and place of burial at North Collinsville, (Henry Co., Va.)

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......I don't have any information on Elkanah's schooling, if he were home schooled or attended a field school or a local academy.

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.....................ELKANAH'S SIBLINGS (13)...............

1. Captain George Wilson Turner (1776-1884) War of 1812
2. James N. Turner (1778-1852)
3. Martha Turner Philpott (1781-1835)
4. Elizabeth Turner Ingram (1783-1873)
5. Adelpha Turner Turner (1787-1879)
6. Josiah Hunter Turner (1784-1866)
7. Sarah Turner Snidow (1788-1874)
8. Rev. John Turner (1788-1874) Minister, Ensign War of 1812
9. William Turner (1791-1860)
10. Jane Turner Phifer Stone (1792-1880)
11. Andrew Hunter Turner (1797-1877)
12. Meshack Turner (1799-1878)
13. Unknown son (probably did not reach adulthood)
14. Elkanah B. Turner (1801-1887)

Note: Jane Hunter Turner, their mother, was 42 years old, when she had her last child Elkanah in 1801. Jane married at age 14.

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....................ELKANAH'S FIRST WIFE...................
......................MAGARET Heard (HERD)).................

.....Elkanah's first wife was Margaret Herd ( Heard or Hurd, in 1885. They were married on 8 April 1824. They were married fifteen years and several months, before Margaret died at the age of 39 of consumption (tuberculosis). They had a very happy marriage. (Margaret is most likely buried in the Turner Family Cemetery, Kimberly Hills, North Collinsville, Va., with Elkanah. There are unmarked stones there, probably those of Margaret and four of the five children that she had with Elkanah.

Elkanah and Margaret had five children:

1.....Infant (did not survive infancy), name, dates, and
......burial (Most likely Turner Family Cemetery)
2.....Infant (did not survive infancy), name, dates, and
......burial (Most likely Turner Family Cemetery)
3.....Infant (did not survive infancy), name, dates, and
......burial (Most likely Turner Family Cemetery)
4.....Daughter (name, dates, unknown, Burial most likely
......Turner Family Cemetery. She died at age 18,
......also of consumption (tuberculosis), the same illness
......that her mother died from. This daughter did survive
......her mother. She and her brother Jesse were not living
......with their father Elkanah after the death of their
......mother Margaret Herd. However, later in 1850, son
......Jesse is living with Elkanah and his second wife
......Elizabeth, but this daughter isn't, so she must have
......died prior to 1850.
5.....Jesse Heard Turner, MD..b. Aug. 6, 1835..d. April
......2, 1915...Buried: "Quailhaven", Behind the Turner-
......Barrow Home at 5810 Barrows Mill Road, Martinsville
......(Henry County), Virginia. (He was named after his
......grandfather Jesse Heard.)
......Married Mary Elizabeth Barrow on 22 Nov. 1859.
......(Note: Jesse is living with his father Elkanah and
......his second wife Elizabeth in 1850. He was 15 years
......old).
......The children of Jesse and Mary Elizabeth Barrow Turner
......(and the grandchildren of Elkanah and Margaret Herd):
.................1...Edward P. Turner (1866-1940) Burial:
.....................Quailhaven, Martinsville, Va.
.................2...Orrin Turner (1873-1910) Burial:
.....................Chicago, Ill.
.................3...Lenora Turner
.................4...Walter R. Turner
.................5...Ella Turner
.................6...Jessie May Turner
.................7...William Watkins Turner
.................8...Irvine Turner
.................9...Unknow

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....................ELKANAH'S SECOND WIFE..................
...................ELIZABETH C. WINGFIELD..................
.........................."Betsy"..........................
........................(1818-1899)........................

......Elkanah's second wife was Elizabeth C. Wingfield. Their Marriage Bond in Franklin Co., Va. was dated October 27, 1840, with Surety by John S. Wingfield. They were married by Rev. Arnold Walker.
Elizabeth was born June 6, 1818, and died June 18, 1899. They were married forty seven years. Elkanah was seventeen years older than Elizabeth. She lived twelve more years after Elkanah's death in 1887.
......Elizabeth is buried alongside Elkanah at the Turner Family Cemetery, Kimberly Hills, North Collinsville (Bassett Forks) Henry County, Virginia. Sons Henry Clay Turner, and Elkanah Lewis Turner, and his wife Bettie Turner, daughter-in-law Nannie Jamison Turner (wife of Elkanah and Elizabeth's son Zachary Taylor Turner) and grand daughter Ninna Turner Hurd (daughter of Zachary Taylor Turner and his first wife Nannie Jamison Turner), are also buried there, along with a number of unmarked stones.
......Elkanah and Elizabeth appear to have had a happy marriage.

Elkanah and Elizabeth had seven children:

1.....Eldest son, "a very sprightly little boy, died in
......his fourth year." His name and .........dates are unknown.
..... (Died pre-1850). Burial: Probably one of the
......uninscribed tombstones at the Turner Family Cemetery
......Kimberly Hills, along with Elkanah and Elizabeth.

2.....Mary J. Turner.....b. 1844...d. 1876...age 32...
......Age 6 in 1850 Census.
......Burial: Turner Family Cemetery, Kimberly Hills,
......North Collinsville, Va........Never married ....
......Mentally incapacitated...."having no mind to take
......care of herself, so we may look upon her as being an
......infant all her life through."

3.....Zachary Taylor Turner... b. 1847....d. 1911...
......Burial: Camp Branch Church Cemetery, Figsboro,
......Henry Co., Va...................Married first:
......Nannie Jamison (b. 1847 d. 1881)...Second: Hattie
......Cook (b. 1843 d. 1930).
......The children of Zachary and Nannie (and Elkanah's
......grandchildren) were:
................1...Ninna Turner Hurd, (1869-1892)
....................died age 23. Burial: Turner Family
....................Cemetery, Kimberly Hills, North
....................Collinsville, Henry Co. Virginia.
................2...Beulah Turner Dillard Prillaman (1872-
....................1937)...Beulah married First: Samuel
....................Hughes Dillard, one son: Dr. George Penn
....................Dillard....Second husband: Jacob Meshack
....................Prillaman, 8 children: Gold, Ethel,
....................Dossie, Frank, Cook, Harvie, Theodore,
....................and Morton. Burial Prillaman Family
....................Cemetery, Bassett Forks, Virginia,
................3...Janie Turner Turner
................4...Susan Marshall Turner Turner
................5...Elkanah Lewis Turner (1876-1936)
....................married Allie Lester (Turner). They are
....................buried at Oakwood Cemetery
....................Martinsville, Virginia

......The only child of Zachary and his second wife Hattie
......Cook (and Elkanah's grandson) was:
................1...Zachary Cooke Turner (b. 5 May 1885
....................d. 18 March 1971) Married Claire Morris
....................(1888-1980) Burial: Oakwood Cemetery,
....................Martinsville, Va.

4.....James Carlton Turner...b. 1849.....d. Jul. 16, 1929
......Burial: Crown Point Cemetery, Kokomo, Howard County,
......Indiana. Married Mary Elizabeth Davis (Turner)
......(b. 1848 d. 20 Sept. 1924) Crown Point Cemetery.
......Their children (and Elkanah's grandchildren) were:
................1...Lula Ellen Turner (1869-1932)
................2...Elkanah Benjamin Turner (1870-1909)
................3...John William Turner (1872-1944)
................4...Lewis Weitzel Turner (1874-1956)
................5...Annie Elizabeth Turner (1876- ?)
................6...James Davis Turner (1878-1958)
................7...Gabriella May Turner (1881-1941)
................8...Ernest Linwood Turner (1884-1967)

5.....George M. Turner..b. Jan. 26, 1852..d. Aug. 14, 1927
......Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Martinsville, Virginia,
......Married Lucy A. Jenkins
......Their children (and the grandchildren of Elkanah)
......were:
................1...Ida L. Turner (Mrs. H.L. Byrd)
................2...Lessie May Turner (Mrs. H.S. Winn)
................3...Delila M. Turner
................4...Lucy P. Turner (Mrs. Charles D. Weaver)
................5...Elizabeth Turner
................6...Harry L. Turner
................7...John C. Turner
................8...George A. Turner
................9...Claude S. Turner
................10..Charles E. Turner

6.....Henry Clay Turner..b. 1854..d. 1932
......Buried: Turner Family Cemetery, Kimberly Hills,
......Collinsville (Bassett Forks), Henry County, Va.,
......(Never Married).

7.....Elkanah (Elcany) Lewis Turner..b. Nov. 23, 1856..
......d. Dec. 24, 1935
......Buried: Turner Family Cemetery, Kimberly Hills
......Collinsville (Bassett Forks), Henry County, Va...He
......married Bettie M. Shumate b. Feb 23, 1874 d. 1952
......Their children (and the grandchildren of Elkanah)
......were:
................1...Beulah (Bettie B.) Turner (1894-1972),
....................Age 16 in 1910 census
................2...Heywood Turner (1895-1984), Pvt. U.S.
....................Army, World War I
................3...Jess (Jesse C.) Turner (1898-1973)
................4...Mattie L. Turner (b. 1908)
................5...Bernard Turner (1917-1984)

*Elkanah and his second wife Elizabeth C. Wingfield Turner had 29 grandchildren.


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......................ELKANAH WINS ELECTION...............

.......John "Jack" King born January 11, 1788, son of Reverand John King, represented Henry County in the House of Delegates of Virginia in 1842-43, but was defeated in the following election by ELKANAH TURNER, a WHIG.

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.....................ELKANAH TURNER........................
..............MEMBER OF VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY..........
........................TERM 1846-1847.....................
..............REPRESENTING HENRY COUNTY....................

..........."ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE............
................COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA"..................
.......................BY VIRGINIA.........................

Chap. 36____An Act authorizing a separate election at the
............storehouse of Elkanah B. Turner in the county
............of Henry.
..................(Passed January 11, 1847)...............
.......1....Be it enacted by the general assembly, That
............whenever an election shall be holden in the
............County of Henry in which all of the lawful
............voters of the county are required to vote,
............there shall be at the same time a separate poll
............opened and held for such election at the house
............now occupied as a storehouse by Elkanah B.
............Turner, situate about twelve miles north of the
............courthouse of said county.
........2...This act shall be in force from the passing
............thereof.

(NOTE: The courthouse referenced above, was the Henry County Courthouse, located in the town of Martinsville)



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1850 Census, Henry County, Va.:
Elkanah B. Turner 49 VA
Jane Stone 58 VA
Elizabeth C. Turner 31 VA
Jepe H. Turner 15 VA
Mary J. Turner 6 VA
Zachariah F. Turner 3 VA
James C. Turner 1 VA

(NOTES: In the above census, Jane Stone, age 58, is Jane Turner Stone, Elkanah's older sister, daughter of William and Jane Hunter Turner. Jepe is Jesse, Elkanah's son from his first marriage to Margaret Heard. In 1850 Elkanah and Elizabeth ("Betsy") have three living children, Mary, Zachariah (Zachary) and James. Their first son had died at age 4, name unknown.)

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.........................1860 CENSUS........................
.....................HENRY (COUNTY), VA. U.S................
..(THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION)...
.....................PUBLICATION #M653......................
.......................ELKANAH TURNER.......................

HOUSEHOLD ID 536

...E B Turner........M.........58.......Va.
...Betsy Turner......F.........42.......Va.
...Jesse Turner......M.........24.......Va.
...Mary Turner.......F.........20.......Va.
...Mary Turner.......F.........17.......Va.
...Zackary Turner....M.........13.......Va.
...James Turner......M.........11.......Va.
...Henry Turner......M..........7.......Va.
...Elkanah Turner....M..........4.......Va.
...Jane Stone........F.........64.......Va.
...William Griffin...M.........27.......North Carolina

(NOTES: Son Jesse is still living at home. He is from Elkanah's first marriage to wife Margaret Heard. Elkanah and Elizabeth (Betsy)'s daughter Mary Turner is age 17. The second Mary Turner, age 20, is unknown, possibly a servant/slave. Son George, born 1852 is not listed in this census. He would have been 8 years old. Jane Stone is Elkanah's older sister. It appears that Elkanah was her caretaker, after the end of her marriages. In the 1850 Census, Jane's age was 58, in 1860 it is listed as 64. I believe it should be age 68. William Griffin was probably a servant/slave.)

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Cemetery Note: Elkanah's daughter-in-law Nannie A. Jamison
Turner, wife of Elkanah and Elizabeth's son Zachary Taylor Turner, was the first burial in the cemetery in 1881, (With an inscribed headstone) followed by Elkanah in 1887, followed by Ninna Turner Hurd
in 1892, daughter of Zachary and Nannie, grand daughter of Elkanah.
There are uninscribed stones in the cemetery that may date to the 1820's or 1830's, possibly the children of Elkanah B. and his first wife Margaret Heard Turner, along with Margaret herself.

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Cemetery: Directions
From Collinsville, Va., proceed north on Rt. 220, towards Bassett Forks....after crossing the bridge over Reed Creek, make the first right. This is Kimberly Road (RT. 1220). Proceed up the hill about 3/4 mile. The cemetery is on the right at the corner of Kimberly Road and Kimberly Hills Ct. There is no sign, and about seven graves with inscribed tombstones and several uninscribed stones. At the entrance to Kimberly Hills Development,there is a car lot on the left, and a vacant lot on the right on Rt. 220.

Note: A new recent photo of Elkanah's tombstone was taken by Bill Carter on April 21, 2014. The stone appears to have deteriorated since the last photo taken in 1989.

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By: Rebecca Prillaman, great, great granddaughter (Copyright)