1-Reuben Webster Turner was born in Fayette Co IN on 1 Feb 1829, the son of Greensville (or Greenville) Person Turner and his first wife, Deborah Webster.[1] He died near Foss, Washita County or Washita Twp, Custer Co OK, 10 Nov 1905 or 1915.[2] He was buried at Parkersville Cemetery, Custer Co OK.
On 20 Dec 1861 in Vigo Co IN, he married Margaret Ellen Parker.[3] They were divorced on 25 Oct 1883 in Worth Co MO.[4] She was buried at Edwardsville Cemetery, Custer Co OK.[5]
Margaret Ellen Parker was born in Vigo Co IN 7 Nov 1843, the third daughter of Greenberry and Elizabeth (Willoughby) Parker.[6] She died in Foss, Washita Co OK on 27 Apr 1926.[7] After her divorce from Reuben Webster Turner, Margaret married as her second husband, Stewart Benjamin McCord.[8] They were divorced on 24 Sep 1901 in Grant City, Worth Co MO.[9]
Reuben Webster Turner served briefly in the US Army during the Civil War.[10] He was captured at the Battle of Munfreesboro and paroled. He had been listed as a twenty-year-old student in the 1850 census. Family members have said for years he was a doctor. He was listed in 1870 in the census as an oculist, and a business card, with one different initial, agrees with this.[11] He was not a doctor in the Civil War.
Reuben and Margaret along with several of their children were among the early settlers of Oklahoma.[12] Reuben had a store at one time, R W Turner Cheap Cash Store, and Margaret was listed in 1910 as a merchant.[13] Her grandchildren remembered she was the postmistress at Hannavan’s Corners, although this writer has been unable to locate evidence of this.
Reuben’s census record is as follows:
1850 Putnam Co IN, Franklin Twp, p 762-763, 332-332.[14]
1860 possibly Tippecanoe Co IN, Lafayette Twp, p 211 [935].[15]
1870 Mills Co IA, 2nd Ward, Glenwood, Glenwood Twp, p 7-8.[16]
1880 Livingston Co MO, Mooresville Twp, sheet 18, line 24.[17]
1900 Custer Co OK, Washita Township, 386-390.[18]
1910 not found, probably deceased.
In 1910, Margaret’s census was entry in Custer Co OK, Arapaho Twp, ed 111, p 2B, was for Margret McCord, 65 wid, – 8 children 5 living, IN US IN, English, can read. In 1920, Custer Co OK, Arapaho Twp, ed 19, sheet 1B, 18-18, she was listed as Margaret Turner.
Granddaughter Mabel (Armstrong) Leary, who was born in 1897, wrote that Reuben resided with her family, and Grandma Turner lived maybe 10 or 12 miles away.
The children of Reuben Webster and Margaret Ellen (Parker) Turner were:
2. Florence Jane TURNER. Born on 18 Oct 1862 in Putnam Co IN. Florence died in Stafford, Custer Co OK, on 2 Nov 1938; she was 76. In 1892 when Florence Jane was 29, she married Ralph N PHILLIPS, son of Jesse L PHILLIPS & Mary Jane BARNES, in Grant City, Worth Co MO. Born in 1859 in MO. Ralph died in OK in 1910. They had the following children:
i. Lenora (1893-1986)
ii. Lorene (1893-1972)
iii. Frank Ross (1896-)
iv. Esther Rose (1898-)
v. Ralph Herbert (1900-1925)
vi. Grant Sylvester (1903-1959)
vii. James Presley (1902-1975)
viii. Pansy Pine (1906-1990)
3. Robert Harrison TURNER. Born on 17 Dec 1864 in Indiana and died in 1879; aged 14.
4. Lillian Iula TURNER. Born on 4 Dec 1866 in Worth Co MO. Lillian died in Foss, Washita Co OK, on 21 Dec 1945; she was 79. On 7 Sep 1887 when Lillian Iula was 20, she married Ulysses Grant ARMSTRONG, son of John ARMSTRONG Jr & Nancy Ann MORRIS, in Allendale, Worth Co MO. Born on 13 May 1865 in IL. Ulysses Grant died in Custer Co OK, on 17 Aug 1963; he was 98. They had the following children:
i. Ada Lee (1889-1972)
ii. Harry Elbert (1891-1975)
iii. Hazel Dale (1894-1971)
iv. Mabel Ida (1897-1979)
v. Edna Ellen (1900-1985)
vi. Orville Chester (1906-1984)
5. Anna Samantha TURNER. Born on 19 Aug 1869 in Allendale, Worth Co MO. Shedied in Clinton, Custer Co OK, on 23 Jun 1942; she was 72. On 14 Jun 1892 when Anna Samantha was 22, she married John Franklin ARMSTRONG, son of John ARMSTRONG Jr & Nancy Ann MORRIS, in Grant City, Worth Co MO, and brother-in-law of her sister Lillian. Born on 29 Aug 1856 in Knoxville, Knox Co IL. John Franklin died in Clinton, Custer Co OK, on 28 Jan 1942; he was 85. They had the following children:
i. Golda L (1893-1903)
ii. Nannie Jane (1895-1948)
iii. Mansel Grant (1897-1977)
iv. Ralph Flynn (1900-1938)
v. Jeter Fay (1903-1912)
vi. Frankie (1906-1909)
vii. Glyde Lavon (1910-1992)
6. Mable Edna TURNER. Born on 19 Jan 1872 in Worth Co MO. She died before 1880.
7. Roza Dell TURNER. Born on 17 Oct 1874 in Worth Co MO. Roza died in OK on 16 Feb 1901; she was 26. On 14 Dec 1890, she married Louis McDONALD in Worth Co MO. Born in Sep 1866 in IN. They had the following children:
i. Eva L (1892-1956)
ii. Lura Jeanette (1894-)
iii. Mansel P “Dick” (1896-ca 1916)
iv. Clifton R/H (1898-1899)
8. Leroy Paul TURNER. Born on 22 Apr 1877 and called “Pearl.” He died in Portland, Multnomah Co OR, in Jan 1944 was 66. He married Ada Violet HENDERSON in Multnomah Co OR on 3 Dec 1912. They were divorced by 1920. Two adughters:
i. Margaret Elizabeth, born 15 Oct 1913
ii. Pauline Violet, born 17 Feb 1915
9. Blanche Violet TURNER. Born on 26 Nov 1880 in Mooresville, Livingston Co MO. Blanche died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Co OK, on 15 Sep 1970; she was 89. On 14 Jul 1902 when Blanche was 21, she married James Alfred HARGUS. Born ca 1883 in TX. James Alfred died on 3 Feb 1956. They had the following children:
i. Nadine Violet (1903-1977)
ii. Dortha Dell (1904-1985)
iii. Jessa Mae (1907-1987)
iv. Byrl Medford (1910-1926)
v. Ralph Lee (1913-1913)
© 2009, Kathy Alvis Patterson
[1]Family data, Greensville P. Turner Bible; original owned in 1984 by Col. Robert G. Turner (400 Eastview Terrace SW, Blacksburg VA 24060).
[2] Reuben W. Turner pension file no. 48840, National Archives. It appears that Reuben did not have a disability pension, which explains the lack of correspondence relaing to his pension as well as pension papers giving family data, but Margaret Ellen applied for a widow’s pension and was rejected because of her divorce and remarriage. I have not found a record of Margaret and Stewart McCord’s divorce, other than her declaration for a pension, which states the divorce took place 24 Sep 1901, but they were definitely living apart at the time of the 1900 census. I also have not found a remarriage of Reuben and Margaret, although they were in the same household in 1900. We have searched and cannot locate their 1910 census. A typeover in this pension document makes it unclear whether Reuben Died on 10 Nov 1905 or 1915; the date of the document, 31 Oct 1916, is more an indication of the law under which Margaret filed for a pension, than the date of death; the cover page from the pension office states death was 1905.
[3] Turner-Parker marriage, 20 Dec 1861, Vigo County IN, page 494, Also from ancestry.com: Indiana Marriages, 1845-1920, Vigo County, Ellen Parker, Reuben W Turner, 20 Dec 1861, Book: 2, Page: 494.
[4] Divorce record, Reuben Webster Turner and Margaret Ellen (Parker) Turner, Worth Co MO, 25 Oct 1883. Margaret E. Turner, Plaintiff against Reuben W. Turner, Defendant. Now on this 25th day of October 1883 comes the plaintiff by her Attorney and it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the defendant has been duly notified of the pendency of this suit by his accepting service on the summons and prior to the last term of this Court come not but made default and now again makes default, and all and singular the matter being submitted to the Court are by the Court fully seen and heard. The Court with order adjudge and decree that that the decreetise at last term of this Court be made final for divorse and that the bonds of matrimony heretofore contracted and now existing between plaintiff and defendants be unmade, rescinded, and held for naught and that the plaintiff be allowed to marry, and that it is further ordered that plaintiff have the care and custody of her minor children to wit: Annie Turner aged fourteen years Rose Turner aged five years, Pearl Turner aged seven years and Blanche Turner aged three years.
[5] With the construction of Foss Lake ca 1960, my grandfather was charged with moving all the family graves. Reportedly, Margaret had insisted she never be buried with Reuben; nevertheless, Mansel Armstrong placed them side by side at the Clinton Cemetery, Clinton, Custer Co OK.
[6] Letter from Lenore Ballew, reply to Kathy Alvis’s letter dated 18 Dec 1966. Armstrong-Turner tombstones, Clinton OK Cemetery, transcribed 4 Sep 1966 by Kathy Alvis, later photographed.
[7] Margaret Ellen Turner, death certificate no. 75-45 (1926), Oklahoma State Board of Health—Bureau of Vital Statistics. He birthdate was given there as 7 Nov 1841, but censuses indicate the later date. “Grandma Turner Dead,” Margaret Ellen Turner obituary, Foss Enterprise (29 Apr 1926).
[8] Marriage certificate, Stewart B McCord and Margaret E Turner, Worth Co MO, 11 Mar 1893.
[9] Reuben W. Turner pension file no. 48840, National Archives. See also McCord’s earlier divorce decree, Stewart McCord and Phebe J McCord, 27 Apr 1892, Worth Co MO. Stewart McCord’s Civil War pension file, #322396.
[10] Capt. Wesley Sanders Company, IN Volunteers, Co G, 78th IN Infantry, Civil War file No. 1085828.
[11] Business card, thought to be his: “Dr. J. W. Turner, Oculist & Physician, Hamilton, Missouri.”
[12] First Families of the Twin Territories, Oklahoma Genealogical Society, Special Publication No. 13, 1997, nos. 88, 635, 779, 901. “Reuben Webster and Margaret Parker Turner,” Trail of 100 Years: Arapaho Oklahoma, 1892-1992, 228-229.
[13] Photo of R.W. Turner’s Cheap Cash Store, taken by Albert Satterlee, Lone Star, O.T, 1898.
[14] In household of Caleb and Elizabeth Hardesty. Reuben W Turner 20 m student IN attended school. Elizabeth was his sister.
[15] Reuben Turner 24 IN farmer in household of Eliza Zeaman.
[16] Turner, Reuben 39 mw occulist 800 200 IN male citizen over 21, Margaret 26 fw keepinghouse IN school in year, Florence 7 fw IN, Robert 6 mw IN, Lilian 4 fw IN, Samuel 1 mw MO. [Anna Samantha is listed as a boy Samuel.)]
[17] Turner, Reuben W 51 eye doctor [“oculist” written in above line] IN VA VA, Margaret 34 keeping house IN IN TN, Florence 17 [occupation illegible] MO IN IN, Robert H 15 [occupation illegible] MO IN IN, Lillian L 13 at home MO IN IN, Annie S 11 at home MO IN IN, Roza D 6 MO IN IN, Purley L 3 MO IN IN.
[18] Margaret Turner head wf Oct 1844 55 married 38 8 ch, 6 living IN unk KY merchant, Ruben husband wm Oct 1827 73 married 38 IN VA VA, Blanch dt wf Nov 1880 19 single MO unk KY. [Blanche’s parents are given the birthplaces of Margaret’s parents. Notice that Margaret and Reuben were in the same household, although her divorce from McCord was not granted until the next year.]
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